b'be a great idea as it gave us someMedium tracks to negotiate and somespectacular views from the summit(marked by a cairn I had campedbeside nearly 30 years ago), as thesmoke had now been blown away byan afternoon breeze. We followed Mt Circuit Trip Wellington Track all the way to MillersHut for another stop.This was like an oasis amongst thedevastation of recent fires in the area.Prue explained how the hut had beenspecifically saved only months earlierby firefighters wrapping it in a specialfire resistant foil. Millers Hut wouldmake a splendid overnight campsite.Retracing our path, we returned to theTamboritha Rd and eventually found apleasant campsite close to Licola andon the banks of the Wellington River.This first night passed uneventfully formost, except Prue who encountered asmall bat flying around her camper inthe middle of the night. Rather thanwake the camp, she spent the night inthe cab of her Toyota!Day 22 JanuaryAfter Chris has finished changing overa wheel with a suspect bulge in theside of a tyre, we headed back toLicola to obtain a situation updateAs our party climbed into the hills, the Talbotville and the rest of the ANP, from the General Store. This wouldsmoke haze we had observed earlier but we werent going to see it today! then help to inform our next move,became thicker. Peaks that would We chatted with the Parks Vic ranger and also meant that if people wantednormally be easy to spot were lost in in the fire tower, and presented him to leave the trip or it had to bethe dense smoke. This smoke was with a photo David had brought of a abandoned then it would be easy tocoming from Gippsland, as there was previous visit to an older version of return to safer areas in the south. Theno actual fire threat close by. the fire tower in the 1970s. The ranger Licola store keeper was very helpful,Stopping briefly at the lookout on the was able to tell us that there were especially as he had the only InternetTamboritha Rd, we chatted with a fires near Buller and Blue Rag, so the connection in town! We confirmedlocal farmer and his wife who were Dargo High Plains Rd was closed. that Dargo High Plains Rd was stilltransporting bales of hay to some of Talbotville was still open, but who closed due to extensive fire activity.their animals grazing on their Alpine knew for how long and it was This ruled out any visit to Blue Rag,properties. effectively a dead end with a long, Bright or even Mt Buffalo for thatArriving at The Pinnacles for lunch, we slow climb if escape was necessary. matter. In our group meeting I sug-walked to the fire tower to take in the So, we enacted Plan B and headed gested we head for Jamieson, via Mtmagnificent views of even thicker back towards Licola. Skene. From Jamieson we might besmoke blanketing the area. On the way back, Prue suggested able to complete a road run north toSomewhere out there was Billy Goat, visiting Mt Wellington. This proved to Cheshunt to pick up our original routeTRACKWATCHJUNE 2021 23'