Walhalla to Licola via Burgoyne's Track [Club 4x4 Trip]

My nan used to take us to Walhalla when we were kids, The 3 things I mainly remember are;

-We stayed in an old cabin with no electricity.
-My sister got leeches on her in the creek that runs through the town.
-There's a cricket pitch on top of a big hill in the bush.

I raced my sister down that hill and swear it was the fastest I've ever run, I remember absolutely FLYING down there.

So I was eager to revisit the old town. Unfortunately time got away from me a bit, and could only spend a few minutes wondering around the township before I headed off to Meringtons campground to meet the crew from Club 4x4. Stunning town though, a time capsule from it's glory days in the glittering gold rush.

I'm still pretty bad at estimating drive times from maps, especially when it comes to slow mountain roads. So getting to Meringtons via the scenic route along the old gravel Walhalla rd took much longer than expected. But no harm done, the sunset over the hills was a beauty.

It's an easy track, 2-wheel drive accessible and I think I only saw 1 other car on it.

Meringtons is a massive campground with toilets and firepits, and it was PACKED. There was some kind of 4x4 event on so there were loads of nice rigs at the site. Not to mention an IRL manifestation of an Adventure Kings catalog. I dont really like camping among loads of people, but everyone was well behaved, so no biggie. I cooked snags on the fire and knocked a few beers back and I was done.

Note to self: buy some camp lights. Cooking in the dark sucked.

The next day the 4x4 adventure began in earnest, with 2 groups of cars following Borgoyne track down to Macalister River. Unfortunately another club member blew their front diff on the first steep hill!. We managed to use his winch and my winch simultaneously to get him down safely. Getting the Patrol down the ascent backwards was pretty hairy too, I had to ride the handbrake hard to get the car to stop, but all worked out, and we pressed on.

Burgoyne's track was absolutely amazing. Stunning mountainside drives along epic ridgelines. Champagne Victorian High Country driving. I hadn't actually heard of Burgoyne's track, but it's well worth doing.

The tracks are steep and shaley, but in decent condition. No major ruts, wash outs or 'challenges' as of May 2025. But big drops and slippery rocks aplenty - care required!

The Macalister Gorge campsite (and plenty of other campsites on route) would be awesome in the summer. Crystal clear water and easy access for swimming. But we were dealing with temps between 0-10 degrees celcius, so that wasn't on the cards.

A big toasty fire, some pasta and maybe a little too much whiskey with the crew had me tucked in bed, probably snoring my face off.

Day 3 had us heading to the small town of Licola, via Mt Margaret. The first day's track were mostly rocky, but now we hit clay. Moist, slippery clay. However, the roads had been graded recently, and evidently bushfire must have come through in the summer time. Tracks had been bulldozed to be 15-25 metres wide, making more of a firebreak I guess? It's very sad to see more forest being destroyed, but maybe in this age of frequent-bushfires, those breaks are a necessity. Beautiful scenery again, but a landscape scarred.

Hitting Licola, we grabbed a pie from the general store and went our seperate ways. Fuel is available in Licola, but very expensive at around $2.65 a litre for diesel. Fortunately I had enough to fuel to make it to Heyfield and pay ordinary prices 😂.

Awesome trip, need to go back in warmer weather!