Making the most of the weekend, I set off in the farm truck (UTE) towards Mount Buller for a day of walking.
Not that I needed to worry about this sign today
Mount Buller is a town located in the Shire of Mansfield in the Alpine region of the Australian state of Victoria. The town is located approximately 208 kilometres (129 mi) east of Melbourne on the slopes of Mount Buller.[2]
Primarily a resort town, Mount Buller is popular with snowsports enthusiasts in winter due to its close location to Melbourne. At the 2011 census, Mount Buller had a population of 242.
There are several tracks through the alpine village, so I decided to join them all together for the full experience!
The Summit Nature Walk passes through a number of interesting and diverse vegetation zone, including Heathland, Snow Gum Woodland and Alpine Bog. The trail to the summit offer spectacular 360 degree views from an altitude of 1805 metres.
Burnt Hut Reservoir - on average Mt Buller uses 400 million litres of water each year. The village requires about 100-150 million litres, with 250-300 million litres being used for snowmaking. The peak demand is in winter when the resort caters for thousands of guests and makes snow to supplement the natural snowfall.
Although a relatively large amount of precipitation falls on Mt Buller, water storage Is continually pumped up to the mountain. The water contained in the Burnt Hut Reservoir I spumed up from Boggy Creek. Boggy Creek drains a small catchment area on the northern slopes of Mt Buller and runs into the Delatite River Diverting too much water from it's natural course can have a detrimental affect on the health of the rivers downstream. Water from Burnt Hut Reservoir is pumped up to a second storage dam near the summit of directly to the village/
On it's journey from Boggy Creek, water is pumped uphill more than 300m in altitude, consuming considerable amounts of electricity.
Grassland is a major part of the vegetation above the treeline. By exploiting the marginally warmer microclimate close to the soil, grasses are able to survive in conditions which are too cold for trees.
Grasslands are a great place to watch for birds such as the Australian Kestrel which can be seen hovering lower and lower, finally plunging down to seize prey such as lizards, grasshoppers, beetles and moths.
Richard's Pipit is known to construct ground level nests lined with grass and leaves, amongst thick vegetation in open heathland and grasslands.
Invertebrates at Mt Buller include the Mountain Spotted Grasshopper
which routinely eats its own weight in mint-bush leaves, and the Mountain Grasshopper, known locally as the Buller Bug
which shows bright red and blue warning bands when disturbed.
The Summit - The Australian Alps are home to Australia's highest mountain. Many of these can be seen in the distance. The summit of Mt Buller is 1805m above sea level, 400m below Mt Kosciuszko, Australia's tallest mountain.
Looking back down to Mansfield
Alpine and subalpine environments occupy 03.15% of Australia (including Tasmania).
Snow Gum Woodlands (Eucalyptus) is the defining plant of the Australian Alps. The Snow Gum gives Australia's snowfields a distinctive appearance found nowhere else in the world. With it's many gnarled, twisted trunks and intricately patterned bark, it is one of the most memorable trees in the mountains.
Sometimes found at elevations of up to 1,800m, the Snow Gum grows at a higher elevation than any other Australian tree.
the multi-stemmed form of these Snow Gums is the result of a bushfire ion 1939. following a severe fire, the upper parts of the tree die, but the lignotuber beneath the ground can survive. New leaves and shoots sprout directly from the lignotuber, eventually growing into new trunks and branches.
Fire Spotting - providing a 360 degree view of the surrounding region, the summit of Mount Buller serves as an excellent vantage point for the purpose of spotting fires.
In this image, you can see the fire spotting hut on the right, the ski resort and chair lift on the right, and small controlled burning bush fires in the middle.
Since the 1940's the fire spotting hut has been manned seven days a week during the high fire danger period of summer. Early detection of fires enables a swift response, preventing the loss of life and property.
In 2006 three fires threatened the resisdents of Mount Buller as trees fell blocking road access and fuelled by 124km/h winds. Today, the devestation caused is still obvious
From the top of Mt Buller, I looked across at Little Mt Buller - my next destination
The trail crossed several ski runs which look like strange scars in the summer landscape
and then on through some dense trees
Before emerging at the top to look back to Mt Buller
It seemed the small bush fires were even closer from here
Mt Buller was first skid in the 1920's when skiing was a much more challenging prospect than it is today. During the 1950's the first rope tow was installed, the precursor to the modern high-speed chair lifts used in the resort today.
I couldn't resit stopping for a sit down, with no worries of being taken up the hillside
I don't think this ski run would be on my to-do list
On the way back down the mountain I stopped for a closer look at something that caught my attention on the way up
It seems I wasn't the only one on the mountain
although I'm not sure when they were last home
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