McMillans Walking Track question

[AndyCJ]

Hi, I'm planning to doing McMillans Walking Track in April 2025 over 12 dyad with a food drop at Volkswagen camp area.

I live in Castlemaine and maps tells me to take the Freeway over there, then come up to Lincola, through Tamboritha, and past Arbuckle Junction to get to the food drop.

Is this the best 2WD access approach to Volkswagen?

[Xplora]

Might be better posting this in the Victorian section. Perhaps a Mod could move it.

[Joe J]

I hiked the McMillan's track a couple of years ago and also had a food drop at Volkswagen camp. The route you've described to get there is correct and was fine in a 2wd vehicle when I did it. Tamboritha road can get very corrugated and full of potholes at times, just depends when they last graded it. Moroka road also has a section where they don't maintain it, maybe they are trialling something to see how the road fairs. Basically, just drive carefully on it and you should be fine.

[AndyCJ]

I hiked the McMillan's track a couple of years ago and also had a food drop at Volkswagen camp. The route you've described to get there is correct and was fine in a 2wd vehicle when I did it. Tamboritha road can get very corrugated and full of potholes at times, just depends when they last graded it. Moroka road also has a section where they don't maintain it, maybe they are trialling something to see how the road fairs. Basically, just drive carefully on it and you should be fine.

Thanks for this Joe! Much appreciated.

Any key tips for the hike itself?

[Joe J]

When I did it, it was after a few weeks of rain in Victoria and all of the rivers were very high. I thought the hike was going to come to an end at the end of day 1, crossing the Dargo river. River level was too high and flowing too fast to cross. I camped, and in the morning I found a series of logs upstream I could use to cross.
I wouldn't expect the rivers to be at that level at the moment, so you should be fine crossing them; including the 36 crossings of the Crooked River!
My tip would be learn to love the 4wd tracks, especially the ones that go up, then down then up, then down etc...
Overall I enjoyed the hike, but wouldn't do it again. Be prepared for some of the campsites to be overgrown, unless they have been recently cleared.

Good luck.

[Solohike74]

Some sections were recently cleared of overgrowth (within the last 2 years).