After some lovely walks on my last camping trip, I had itchy feet to get going again. But with wet weather forecast, a short trip seemed the best option.
So on Monday, I headed off to Broken Creek Bush Camp near Benalla for two nights. I’d heard lots of good reviews of this place. And I wasn’t disappointed. It was pretty quiet, so it was easy to find a spot well away from others, but still near the amenities. There’s a huge camp kitchen that had a roaring fire going all day and evening. Just two toilets and two showers though, so I imagine that would be an issue when it’s busy. Checking in and paying the $10/night fee and $15 for a wheelbarrow full of firewood was all done on an honesty system.
After a peaceful first night, Mala and I headed into Reef Hills State Park for a 9 km walk, using a reasonably accurate map from All Trails. There were a few cars driving around the forest – and one old camouflage-painted campervan doing a little hooning – but other than that there didn’t appear to be anyone out walking. We got 5 km into the walk before it started to rain. Thankfully, it was pretty light and while the tracks became slippery, they were manageable.
The next day, we headed to Dookie to walk the original section of the rail trail – 9.6 km return. It was a cold and foggy morning, and combined with the bitumen track surface, my arthritic joints were really feeling it towards the end of the walk. Wet shoes also led to a couple of small blisters – ouch. Other than that, it was a lovely, peaceful walk – and again, we saw no one else out on the track.
I’ll certainly come back to Broken Creek Bush Camp. But not in summer. This place would be very dry and with only eucalypts (which I love, btw), there would be minimal shade.
Dey Alexander 
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