The bleak but magnificent Dursley Island, West Cork, Ireland (March 2018)

Major Mitchell Trail Walk

In August 2017 a group of Essendon Bushwalking Club members set out from a point on the Murray River near Boundary Bend on the first stage of a 900km walk to Portland on Victoria’s south-west coast. The plan was to closely follow the route taken by Major Thomas Mitchell in 1836.

Stage 1 was from Passage Camp where Mitchell crossed into Victoria to Nyah which is further upstream. Our accommodation was at Tooleybuc on the NSW side of the Murray. Stage 2 in May 2018 continued to Lake Charm via Swan Hill (where we stayed) and Lake Boga to Lake Charm. In August 2018 we went to Kerang to walk onwards to Mount Hope via Kerang, Cohuna and Leitchville. Stage 4 from Mount Hope to Korong Vale via Pyramid Hill was completed in October 2018. We stayed at Boort for this leg.

In May 2019 we settled into accommodation at St Arnaud to continue our trek via Wedderburn and Carapooee to a point west of Stuart Mill. Stawell was our next home for the walk on to the Wimmera River west of Lubeck in August 2019. In October that year we stayed at Horsham and walked to Mt Arapiles. We were not to know that this would be our last walk before a COVID-enforced break of more than one year.

Finally in March 2021 we travelled to Edenhope to do stage 8 to south of Harrow. Stage 9 had to be shortened when a walker was discovered to have been exposed to COVID at a shopping centre before he left for Casterton. Stages 10 and 11 were based at Casterton (again) and Portland.

The walk was finally completed in August 2022 when Portland was reached.