Distance & Route Total distance from Euroa to Swanpool was under 150 km . Route and tracks taken are systematically covered in the report . Fuel & Supplies Fuel was available at the start and finish . Also a new 24hr self-service fuel facility at Strathbogie . Strathbogie store is highly recommended for food , coffee and other drinks . Toilet facilities at Polly Mc Quinn Reservoir , Strathbogie town , and of course in the forest . Difficulty Level / Vehicle Requirements As it was mostly dry , the tracks were easy-moderate and locally blue . Caravans acceptable on a few but not all tracks . Soft roaders mostly fine . A / T tyres adequate . Tips , Notes and Special Remarks Rooftop map of Benalla , Mansfield and Strathbogie Ranges was ideal . Mobile coverage is incomplete but fine if you can see The Paps or Mt Wombat . No permits required although a small number of track are closed during winter . Best time to visit is anytime of year and plan trips according to weather . Pleasant walking tracks around Strathbogie town , and harder ones in the forest .

Trip Detail

Saturday 3 ^rd October 2020

This was a trip that we unfortunately had to restrict to regional Victorian members . We chose the unconventional meeting point of Euroa , but as it turned out Euroa was equidistant for all vehicles . Once the trip list was finalised it emerged that everyone was somewhat familiar with the main features of the Strathbogie plateau , so a revised itinerary took us farther east to some gold exploration activities and remoter forest tracks . It was an easy drive up the Seven Creeks valley around Mt Wombat , past Polly McQuinn reservoir and on to Strathbogie town to support the local shop . Then we headed east along Tame Rd until the bitumen ended and into the forest along Dry Creek Rd and then Ruoaks Tk to a favourite picnic ground where the bridge was washed out in December 2018 . To our great surprise our taxes had been at work and a new concrete bridge was in place . Just brilliant .

Gerar track closures meant we back tracked onto Goldsworthy tk , Ihur tk , Tallangallook Road and into the old Tallangallook gold mine site . This is normally an isolated saddle with some mine workings from a century ago , but for winter 2000 there has been an exploration camp with caravans , tents and drill rigs operating to test for gold several hundred metres below the open pits . We do not know the results of that drilling but we saw the sample bags ready to be sent off to the assay laboratory for testing .