First hike with a couple of young kids

[Eberbachl]

Greetings everyone,

First post here - I've been reading and searching and have found some topics of interest about first overnighters. I have a couple of young kids I'd like to take with me and thought I'd ask for some location advice.

I did lots of hiking when I was a young kid in scouts, and in my 20's lots of drive in base camping with Mrs Eberbachl too. I'm pretty fit, but haven't done much hiking in recent years.

My kids are aged 9 & 10 and I'd like to take them out on a few simple overnighters. Keep the distance small and the terrain not too challenging. The brief is to get them out and have some fun so they enjoy the experience for a while before incrementally introducing some challenges later on.

I'd love some suggestions on location - we live in the north east of Melbourne and are happy to travel up to a couple of hours, but would prefer closer. After a little research I'm wondering about Baw Baw, Bunyip State forest, along the Howqua or maybe the Prom?

Many thanks,

Luke.

[akl168]

Hi!

The Baw Baw Plateau might be a good pick. We were there over the Grand Final weekend, hoping to get from the Mt St Gwinear car park to the Phillack Saddle - to set up tents there - and then hike up to Mt Baw Baw and back. But there was too much snow for the kids to post-hole through, so we bailed somewhere in between the Saddle and MBB and headed back to MSG.

It was dry from the car park to MSG - so even if the melt results in a muddy mess, this initial section should be good. We ended up finding a nice flat clearing about 100m east (back towards the car) of the MSG summit, close enough we could walk back up to the summit for dinner and breakfast the next morning.

This trail is wide and an easy walk. And the drive there is nice and short, and the camping is free.

For the Prom, maybe Telegraph Saddle car park to Little Waterloo Bay? I'm not sure what you define as a short walk, but that walk (via Telegraph & Waterloo tracks) is very easy. And LWB is 100% worth the walk.

If you search "kids overnight" in the Vic Trip Report sub-forum, there are some other ideas to tempt you! Have fun!

[Eberbachl]

Thanks for the reply!

I like the sound of the BBP... Will definitely put it on the list. We actually bit the bullet and headed out to The Prom last weekend for an overnighter and did Telegraph Saddle to Sealers Cove. Lovely walk and the kids had a ball. Just challenging enough for them to make it interesting but easily achievable with light packs and plenty of rest stops. Kept the kids' packs down to around 6kg and it all worked really well.

Looking forward to exploring some new locations soon!

[Rosseth]

I've been looking to take my 9yo to the Brisbane ranges (to Old Mill camp site return) or Berripmo (Mt Buangor State Park) for an overnighter. Was the prom very busy (Sealers Cove)?

[Eberbachl]

Brisbane Ranges looks good. Not too far out of Melbourne too. Sealer's Cove had a few people in it. Not what I'd call busy, but I haven't been before so I don't know what's normal. I'd say there were about 14 tents there with three family groups (including mine), a few individuals and some small groups. I'm guessing it gets a lot busier than that in peak season!

[JohnStrider]

Bunyip State Forest is really good. Stayed at Mortimer Picnic Ground and there is some good little tracks nearby for you to do.

You could also camp at Starlings Gap in Warburton. It's part of the Walk Into History trail and offers some good trails. You might even be better off driving a little further east and camping at the Ada Tree camp site. Again, there are a few trails nearby for you to do, plus the Ada Tree itself is fairly impressive and sure to be a winner with the kids.

Others that I've looked into myself but have yet to do are the Brisbane Ranges and the Berripmo trail. Both look very good.

[Rosseth]

Anyone know what Wilsons prom is like people wise mid week? What are the chances of finding yourself with a camp site to yourself (buckles I'm guessing, but thought I'd ask)?

[neilmny]

A way to find out would be to commence a booking for your chosen dates and see how many sites are free on the bookings page. You don't have to commit to do this just throw in your dates and "search".