 Brumbies of the Snowy River, fridge magnet from the award winning oil painting by Kathy Shell. As part of the Park Champions project, a group of eight volunteers from Conservation Volunteers Australia (CVA) with assistance from Parks Victoria staff based in Bendoc performed valuable erosion control works on the Silver-mine walking track from the 22nd to the 26th of February. The 18 kilometre Silver-mine walking track departs from McKillops Bridge and traverses some of the spectacular country beside the Snowy River at the northern end of the Snowy River National Park in this remote part of East Gippsland. I love East Gippsland and have explored it, extensively on trips without the caravan in tow.. I would have done so again this trip; if it was not that, many of the roads are unsuitable for caravans. We travelled on some roads that were almost, too narrow, as it was. Reg in the passenger seat, was thinking I would be side swiping the trees with our caravan extension mirrors, on his side and needing to put our, low cost car insurance to use and I was feeling, like I was driving down the centre of the road and dreading meeting any oncoming traffic. Therefore, we had to give many of the mountain areas of East Gippsland a miss and will visit them again one day, without the caravan in tow. David Butterworth, Parks Victoria ranger based in Bendoc said, “The steepness of the terrain and the sandy soil make this area susceptible to erosion and with recent heavy rain the track suffered damage.” “With the help of the volunteers many new steps have been installed in the easily eroded sections of the track. These steps will help to retain the track surface while diverting water away from the path,” he continued. There was an old pedestrian footbridge which was badly damaged and likely to become unusable in the future. The CVA volunteers have replaced the bridge with a rock fill and retaining wall which will be less prone to damage and more in keeping with the standard of construction for the track. “The volunteers were also able to spend some time repairing sections of revegetation fencing around the McKillops Bridge day visitor area,” David added. “The team of volunteers were highly motivated and energetic and were able to achieve a great deal in the short time that they were in the area.” Parks Victoria thanks the whole team for their efforts and looks forward to further opportunities to work in partnership with Conservation Volunteers Australia.  Snowy River, brumbies, fridge magnet from the art of Kathy Shell Comments Comments are closed. |
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