Whitfield, Buffalo River Valley, Wonnangatta, Mansfield

Date and time:  9:00am, Saturday 2nd November to 4:00pm Tuesday 5th November

Trip Standard:  Hard - some steep, low-range hill climbs, some river crossings and some rocky tracks!

Description:  Please contact your trip leader if you are unsure of any of the following requirements for this trip.

On day 1 we will be exploring some tracks in the area from Whitfield north of Mt Buller across to the Buffalo River valley.  We will travel south to visit Mt Selwyn and Mt Murray for some spectacular views of the high country (weather permitting) and then descend into the Wonnangatta Valley with its peaceful remote location and dark history.  Day 3 we will climb up to the alpine area again to view some of the cattlemen’s huts before finishing in the Mt Buller area and again if time and weather permits, do the short walk to the top of Mt Buller were we can view much of the route we have travelled over the past few days.

Weather:  Alpine environment, potentially cold and wet.  Review the Alpine weather forecast leading up to the trip and bring appropriate clothing, footwear and camping gear.

Equipment:  Below are the recommended vehicle requirements.  If you are not sure if you vehicle is suitable for a trip, please have a chat with the trip leader.

Good off-road tyres (All Terrain, 60 profile recommended as a minimum), UHF radio (or one borrowed from the club), a well-maintained vehicle with low range (or equivalent), good ground clearance (200mm recommended as a minimum), recovery points, standard recovery gear including dampener, rated snatch strap and shackles, shovel.  Drivers must have completed the RRCV club training or equivalent. 

This trip will travel to some remote and the tracks we will be driving are steep, rocky and challenging, so vehicle failures / repairs / recovery can be difficult and expensive.  Please do a thorough vehicle check beforehand and if in doubt, have your vehicle serviced and thoroughly checked by a mechanic familiar with 4WDriving.

We have had vehicle breakdowns and breakages in the past and RACV Total Care has been excellent in transporting vehicles for repair or back to Melbourne.  It is recommended you take out this cover as insurance prior to the trip

Additional Equipment required:  Camping gear food and drinking water for 4 days / 3 nights in the bush.  Clothing for wet and cold conditions.  Morning tea and lunches will be in the bush each day – byo simple, “on the move” lunches and morning teas (byo thermos).

No camper trailers, pets or firearms

Maps and Reference Material:  Rooftop Dargo-Wonnangatta Adventure Map and Rooftop Bright-Mansfield Adventure Map.

Fuel:  A full tank ex Mansfield.  NB the BP service station in Mansfield closes at 9:00pm, however there is a 24 Hr self-serve Ampol just near the roundabout at the eastern end of the town.

Distance:  Approx. distance from Melbourne to Whitfield is 250 Km.  The trip is 380 to 400 Km of mainly low range driving.

Duration: 4 days

Convoy limit: 8 vehicles

Meeting arrangements:  We plan to meet in the main street of Whitfield outside the Hobbledehoy Café and distillery and depart at 9.00am sharp.  If you plan to get coffee beforehand then you will need to arrive a little earlier.  We will aim to finish about 4.00pm in Mansfield

Trip Leader:  Graeme Carter  Phone – 0400 195 932, Email – graeme.carter23@bigpond.com

Club Guest Registration policy:  It is club policy in regard to insurance cover that if a member brings any non-members on the trip they must be registered and have paid the required fee as Temporary Members BEFORE the event. 
i.e.  non- members can no longer register on the day with the trip leader. 

Temporary Membership information and ways to register can be found at:

Temporary (Guest) Membership

Also if a non-member wishes to bring their own vehicle, the member inviting the non-member must contact the trip leader for approval to bring the vehicle. Such approval will take into account skills of the driver, suitability of the vehicle and whether or not a place within the convoy limit is available for a non-member's vehicle.