Mt Howitt and the Macalister 



n was the Bairnsdnjc CtUh ihat 

 united us to spend the long (wei) 

 weekend m January among the Mj'n 



mountains norih of Heytield. As 

 things turned out, the heaviest rains 

 fell mainly on the plains Oi C.ipps 

 land, whereas we. the I atrohe Valley 

 \aimahsts, literally lived up in Ihe 

 clouds, or at most, in a light drizzle, 



liy the lime this set in on ihe 

 I ridav evening there were eight 

 ^separate camps round ihe hut at 

 How in Springs, including Ihal of Mr. 

 Man Morrison, our ollicial leailei. 

 and at Ihe sole represent. e 01 "in 

 host club. Mr. Keith Rogers, who 

 had managed to slip through Ivloiv 

 Ihe Avon River rose in its wiath We 

 were lo heai later that a party from 

 Ihe eilv was maiooued in Hcyfield 

 when the Thomson closed the loads 

 behind them anil ihe Maealister 

 ripped the roadbeds Ironi round us 

 bridges above Cilenmaggic 



Those of us who eoukl manage It 

 went up on Fridaj . lor the weather 

 forecast was reasonable and the 

 morning's deluge easing off The 

 foothills weie bathed in bright sun- 

 shine. Past Cilenfalloch a slop was 

 made lo look al the log stockade 

 built long ago by one of the liur 

 goyne brolhers as a sheeplold lii Keep 

 the dingoes olT his llocks al inglu 

 Great tree Hunks were sawn into 

 lengths and upended to stand side 

 by side on their own leet. Others 

 not so heavy were sunk into the 

 earth like posts. The sis fool walls 

 enclose perhaps half an acre on ihe 

 point of a spur, reinforced bv living 

 tree holes thai happened to be in 



line. On ihe Iwo long sides ih t 

 ground I alls sharply away into ttfl, 

 lies This Interesting old structure i, 

 in the process ot decay, boih li) 

 reason of its age and by the ueprc 

 dalions of passu, g s .iinl.ils. 50 ih;ii | 

 resembles a soil of wooden .Stone I 

 henge. 



Along the \ alley Oi the Wellington 

 River the usual clouds of purple diN 

 aiosc Horn ihal dry haish couiilrv. 

 a dust that proved useful later u 

 warning us of ihe approach of the 

 laden limber trucks hurtling down 

 Ihe range. Up 011 lamboritha the 

 track is lined by dense walls of 

 Alpine Ash saplings that mink the 

 path ol ihe destructive Btt [farj 

 cnaged that mountain eouniiy :i lew 

 yeais .igo. These young trees nrc a 

 beautiful soft blue-grey in the niven- 

 ile siaye. with splashes of hnghi 

 eoloui wheie some of the older 

 le.iu-s have turned crimson. The 

 I low 111 road was new' to us, ti ridge 

 route with some splendid visias "1 

 stone laced cra^s and deep gorges 

 where cotton -wool clouds hrrked 

 l ^cr\ now and then the way crowd 

 llowcr-bcdeckcd meadows, a constant 

 tcinpi itti>n to stop and browse among 

 trigger-plants and daisies. 



T he How hi Plains are long OpM 

 stretches of snow grass and low 

 shruhben, sloping from trcc-girl 

 rises to cvnmil wwcrways that ha\r 

 been eroded ami widened bv Cattle 

 playing and sliding down the b.mkv 

 It was a considerable surprise 10 fpil 

 these plains mostly fenced and entile- 

 sjr.dded. some of them pnvnicb 

 owned No doubl Ihe grassland I 



Vitl Nat Vc) 8? 



