Croajingolong : the best of it in 2 full days ?

[Hallu]

It's long overdue but I'm finally gonna visit Croajingolong, on the 21st to 24th of December. With 5.5 hour driving from Melbourne, we're leaving on the Friday afternoon, and returning on the Tuesday afternoon, so it's really 2 full days over there.

-First I'm wondering if the "inland" walks are worth it, like Mt Everhard, Wingan river rapids and Elusive Lake ? Which one would you do if you had to choose ?
-I'm guessing 1 day at either Point Hicks/Mueller inlet or Wingan inlet (or are both doable in one day ?), and one day at the Mallacoota section (or is the Shipwreck area better ?). There's so much to do so please tell me you top day walks in the area (my friends aren't in favor of the overnight walk option).
-Do you know nice wildlife spots, especially for those big monitors ?

Thanks in advance for your help.

[MartyGwynne]

HI Never been to Mt Everhard so cannot comment, Elusive Lake is only a short walk (perhaps an hour down a 'Management 4wd track' easy going to a smallish freshwater lake. It is good to have a swim in if you are all salty and sweaty for the last few days. Wingan river rapids are good for a wash and replenish fresh water supplies, but I have only paddled up to them I have not walked to them.
Wingan has good camping grounds set out and you will see a few of said lizards - just pack your food away in your car when you are out!! oh there may be a few of the local dogs (dingo's) hanging around too. There is a good walk to the beach via boardwalk/track around the lake to the beach where you can walk all the way to Point Hicks and back as a big day walk - mostly beach walking but some scrub.
Another good walk from Wingan is to walk to the ocean and then turn left to go to Easby Creek or further onto Red River. It is a long day walk of mainly scrambling over rocks etc (see my little photo of me along this part) but if you put a fishing rod in you can catch your lunch at Red River (about a 3-4 hr walk one way). You will have to wade/swim/cadge a boat ride across the Wingan inlet mouth just pick the narrowest part and shallowest and the tide will go out or go in so expect to swim it at some stage. If you are taking a canoe or Kayak then the inlet is very much more fun.
Mallacoota - the ship wreck area is nice as well in fact you could walk from Wingan to Shipwreck for an over nighter. If the Mallacoota entrance is closed then you could do a day trip up to Lake Barracoota and back - its all beach walking.
I hope this makes some sort of sense for you and also helps you out.
I guess it is all good.

[surly 17]

Hi Hallu, if you stay at Thurra river you can walk up to point hicks lighthouse there are a couple of short walks from the light house.
You can do the dunes walk which takes a couple of hours I've just been up there with my two boys and they thought it was great.
You can walk in either direction along the beach to places like Muller inlet and you can get to mt Everhard. I hope this helps and where ever you go enjoy.

[Mutley]

+1 for Wingan. A beautiful place and a good base for day walks. If you can take a kayak or canoe, the paddle up to the falls is not to be missed. You can also walk to the falls but I haven't done it myself. Lake elusive is a good walk. The front beach is about a 20 minute walk from camp, along a boardwalk which skirts the inlet. The best beach is on the eastern side of the inlet mouth. You will need a boat to get there, or swim across the inlet, ( okay at low tide but be careful). Over Christmas, camping sites are strictly by ballot only, but you can camp overnight on the grass sites. You could probably stretch this to two nights without an issue.

[peregrinator]

I think that if you have limited time it's best to concentrate on one section of the park. That will save you time because you'll do less driving and you can leave other areas such as places accessed from Mallacoota for later visits. If you have only two days, it would be best to go to the western area if you're coming from Melbourne.

So I'd recommend all of the places you mention which are accessed via Point Hicks Road and West Wingan Road (it is Mt Everard, by the way, named after a person; it's anything but a hard walk!), plus suggestions by others such as the Thurra dunes. Also, if you have time, take the Rame Head track south-west from the beach after going south from Wingan camping area to Fly Cove.

I'd also recommend the book "Car touring & bushwalking in East Gippsland", by Grant Da Costa. This has good notes for of these walks and though it was published in 1988, the information is essentally still relevent. There is also a good map of Croajingalong in the Bush Walks Victoria series published by Stuart Brookes. However, some of the tracks in the Sandpatch wilderness area are no longer maintained by Parks Victoria and will be overgrown.

[Hallu]

Thanks for all the advice, guys. I think I'm gonna skip Mallacoota : I was just with some friends visiting another friend in the Gippsland Lakes and he told us Mallacoota is really busy at Christmas, it's the busiest area in Croajingolong. So we're gonna focus on Point Hicks and Wingan Inlet, and sleep for 2 nights at Cann River.

[Hallu]

We ended up exploring Wingan inlet and Point Hicks. It was really hot, so there were a lot of swimming and less walking than anticipated. The track from Fly Cove to Rame Head wasn't very well maintained : 2 points where trees have fallen down force you to do a detour through tough scrub, not to mention the steep sand wall to the beach which is tough to climb back. The dunes near point hicks are impressive indeed, as well as the views next to the lighthouse. Saw some nice reptiles, no dingo though. Oh and we had a flat tire driving back from Wingan Track, but we quickly changed it. Here are some pictures. It was beautiful scenery, and for a Christmas week end it was pretty much deserted, it's like the people at the campgrounds don't even bother doing the walks next to them.