4WD Touring Australia – June 2018

1. CLEAR LINE TRACK

CRAIG’S HUT

The Track: The only real 4WDing necessary

to access the hut is the trail leading up from

the Circuit Road, known as Clear Hill Track.

The track is as narrow as it is steep, although

not particularly heavy going in dry condi-

tions. The biggest challenge on this route

is negotiating other vehicles, especially on

long weekends and school holidays.

The Hut: No hut is more iconic than this

oft-photographed landmark, which sits

astride Mount Stirling. Originally constructed

as a set for The Man From Snowy River lm,

it was opened up to visitors in the early 90s.

Free camping is available at the Craigs Hut

campground with 20 sites available on a

rst in best-dressed basis.

FIVE HUTS, FIVE TRACKS

This is all about iconography, of pairing red-letter offroad drives with

the huts that look over each of them like sentinels. Of course, on many

occasions these huts also have adjacent campgrounds to post up for

the night.

2. BENTLEY PLAIN ROAD

MOSCOW VILLA

The Track: We checked in with Shannon

Peters from the Victorian High Country

Huts Association to get the lowdown on

the driving near Moscow Villa: “Bentley

Plain Road is almost an all-weather road,

but if you’re planning a trip in the winter,

be prepared to put chains on. This place

sees a lot of snow over the cooler months

and there are still great 4WD tracks to be

found even when the gates are closed, so

whether it’s a hard winch slog up South

Escarpment Track in the snow, or tackling

mud on the lower slopes this place has

something for everyone.”

The Hut: The writing is on the wall at this

place, and it’s been here since wayward

travellers rst started posting up here in

the 1940s. That writing happens to be in

the form of charcoal and Nikko pen saluta-

tions across the walls, much of it done by

relight. Of course, there’s an adjacent

campground to return to after warming

your cockles by the hut’s replace.

TRAVEL

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