Totara Flats Overnight Trip 7th – 8th March 2026
Starting later in the day poses a different set of challenges to our usual method of
heading out early but due to some prior commitments David and I were on our way
out to the Mount Holdsworth carpark just after 1pm.
We met several other members who were on their way out after a long day’s hike
and then started up the Gentle Annie Track towards Rocky Lookout under the clear
sky and hot sun. We made a slow but steady ascent further along the trail past the
turn-off to Mountain Shelter and into the covered section of the track.
We made several short stops, with David decided to handle some minor track
maintenance at one of them by trimming down a previously sawn off sapling. The
terrain in this section of the track is mostly either a steady incline or decline as you
move along the trail with some areas that would prove tricky if a heavy downpour.
We passed over the three bridges safely which signalled that we were fast
approaching the hut, eventually reaching a relatively full hut at some point just after
5:45pm on Saturday evening. David and I both broke out our cooking gear to begin
sorting out dinner and mingled with some of the other people who would be staying there for the night.
After a satisfying dinner I headed off along the trial to the main body of the Flats to
set up my tent for the night, deciding to take advantage of the good weather by
camping out under the stars by myself. David accompanied me to find a good site
and noticed that there had been plenty of signs of pigs rooting in the area but said if I made a bit of noise, it should scare any unwanted company off. It was quiet out there even though there had been mention of approximately 110 Vic Uni Tramping Club students camping on the Flats but the only sign was one who had wandered a little further afield making his way back to their camp.
As the sky darkened David started to make his way back towards the hut I began to
put together my tent and sleeping mat. I enjoyed a relatively peaceful night and then began to quickly break apart my gear in the morning before reconvening at the Hut around 7:30am with David. We wanted to be on our way as soon as possible due to the previously mentioned Uni students making their way along the same trail we were following.
We were safely on our way just after 8:30am with a small amount of drizzle in the
sky and a slight breeze easing our way. We met up with a couple of other people
who had been in the hut and enjoyed their company until we reached the Mountain
Shelter turn-off which seemed to be the first major stopping point for some of the
students who had passed us along the way. Eager to be on our way we left the
others to their lunch and made our way down past Rocky Lookout, eventually
reaching the Mt Holdsworth carpark just after 1:30pm
