A criminally underrated multi-day hike in the Gippsland region of Victoria, Lake Tali Karng is home to some spectacular alpine scenery and landscapes.
There are two ways to reach the lake but the purpose of this blog is to focus on the 8.5km hike from McFarlane’s Saddle to Nyimba campsite; a campsite that can only be accessed by foot.
For those of you who have never been to the Lake Tali Karng area, it is located about 5 hours from Melbourne in the Gippsland area. It forms part of the Alpine National Park.
The McFarlane’s Saddle car park is about a 50-minute drive northeast of Licola.
The trail begins on a rocky track through a small section of snow gums and burnt trees. However, within 15 minutes the entire area widens significantly as you enter the Wellington Plains.
It is here that you can expect a fairly well-worn path on your way to the campsite with several more burnt trees and snow gums.
Given the expansive area, you will be treated to excellent views of the various mountains as well as Mt. Wellington which is located to the left of the track.
Furthermore, you will find various little streams along the track with cold running water through it. It is fine to drink out of but if you are a little sceptical always filter it just to be sure.
The entire track is relatively rocky but it wouldn’t be a track that I would classify as difficult. Our group completed it in 2 hours and 49 minutes with 29 minutes worth of breaks
One thing to keep in mind when crossing the plains is how exposed you are to the conditions. We had nothing but sunshine all day, and despite wearing sunscreen, most of us got burnt.
We reached the Nyimba campsite somewhere around 2pm and spent the rest of the afternoon setting up our tents and relaxing.
The campsite itself is a free campsite and has plenty of room for tents. It also has a fairly well-maintained drop toilet. If you are in need of phone reception, it can be found around this area.
Despite the sign at the start of the trail saying that Lake Tali Karng can be reached in 6-9 hours, my advice would be to stretch it out over 2-3 days as we did.
As I will point out in my next blog article, the trail from the campsite to the lake is steep and fairly difficult and both trails should ideally be completed over 2 days.
As per usual, if you are keen to download this section of the Lake Tali Karng trail you can do so here via WikiLoc.
The Stats – Lake Tali Karng: McFarlane’s Saddle to Nyimba Campsite
Length (km): 8.49km (according to WikiLoc)
Time: 2hr 49 mins (2hr 20 mins moving time)
Average Speed: 2.95 km/h
Difficulty: Easy
Maximum Elevation: 1555m
Accum. elev. uphill: 61m
Accum. elev. downhill: 103m
Return/Circuit/One Way: One way/return
Location: Moroka
