High Country Life

Nature enthusiasts and adventure seekers will delight in this all-season national park offering mountain hikes, alpine lakes, and exhilarating rock climbing adventures – it truly offers something for every outdoor adventure enthusiast! Free entry and all season open access – this national park makes for the ideal outdoor experience destination!

Gorge Day Visitor Area lies just north of Bright, and offers stunning mountain panoramas as well as numerous walking paths and breathtaking lookouts to discover. There’s also an incredible diversity of plant species here!

History

Mount Buffalo National Park has long been known to draw visitors with its majestic gorge and plateau scenery. A year-round destination, this all-seasons destination features sheer cliffs, towering granite tors, and cascading waterfalls – first designated a national park back in 1898, it has since expanded gradually to cover most of the mountain range itself as well as surrounding slopes.

The Gorge area is home to towering granite cliffs over 300 metres tall that offer incredible views over Ovens and Buckland Valleys, making for fantastic walks such as Gorge Walk with spectacular panoramic vistas. Furthermore, these cliffs host world-renowned rock climbing and abseiling activities.

Aboriginals were among the earliest alpine tourists, making summer ascents to Mount Buffalo and other Alpine areas to collect protein-rich Bogong moth colonies that clustered in rock crevices. Later in the 19th Century, squatters and miners discovered this region which became a favorite spot for cattle grazing, mining and hiking activities. A railway extension to Bright opened it up for tourism; and by 1910 a stately Mount Buffalo Chalet had been constructed on its 1,400-metre cliff face – now listed on Victorian Heritage Register.

Over 90km of walking tracks run throughout the park, from short strolls to challenging day hikes across its plateau. The Gorge Day Visitor Area near Chalet provides several spectacular vantage points such as Bents Lookout and Echo Point which offer unparalleled views of the Gorge as well as its surrounding valleys and peaks.

The plateau is home to an enchanting assortment of alpine plants unique to its environment, such as snow daisies, yellow billy buttons and fern-leaf heath myrtle – not forgetting wombats, lyrebirds, alpine dingoes and koalas!

The Park is an all-year destination, from skating and tobogganing in winter months to hiking, picnicking and guided outdoor adventure activities in summer. Camping is permitted at Lake Catani Campground.

Waterfalls

Mount Buffalo’s waterfalls are among the top tourist draws. Frothing over from the crystal-clear waters of Ladies Bath Pool and Crystal Brook, these falls provide a cool escape from summer heat while offering amazing photo opps when covered with snowfall. Popular among High Country locals who need an escape, they also serve as popular swimming spots and offer quick ways to beat heat waves with quick dips into its cooling waters.

The Gorge Heritage Walking Track is the easiest and best way to view waterfalls, easily accessible from the car park. This walk offers many views while featuring interpretive signs describing its history and natural wonders; other dramatic rock formations can be best seen from Bents Lookout, Echo Point or at historic Mount Buffalo Chalet.

Mount Buffalo National Park was first reserved by Victoria in 1898 and features 31,000 hectares. Access is free year-round to this 31k park boasting sheer cliffs, granite tors, waterfalls, alpine grasslands and breathtaking wildflower displays – creating an ‘island in the sky’ landscape that truly deserves exploring!

As you explore this area, you will notice that its vegetation changes as altitude does. Peppermint forests, tall stands of alpine ash and snow gum woodlands as you progress further uphill, as well as sub-alpine grasslands and bogs at higher elevations all coexist in harmony here.

This rugged landscape supports an abundance of plants and animals, such as endangered Wombats and Koalas. Additionally, many native animals such as Lyrebirds, Kestrels and Alpine Dingos live here too – it makes for great bushwalking, mountain biking and hang gliding opportunities!

Visitors to the Gorge can take advantage of over 90km of walking tracks, guided outdoor adventure activities, picnic areas and camping facilities at Lake Catani Park – located only minutes from Bright and Myrtleford. For more information visit their website.

Lookouts

The Gorge National Park boasts numerous breathtaking lookouts offering incredible Alpine vistas. It’s the ideal spot for picnicking or short hikes – as well as being popular among locals who come here to watch sunrises and sunsets!

The Big Walk is Australia’s most beloved walk, taking in diverse landscapes, rock formations, views and flora zones as it ascends steadily from Gorge Day Visitor Area. Over its 11 km (6.8 mi), visitors will pass Crystal Brook Falls and Pulpit Rock while passing Mount Buffalo Chalet which was established as Australia’s inaugural ski resort in 1910.

Take time to admire The Horn Lookout, an impressive rocky peak and highest point on Mount Buffalo plateau. On a clear day you can witness breathtaking views across high country as well as alpine peaks such as Mount Bogong and Feathertop from here.

Dingo Dell offers another stunning viewpoint near Mount Buffalo Chalet. Over 100 years ago, Alice Manfield (daughter of pioneer James Manfield), known as Guide Alice after becoming popular as a mountain guide and naturalist during her travels as Guide Alice led many tourists up Mount Buffalo; evidence of her love for this area can still be seen today at Dingo Dell.

Mount Buffalo provides an unforgettable adventure experience all year long, providing breathtaking waterfalls cascading down sheer cliffs, lake-filled glacial streams and camping along Lake Catani for cool alpine air and bushwalking opportunities in autumn.

The park is home to an abundance of wildlife, and you may encounter wombats, lyrebirds, koalas, possums, wallabies and alpine dingoes among many other native creatures. Also look out for rare alpine silver xenica butterfly that exclusively inhabits Mount Buffalo Plateau.

Camping

Mount Buffalo plateau’s cool alpine air and stunning scenery makes this year-round destination worth exploring. Indulge in activities like bushwalking, canoeing, swimming, picnicking and sightseeing as well as outdoor adventure pursuits such as abseiling, mountain biking and climbing!

The Gorge Day Visitors Area features the historic Mount Buffalo Chalet and breathtaking views of sheer granite cliffs that plunge into Ovens Valley. Additionally, Gorge Walks provide easy access to incredible vantage points as well as beautiful alpine panoramas.

Camping at the Gorge is truly special – campsites are set among native settings filled with ferns, ancient trees and the flowing creek surrounded by bushland and boulders – not forgetting a cricket ground with extra picnic tables and fireplace (useable only during fire danger periods)! Additionally, The Gorge Heritage Walk allows visitors to traverse all three campsites along a track which follows in the footsteps of early guides who brought tourists through this scenic region.

There are various other ways to explore the park, with over 90km of walking tracks and opportunities to camp on a wilderness ridge near Lake Catani. Lake Catani itself features its own spectacular alpine wilderness area teeming with native wildlife such as wombats, lyrebirds and kestrels along with alpine dingoes and wallabies that call its mesmerising granite boulders home.

This area is a popular rock climbing destination, boasting some of Australia’s best traditional climbing routes on amazing granite. Additionally, its diverse geology provides everything from smooth slabs and jamming cracks to epic 300m vertical walls forming amazing vertical walls – offering rock climbers something different than other locations!

The Gorge is an ideal camping spot for families with young children as the water continuously runs year-round and the surrounding rocks offer safe places for children to climb and scramble around. Campsites are shaded by forest canopy while riverbank provides children with ample room to play games. Amenities available at the Gorge include toilets, barbecues and small stores as well as several eateries and picnic areas – perfect for family camping trips!