Naturist Walking and Camping Weekend - Upper King Valley

Sandstone gorges, swimming holes and the occasional spectacular view – with minimalist camping and clothing. 

GRADE | TYPE: Saturday day walk is of hard grade, involving extensive wading through shallow water on a bed of slippery rocks, also occasional deep-water wading and some rock scrambling. 

• The Saturday day walk is along the bed of Stony Creek, heading west from near Little Paradise Falls. Although its return distance is only about 5 km, it requires you to have at least moderate fitness and physical agility, and to be prepared for accidental (because of slippery rocks underfoot) full immersion of body and day pack. You may therefore need to take waterproofing precautions for at least some of the contents of your day pack.
• The Sunday day walk will be easier, and probably will not require you to take waterproofing precautions.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION:
This is a naturist event, consisting of two day walks and a Saturday-night camp, in the Alpine National Park, about 20 km south of Whitfield in north-east Victoria. The Saturday out-and-back day walk will be frequently a wade (and possibly an accidental swim) along a rocky river bed to a remote swimming hole for lunch, with a return distance of about 5 km. The Sunday day walk will be of an easier grade, aiming for a mid-afternoon finish.

Overnight camping on Saturday night will involve a 100m walk-in. Because of this, and also because the nearby carpark accommodates a maximum of three cars, bringing only essential and compact camping equipment is a must. 

MEETING TIME | LOCATION: 9am Saturday 21st March at the park next to Benalla Information Centre, 14 Mair St, Benalla. If you prefer to come up on the Friday evening, there is limited overnight accommodation available in Benalla. 

MAP REFERENCE: Melway map X910 grid V1 | Google map goo.gl/maps/wuo6DAs7XchU64oh7. 

DISTANCE | TIME FROM GPO TO MEETING PLACE: 214 km, 2 hours 20 minutes via M31.

TRANSPORT:
Because the location’s carpark accommodates a maximum of three cars, carpooling – meaning at least four persons per vehicle – is a requirement of this trip. If you are driving from Melbourne with fewer than four persons on board, you will need either to pick up passengers (and their gear) in Benalla, or to leave your car there for the weekend (there is unrestricted weekend parking on one side of Mair St), and be transported, with your gear, in someone else’s car.

APPAREL | FOOD | FOOTWEAR

Saturday day walk list: 

• day pack, made of nylon or other non-absorbent material
• shoes, lightweight hiking boots or sandals (not thongs) with good grip on the sole. Waterproofness (or not) is unimportant – in any event, your shoes will be dripping wet by the end of the day. (A second pair of “dry” shoes – NOT carried in your day pack – will therefore be required for Saturday evening and also for the Sunday day walk).
• lunch, snacks and 2 litres of water 
• sunscreen, hat etc
• shorts, for carpark and environs
• gaiters, for protection against blackberries growing along the river’s banks
• drybags or waterproof containers for phones, etc, that you are taking on the walk
• towel (optional, must be dry-bagged)
• warm clothes (optional, must be dry-bagged)

Saturday evening camp and Sunday day walk list: 

• tent, sleeping-bag, sleeping-mat etc. Because of limited cargo space in the three vehicles, your total luggage for the weekend should not exceed one large hiking pack (or equivalent), plus one day pack.
• picnic rug, for sitting on (bringing folding chairs is not recommended, unless they are super compact) 
• a second pair of sturdy shoes (that did NOT get wet on the Saturday day walk)   
• personal items, toiletries, toilet paper and trowel 
• head torch
• warm clothes for evening and overnight
• shorts, for carpark and environs (possibly including – but hopefully not –around our campsite also)
• Saturday night dinner (and camping stove and fuel, if you are not sharing someone else’s), plus water or other beverages
• cup, plate and cutlery
• Sunday breakfast
• (in day pack) lunch, snacks and 1.5 litres of water 
• (in day pack) sunscreen, hat etc

BOOKING: By Tuesday 17th March. Click on Get Tickets to register. The event is limited to 11 participants. 
The planned event/walk will be cancelled on the evening of Wednesday 18th March if:  

• (a) the likely fire danger will be too high, or
• (b) river levels will be too high (unlikely), or
• (c) the weather forecast for that weekend is for unseasonably cold weather.

LEADER: Paul W. | Email the Leader if you have any questions. Members can access leader contact details under Members | Leader Contacts when logged in to the website.

Image: Russell W.

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