Mt. Stirling

Mount Stirling lies towards the NW limits of the Great Dividing Range. It is a beautiful mountain, untouched by the visual blight of ski-lifts, as of 2000, although the down-hill developers on Mt. Buller to the SW eye it greedily and every few years "the" battle must be won again. In winter Stirling is the province of cross-country skiers and in summer of walkers, horse (and camel!) riders, mountain bikers and four wheel drivers. Much of the area about is in the Alpine National Park and most the four wheel drive tracks are well maintained and of easy to medium difficulty, many being closed over winter. If you travel for the experience of being there, the Stirling area offers some of the best value for effort in Victoria with pleasant valleys, rivers and mountain streams, and views of the Alps from above the tree line.

Access

From Melbourne, the quickest way to the area is along the Maroondah Highway through Bonnie Doon to Mansfield. Mansfield is a thriving country town and a good place to get supplies and fuel (and arrange ski hire in winter). From the North, take the Midland Highway south from its junction with the Hume Freeway near Benalla.

Mt. Buller

The Bluff, south from Mt. Buller.

There is a bitumen road all the way from Mansfield to the Mt. Buller Alpine village (in winter most cars have to be left in the Mirimbah car park, at the base of Buller, and a bus taken to the top). Buller is a major down-hill ski resort so it is very controlled but it does have good views of the surrounding mountains.

Mt. Stirling

Mt. Cobbler, to the left, and Mt. Stirling, to the right, from Mt. Buller.

The most direct way to Mt. Stirling is up the Mt. Stirling Road which leaves the Mt. Buller Road at Mirimbah: Turn left and cross the bridge, passing the ticket booth (for cross-country skiing in winter). Telephone Box junction with the Stirling Circuit Road comes up in about 9km. The Mt. Stirling Road, and the Stirling Circuit Road are good dirt roads, suitable for 2WD cars although there can be corrugations and rough patches. The Mt. Stirling Circuit Road, as its name suggests, surrounds the mountain. It is below the tree line so that views are often obscured, although there are still some good ones. Turning right (SE) at Telephone Box junction takes you anti-clockwise around the Circuit Road to Howqua Gap. Another way onto Mt. Stirling is from Mt. Buller via a 5km 4WD track, which leaves the bitumen below the Buller ski village, passes Corn Hill, and comes out onto the Circuit Road near Howqua Gap. Turning left (N) onto the Circuit Road at Telephone Box junction, 5.5km of travel takes you past Kings Saddle, and Kings Road to the junction with King Basin Road, also sign-posted Pineapple Flat. King Basin Road (N) takes you down to the flat and King River in about 11km. Pineapple Flat is a popular camping area. Alternatively, continuing clockwise around the Circuit Road takes you past Clear Hills, Speculation Road, Howqua Gap, and eventually back to Telephone Box junction.

Craig's Hut

Craig's Hut at Clear Hills can be quite busy on holidays and is a little bit of a fake. Maps from the 1970s do show "hut site" but the present hut was built for the film The Man from Snowy River in the 1980s, so it is really a film set and the chimney is non-functional, for example. On the other hand the setting is very photogenic, that's why...

The location is most easily approached up Clear Hills track, which is easy 4WD in the dry, from the NE side of the Stirling Circuit Road. After taking in the view, you can either continue and descend Monument track back to the Circuit Road, or return back down Clear Hills track.

King River

The King River valley lies to the north of Mt. Stirling. The King Basin Road leaves the Circuit Road from the NW and descends to Pineapple Flat, various tracks leading off it. The King Basin Road then continues east up the King River Valley on the south side of the river, until five river crossings before King River Hut.

Another route to King River Hut is from the eastern side of the Circuit Road, down Speculation Road. This is an easy 4WD road in the dry, the main obstacles being large spoon drains cut to minimise erosion. There is a junction at the bottom: A (dead end) track leads right (SW) to Mt. Speculation, and the left branch leads to the King Basin Road.

Mt. Cobbler

	The road east from King River hut shortly passes the junction with Speculation Road before turning north. About 4km from the hut is a Y junction: Little Cobbler Road, to the left, leads clockwise around the Mt. Cobbler plateau. The track to the right leads up the Staircase, which is steep.
	Left: Mt. Cobbler looms above Little Cobbler road. Right: Dandongadale Falls from the road into Lake Cobbler from the north.
	Little Cobbler Road winds around the steep west and north sides of the Cobbler plateau until it meets Cobbler Lake Road at a T-junction. This road leads north (left) through Bennies to Typo (!) on the Whitfield - Dandongadale Road, or south (right) to Lake Cobbler; it is rough but suitable for 2WDs, with care.

Turning south, there is a long climb, with views of Dandongadale Falls (above right). Soon after, there is a junction with the track to Catherine River and Abbeyard. Turn right towards Lake Cobbler.

Right: Lake Cobbler can be reached by car and is a popular camp-site on public holidays. There is a shelter which is useful for meals in bad weather, and also a "pit" toilet. 1/'00 -->

A walking track is sign posted from the camping area to the summit of Mt. Cobbler. The sign rather optimistically suggests about 2-hours one-way, but add extra unless you are in training; some scrambling is involved. The views are well worth the walk however.

View to the south east from Mt. Cobbler.

You can return to main roads either by continuing around Mt. Cobbler clockwise which takes you to the Staircase (4WD) and then back to the King Basin Road, Circuit Road etc., or north through Beenies to Typo, or through Abbeyard to Dandongadale. If you do go north and have time in hand, the Whitfield - Dandongadale is one of the nicest 2WD roads in Victoria, following the lovely Rose River through an attractive valley.
- © L. A11ison 1/00 -->

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