Mount Donna Buang - Cement Creek & Mt Victoria Hike (7.7km)

This Mount Donna Buang via Cement Creek and Mount Victoria hike is officially closed. Parks Victoria will not reveal if or when it will be reopened. While the top half is fine, the lower part in the rainforest is difficult to follow after being closed for a few years. If you choose this route, pay careful attention to staying on the track.

This hike is a one way hike that requires a car shuffle. If you want to walk back to your cars along the road this will add an additional 5km to your hike.

The walk is Medium Plus grade, 8 km long, and will take a reasonably fit group about 4 hours including a few breaks. Add an hour if you will be walking the last 4½ km down the road rather than driving back to the start. This is the most attractive walk in the Warburton area and is mostly through cool temperate rainforest. So while it involves a 750 metre climb, it is well worth the effort. Most of the walk is moderately graded except for two short but fairly steep sections near the start. If it has rained or there is snow on the ground, there will be water on the track for the first kilometre and it may be difficult to keep your feet dry, so carry a spare pair of dry socks.

The ascent via Cement Creek and Boobyalla Saddle.

The track immediately plunges into tall eucalypt forest and crosses Cement Creek and some tributaries by a combination of bridges and stepping stones. If it has rained recently or there is snow on the ground, the first 1½ km can be quite wet and muddy with water running down the track. Soon the track begins to climb up on the north side of the creek. This is actually an old cable haulage tramline where logs were winched down the mountain. There are a few diversions where trees have fallen over the track, but it essentially continues in a straight line parallel to the creek. This is the steepest part of the walk, so take a few breaks and look around at the forest. Below the towering Mountain Ash canopy, you will see a rainforest understory of Tree Ferns, Sassafras, Blackwood and Myrtle Beech.

Soon the old cable haulage finishes and you emerge onto a flat section where the tramway was horse drawn before the climb resumes for a short distance. Soon after the end of this second climb, the scenery changes from rainforest with a Mountain Ash overstory to more open Alpine Ash woodland. Follow the track through the tall trees and just as they are changing to Snowgums, you will arrive at a track junction at Boobyalla Saddle.

Take a breather before the final section to the summit. Turn left and head south along an undulating track. There is an especially attractive spot where the track passes through a pure stand of Myrtle Beech. Before long, it joins a Melbourne Water road. Turn left and continue south for a few hundred metres until a dip in the road. Just as it starts to climb, take a track to the left heading into the forest. There is a short climb up a former ski run through beech and eucalypts and soon you will emerge at the the summit.

The summit boasts an impressive 21 metre high lookout tower with a curious double helix staircase. The view from the top is spectacular. Nearby is a slightly squalid shelter hut with partially open sides and a toilet block. At busy times in winter, there may be a caravan selling snacks.

The descent via Mount Victoria.

From the observation tower, walk 100 metres east to the toilet block. Contour north across the top of a fenced off former ski run. Soon you will pick up a good track that heads downhill, roughly paralleling the fence line. In snow the route is fairly clear and it is marked with occasional red metal arrows. At the bottom of the ski run is the ruin of an old ski lodge.

Soon you will reach a junction with a track to the right heading south to Ten Mile picnic area. Take the left hand track which stays fairly level for 2 km to Mount Victoria. The top is barely perceptible as it is really a knoll on a spur that looks like a mountain from near Warburton. The track then descends to a telephone tower. From here there is a short section of gravel road before the main sealed Donna Buang Road. If you have left a car here, drive down to the start of the walking track, otherwise it is an easy hour's walk along the road to your cars.

Winter

The Cement Creek walk is especially attractive for experienced groups in winter, although snow conditions in July and August make things a little harder. However walking through a silent beech forest in deep snow is a truly wonderful experience and rare outside Tasmania. Everyone in the group should have a good quality raincoat that won't tear on scrub as well as overpants, gloves, a warm hat, telephone and a spare pair of warm, dry socks. The snow can be quite deep, so it will be useful if at least one person in the group has snowshoes to help pack down the track.

While you should have a GPS, navigation in snow isn't too much of a problem on most of the route except for the top section of the track paralleling Cement Creek before Boobyalla Saddle. Keep an eye out for the markers nailed to trees on this section. They are more easily seen looking downhill, so make sure you turn around frequently so as to stay on the track.