The Victorian Government topographic map clearly shows Devils Creek Road winding from the Buckland Valley Road to Demon Ridge. I set out to explore this road today, planning to head up the slopes in Suzie and walk the ridge.
The road is signposted from the Buckland Valley, but stops at a gate after about 500 metres.
Not to be deterred, and armed with a public map showing a public road, I parked at the gate and started exploring on foot.
There were some early setbacks. I reached a point where, to continue, I either had to cross three barbed wire fences or climb down and up two-metre creek banks. I chose the latter.
The “road” after that was little more than vehicle tracks in the grass. I had to ford the creek and then it was pretty obvious that I was on private property. Open pasture rolled onwards up the valley, with no evidence of any road.
The scenery was breathtaking. Being late winter everything was verdant. At 9.30am there was a light frost in the shade and mist rising like steam as the sun climbed higher. Behind me, to the west, Mount Buffalo was snowcapped and stunning.
I followed the vehicle tracks, but these fizzled out on the edge of the property and were probably made just to navigate the farm. I was on the verge of giving up when I saw a track crossing the creek in the north-east corner of the paddock.
This at least was a proper track and raised hope that it was my elusive road as marked on the map.
The walk from here was most enjoyable. The track runs beside the creek up a narrow valley. There were four more creek crossings, none too difficult.
I’m sure this track is rarely used; in fact I considered the notion I might have been the first person to travel there in a year or more.
The bushfire had blazed through this little valley last year, but everything was green and fresh. Some large gum trees showed fire damage on the bottom of their trunks, but were otherwise unharmed.
Convinced that I had found the “road” it was therefore puzzling when the track stopped dead. It was at a delightful place where two small mountain streams come together. Disappointed, I had no option but to return as the bush was too dense to penetrate.
I strongly recommend this walk as a way to explore some beautiful country. The difficulties are overcoming the initial obstacles, finding the track and crossing private property. There were no signs prohibiting entry, but due courtesy should be observed.
