Mt Buffalo Weekend Walking - accommodation at Porepunkah, 21 - 24 February 2019

Booking full and now closed - contact the Leader if you wish to join the wait-list.

Booking and full payment by Friday 22nd November is essential to participate in this February 2019 social weekend of Nomads walks and exclusive-use accommodation.   Mt Buffalo National Park offers spectacular scenery, moderately challenging walks through varying terrain, and rich diversity of flora and fauna, as well as unique geological formations. This popular Nomads weekend social event and walks on Mt Buffalo in Victoria's North-East is now in its fourth year, and David R. will again lead the walks. Bookings are limited to 30, and last year it was over-subscribed, first in - first served!!
GRADE | LENGTH | TYPE: Each day we will drive from our group accomodation in Porepunkah to Mt Buffalo, enjoy the walk, and return in the late afternoon.

• (Optional) Friday 22nd Feb walk: Hard; approx 6-8 hrs; Point to point walk
• Saturday 23rd Feb walk: Medium-Hard; approx 5-6 hrs; Circuit walk. Evening includes a BBQ communal dinner at our accomodation.
• Sunday 24th Feb walk: Easy;  approx 2 hrs; After departing Restaway, a Circuit walk ending with lunch at Lake Catani and opportuntiy for a swim. This enables a drive back to Melbourne after lunch or afternoon on Sunday. 

MEETING TIME | LOCATION: Arrival time is from 3pm onwards on Friday 22nd Feb 2019 at Restaway Holiday Units, 6852 Great Alpine Road, Porepunkah. For those taking the option of staying Thursday 21st Feb and joining the Friday walk, arrival time at Restaway is from 3pm onwards on Thursday 21st Feb.
Pre-walk briefings and car pooling arrangements to Mt Buffalo will be held at Restaway prior to leaving for each day's walk.

MAP REFERENCE: Meeting point at Restaway Holiday Units: Melway map X922 grid F9 | Google map www.google.com.au/maps/place/Porepunkah+VIC+3740.

DISTANCE | TIME FROM GPO: 320km, approximately 3 hours 30 minutes driving time, via Hume Hwy, Snow Road, Myrtleford to Porepunkah. Public transport possible, but Sunday options are limited.

TRANSPORT: Car sharing preferred.

FOOD: Bring your own breakfasts, lunches, drinks and snacks. During the walks carry your own lunch, snacks and at least 1 litre of water. Only limited food can be purchased at nearby Porepunkah, so bring all your food needs with you.

Friday (and optional Thursday) night, bring your dinner (bbq available) or eat out at the local hotel.  Booking and payment includes Nomads famous communal BBQ dinner (incl vegetarian option) on Saturday night 23rd February, BYO drinks. The Organiser may ask you to contribute a salad to this dinner. 
APPAREL | FOOTWEAR: Comfortable walking boots, walking poles (if needed), sun hat / wool beany and rain/wind proof jacket. You need to check the Met Bureau weather forcast for Mt Buffalo before you leave Melbourne, so you bring appropriate clothing for hot weather / cold change. Be aware, on Mt Buffao cold winds and rain are likely, even in February. 
ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION:
The weekend will follow previous years' sucessful model. The social and walking weekend is based on accomodation at Restaway Holiday Units in Porepunkah (we will make a pre-paid block booking for Nomads exclusive use) for the nights of Friday 22nd and Saturday 23rd February 2019. There will be a one-day walk on Mt Buffalo on the Saturday, the communal BBQ on Saturday evening, and a shorter half-day walk on Mt Buffalo on the Sunday. Following Sunday's walk we will lunch at Lake Catani, with the opportunity for a swim (bring towel) before you leave. This schedule enables people to drive up after work on Friday and return Sunday afternoon or evening.

In addition, for those who wish to arrive a day earlier on Thursday 21st February, the Nomads will book your acccomodation for Thursday night at Restaway too, and there will be a one-day walk (rated hard) on Friday 22nd February.  Some people might want to stay at Restaway for Sunday evening or longer. Please contact the event Leader (below) for details.

If fully booked, (as it was last year), we will be the only group staying at Restaway and will have exclusive use of the swimming pool, large garden and BBQ area. Each holiday unit has a small kitchen, living room, bathroom and 2 bedrooms - one bedroom has a queen bed, the other has 2 single beds (some have bunks, but to keep walk numbers at a manageable level of 30, the top bunk will generally not be used).

It is a big big task organising this weekend, so the roles are being split this year. David is organising and leading the walks, and Ian Gould organising the accommodation and communal Saturday dinner. Bookings can only be made through the Nomads web site.

To join this weekend you need to book and pay by Friday 22nd November; this enables the Nomads to secure the booking.  We understand that commitment now for a February 2019 event does not suit some people - if you are one of these, we expect you will understand that when the Nomads uses commercial facilities we have to conform to usual business booking requirements.     

Please note:
(i) This is a popular event; last year the event was fully booked. 
(ii) A booking must include full payment for accomodation.
(iii) Maximum walking group size is 30, limited by accommodation, participant safety and ensuring a quality environmental experience.  
(iv) The event is based on a social weekend at Restaway and walks on Mt Buffalo. Please contact the Leader (email below) if you wish to discuss staying elsewhere. 

This event is generally not open to Visitors. Please contact the Leader (below) if you are a Visitor and would like to attend. 

Booking instructions:

(a) Firstly, choose if you wish to arrive Friday 22nd Feb or Thursday 21st Feb 2019.

(b) Secondly choose if you want 'Shared room' accomodation, in which you will share the room with one other person (separate beds, or, share a queen bed with your partner), OR, want 'Single room' accomodation, which gives you a room for your use only.  The Ticket includes the cost of accommodation, Saturday night's BBQ, and participation in the walks.

(c) Buy the Ticket you want, noting: if you and your partner wish to share a booking, you will need to buy two 'Shared room' tickets (see(d) below); please indicate if you prefer vegetarian or non-vegetarian communal BBQ; and, if you are wanting to 'hitch a ride' with a Nomad driving up.  

(d) If buying Shared accomodation and you wish to share with a particular person, it is necessary to Email the Leader using the link below to advise him of the name of the person you will be sharing with, and preferred room sharing arrangements. i.e (i) are you wanting to share a Queen bed with your partner (who needs to buy a Ticket too),  OR (ii) have a preference to share a twin room with a particlar person.  If you buy Shared accomodation and do not send the Leader an email, he will allocate you with another person in a shared room. 

FURTHER INFORMATION: https://parkweb.vic.gov.au/explore/parks/mount-buffalo-national-park and https://www.restawayholidayunits.com.au/

LEADER | BOOKING: Ian Gould. | by Friday 22nd November 2018. Email the Leader if you have any questions and advise on Shared acommodation. If you are a Visitor, contact the Leader as this event is not generally open to Visitors. Members can access leader contact details under Members->Leader Contacts when logged in to the website.