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Aboriginal Name - Not Found
The Cross Cut Saw is part of the Great Alpine Walk, so it’s absolutely stunning. It’s a bloody long drive though, so pack some good company and plenty of Barbeque Shapes. From Melbourne, drive the three hours to Licola, which is your last stop for snacks and basic supplies, but if you want something that’s not a Four ‘n Twenty pie, you might want to stop sooner. From here, Mt Howitt car park is ‘only’ 85km, which actually takes ages on dirt roads and two-wheel drive. Park at the Mt Howitt car park (not the first one that just says car park- keep going until you get to the clearly signed one) and follow the trail for an hour or so walking through lush alpine plains to Macalister Springs. If you do happen to go on a long weekend and there are literally twenty children at the main site where Vallejo Gantner Hut and the toilet are, keep on walking. Veer down toward the springs and then follow a path up to your right, which will take you to a more secluded camp spot about five minutes further along. It can get pretty windy up here though, so make sure your tent is really pegged down and you’ve got whisky to calm your nerves.
We based ourselves here for the weekend and wandered along Cross Cut Saw in the morning without the weight of all our gear. This is an area that inspired some of the locations in Tomorrow When The War Began, and it truly feels like civilisation is a world away. You’ll walk across the top of ridges covered in wildflowers, with epic mountains in every direction. The walk to Mt Buggery and back can be done in a (long) day, but we stopped to make porcini mushroom risotto just short of Buggery, and then couldn’t be bothered going any further. If you carry your gear, you can camp at Mt Speculation a bit further along the trail, where there’s another spring and a good camp ground. The walk up and around Mt Howitt is beautiful too, and sitting at 1742m high, you’re pretty much eye level with the nearby Mt Buller.
Lookout for mountain pepper berries along the walk, but the tracks are pretty uneven, with heaps of ups and downs, so you’ll want an all right level of fitness/sturdy knees to tackle the Saw. You’ll also want to keep a few bucks handy for when you get back to Licola so that you can buy more Shapes.
By Tanzy Owen
2016