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Destinations > Gateway to the High Country
Issue: August 2008
Words and photos by Shirley Hayes
Click here to read the article as it appeared in the magazine
You'll hear about the Victorian High Country often in Overlander. It's an awe inspiring part of Australia and one that offers a wide variety of off road driving and travel opportunities.
Mt Lawson State Park is one of them.
Mt Lawson State Park is situated in northeast Victoria between the Murray Valley Highway and the Murray River. It's not a large park - just 13,150ha - but the area preserves a unique environment of rugged cliffs and rocky bluffs and provides a variety of recreational opportunities for anyone who wants a break from the everyday grind for a while. There is a network of 4WD tracks throughout the park but most of them are dry weather only and subject to seasonal closures. Horse riding and mountain biking is allowed on any of the tracks that are open to vehicles and Koetong Creek is a popular fishing spot.
National Parks has a full list of tracks and a mud map of the park and visitors are encouraged to contact the ranger at Parks Victoria, Tallangatta before heading into the park, especially after rain.
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With limited time available to us for setting up a campsite within the state park, we opted for a cabin in the delightful little settlement of Colac Colac, about 8km from Corryong. It's easy to access the southern section of Mt Lawson Park by driving 44km from Colac Colac via the Murray Valley Highway and turning onto the Mt Lawson Road. Though not officially within the park boundaries, it's worth taking a detour in off the road, just after the turnoff, to take a look at the historic railway trestle bridge. The turnoff is well signposted and there are interpretive signs erected along the short walk to the bridge. This magnificent old bridge over Boggy Creek was constructed in 1915 from blue gum that was found locally in the area. The bridge was strong enough to support trains weighing more than 500-tonnes and was used for transporting materials for the construction of the Snowy Mountains Scheme.
We continued along Mt Lawson Road making our next port of call the campgrounds at Koetong Creek. There are two areas set aside for camping and the one furthest from the road is the pick of them. The campsites are idyllically sited near picturesque Koetong Creek with a picnic table and fireplace but no toilets or showers. The only thing spoiling the scene for us was the large assortment of used toilet paper and tissues left behind by mindless morons who obviously had no thought for the comfort of fellow campers. It is not hard to store or bury toilet refuse!
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