Year 12 Outdoor and Environmental Studies
Lake Tali Karng Hike – April 2022
Dandenong High School
The Year 12 Outdoor and Environmental Studies group headed out for their second experience of the year early on Monday morning. The destination: Lake Tali Karng, a hidden gem in the remote high country, near Licola in North-Eastern Victoria.
After a long drive, with some stops along the way for educational sessions, the group arrived at the trail head. It was a lovely sunny but chilly day in the mountains and the first day’s hike was a relatively easy ten kilometres across Wellington Plains to Nyimba campsite. The group walked well and we were able to set up our tents and start a fire before the frost rolled in just after sunset.
The second day was the most difficult day of hiking, with a very steep descent to Lake Tali Karng. Unfortunately, due to the recent high levels of rain, the water level was much higher than usual and our planned lunch on the beach was not possible. Instead we found a lovely grassy area to stop, have lunch and relax in preparation for the Valley of Destruction. It lived up to its name, with a steep, rocky descent the group took a long time to reach the campsite just before dark, having walked twelve tough kilometres for the day.
The last day of walking saw the group complete 13 river crossings as the track weaved its way down the Wellington River Valley. This was the most fun day with mostly easy walking interspersed by splashing across a knee to waist deep river. We had a long lunch in the early afternoon then pushed on to the finishing point, exhausted but fulfilled having challenged ourselves with such a tough hike.
We camped the night at the bus, happy with the opportunity to put on some dry clothes and warm up by the fire. In the morning, the group packed up quickly and headed back to Licola to complete a Journal SAC. They reflected on their experience by linking the trip back to our classroom work. Then all that was left was the drive home and dreaded pack up.
Overall, the experience was quite challenging, but the group worked together well to overcome it over three days. The next experience will be luxurious in comparison, with our final camp for the year coming up in Term 3. Finally, a special thanks to Miss Harrington and Miss Le Lievre who joined Mr Greaves and students on this trip.
Mr Greaves
12OES