After pulling into the famous Dargo Pub for a counter lunch and that iconic photo, we headed north towards Talbotville.

After turning off the bitumen and airing down we made a quick detour to the ruins of the historic gold mining town of Grant.

Grant was once populated with over 2000 people in 1865 and played host to 22 licensed hotels, four banks, post office, church, stock exchange, stores and a newspaper – The Crooked River Chronicle. They must really have fancied a beer or two with 22 licensed pubs in a town of only 2000.

Although these days we’re into a bit of history, we were way too excited to get to the next stop, so we pushed on.

It got late and cold quick this day so we set up camp at Talbotville for the night. The spot was awesome. A huge flat area of land (another old mining town) with not another single camper in sight – we had the place to ourselves!

The road from Talbotville to Wonnangatta Station made us grateful that we hadn’t pushed on the evening before. It was windy with steep drop offs, sharp turns and even a few “give it some mumbo” hills and water crests. We loved every moment!

And of course, it wouldn’t be the high country without the stunning views. Every day the views got better and better. You could see the tracks on the mountain ridges parallel to ours.

The excitement and awe of the moment was indescribable.One track in particular, which crosses over from one mountain ridge to another, got the hairs on the back of our necks standing. STEEP is the only world for it!

  One moment it was a tremendous decline, the next was a mumbo moment of steep inclines.

                  

Wonnangatta Station wasn’t quite what we pictured. The locals said they had never seen it so dry and considering we imagined fresh green paddocks beside the creek, it was no wonder it didn’t live up to our expectations.

We made the most of the evening the way we know best though…red wine! It seems to be the drink of choice these days as you cant argue with a $4 bottle of clean skin.  

After having a quick look around the Station and where some of the original owners were laid to rest, we pushed on towards the famous Billy Goats Bluff.

Before we could even think of tackling Billy Goats, we had to make our way along Zeka Spur Track. Many people have advised against taking a camper trailer along Zeka Spur, as it contains several sharp switchbacks. There was no way we were leaving the camper behind as we had no idea how long the round trip was going to take us, and this thing is our home!

For those who don’t know what a ‘switchback’ is, it’s when the road turns back onto itself, towards the opposite direction of which you came whilst heading up or down a hill. Sound difficult? Try whilst towing a camper trailer.

Although there were some tight switchbacks, all-in-all, Zeka was merely a stepping stone for what was to come.

We hit Howitt Hut, one of the original Alpine huts still standing, but after Jo was scared off at the sight of some local shooters, we powered on to Horseyard flats for the night.

We woke bright and early to another freezing cold morning, went for a walk and did our burpees (we’re doing a 30 day Burpee challenge). We were super excited for Billy Goats Bluff Track!

For those who are 4wd Action fans, you may have seen last month’s DVD where they towed a small caravan up Billy Goats Bluff.  They have laid claim to being the first to achieve this. WELL, we are laying claim to being the first to take a boat AND fully loaded camper trailer down Billy Goats.

The Billy Goats Track is famous for being one of the toughest Alpine Tracks with outrageously steep rock steps, loose shale rocks and dirt, lined with cliff drops on one if not both edges at various times. And of course, we couldn’t describe Billy Goats without mentioning the unbelievable views of the surrounding mountain ranges. We chose to tackle the track on the descent, as it was the direction of our route and to be honest, a hell of a lot easier than going up hill with a camper in-toe and a boat on the roof.

Driving down such steep declines, you have very little control over what the vehicle does, let alone anything you tow. It wasn’t until over half way along the track that I looked in the mirror and said to Matt, “the camper is still there”. Neither one of us had spared a moments thought for the camper, we were transfixed on the road ahead. Although no video will ever do the Billy Goats or our experience justice, we were extremely disappointed to learn that our camera had ran out of battery and recorded all of 5 seconds of the track.

Up until that point, Billy Goats was one of the toughest tracks I had ever been on, and I wasn’t even the driver. My stomach was in my throat most of the time and it was during this track that I realised there are certainly some times when I prefer being behind the camera rather than in the passenger seat. Close to half way along the track I noticed my legs were aching. I put it down to how firmly they were planted on the floor of the car to stop myself from falling forward. The decline was that vertical. Matt said his right leg and foot was equally as fatigued from working the break pedal. Although no video will ever do the Billy Goats or our experience justice, we were extremely disappointed to learn that our camera had ran out of battery and recorded all of 5 seconds of the track.

We made it to the bottom of the Billy Goats, not one scratch! And although we were gloating in the fact that we made it with the camper still attached, we both agreed that we probably wouldn’t attempt it while towing again, the poor electric beaks got a good work out. We were very ready for a beer at the Dargo Hotel after that.

Matt hadn’t even stepped foot out of the Patrol as we pulled into the pub, when Tom the Publican came out to ask how our trip had been. When we pulled into the pub a few days earlier, we had spoken to Tom and his wife about our plans and he had given us pointers on some of the better routes and tracks to take.

Tom offered us the back paddock to set up camp amongst the sheep for the night.  We had really been enjoying our beers and by around 5 o’clock, hadn’t even thought of dinner.

Before we knew it, several pots down, Tom slapped a frozen roast pork on the bar and said “have you ever cooked a camp oven? I haven’t had a roast for a while”.  So there we were out the back of the pub, digging a hole, scrounging up as much firewood from in and around the pub as possible to get this fire going before another midnight roast was upon us.

Before long a couple we had met at the bar were pulling up camp beside us and joining in the festivities.  No sooner had we sat down around the fire for another can when along came Marty and Tiff, a couple we had met on the Zeka Spur Track and then ran into again on the Billy Goats Bluff Track. The stage was set for a big night and another midnight roast!!

If you’re ever in the area make sure to pull into the Dargo pub to say Hi to Tom and Teen. If you’re lucky, they might offer you a roast, but you may have to promise to have it cooked before midnight.