TRIP NOTES BY OTHER ADVENTURERS
Have you completed the Buller Huts Trail?
It would be great if you can share your story. Feel free to leave a full trip report, tips, hints and feedback on trail conditions for the benefit of other adventurers. Simply add your thoughts to the comments section below.
Wow, what a hike! This circuit gives an awesome tour of the Victorian Alps with a wide range of terrain and amazing views. It’s undoubtably beautiful but be forewarned it is no walk in the park. Expect a LOT of elevation to deal with, rock scrambling, difficult terrain, river crossings, long days (mainly the first 3 days) and exposure to the elements. But if you’ve got the fitness and the knowledge to make sound decisions in a challenging environment with variable weather, then you’ll be well rewarded. The wildflowers over spring/summer are incredible too.
Three friends and I from the Gold Coast Bushwalking Club completed the Buller Huts Trail at the beginning of March. We enjoyed this challenging trail with all of its steep ups and downs and were lucky to have no rain and mostly sunshine except for one misty morning on the Crosscut Saw. It was still quite hot in early March but we had a couple of very cold nights.
Water was a bit of an issue with the creek near the saddle between Mt Magdala and Big Hill dry as a bone. We were lucky to find a small soak nearby and after a loooong trip down the creek were able to locate a pool of water. The tank at Bluff Hut was good and there was water in Camp Creek at the Speculation Rd camp. The Howqua and King Rivers had plenty of water. The small tank attached to the toilets at Craigs Hut sounded like there was not much water left!
Views were great and our favourite bit was Mt Speculation – a delightful walk through flowery meadows interspersed with interesting rock scrambles. We dubbed it Mt Spectacular! Unfortunately it was misty as we traversed the Crosscut Saw so we missed out on views there. The toughest part was the clamber up the Bluff – only 2 of us attempted it while the others walked around via the Bluff Link Rd.
The huts are interesting and very photogenic! Loved Craigs Hut in it’s wonderful setting.
I would recommend this walk to anyone with good fitness and some scrambling ability. It’s not a walk to tackle for your first throughwalk though! We spent the preceeding months doing regular steep hill training as well as steep day and weekend bushwalks. It paid off!
Anna, Robin, Lucy and Gary