Alpine NP is Victoria’s largest national park, popular with bushwalking during the summer and some of the best Australian ski resorts during the winter. There are also some historical huts, beautiful wildflowers and Alpine vegetation. Here is some information about the park, and in the end of the page is a map of the area.
Alpine High Country The 646,000-hectares Alpine National Park covers a large area of Australia’s alpine high country and includes most of Victoria’s highest peaks like Mount Bogong, Mount Feathertop, Mount Hotham, Mount Buffalo, Mount Buller, Mount Stirling and Mount Howitt. Between the mountains there are open plains, steep valleys, wild rivers and some great views of impressive rock formations. It is traversed by long walking tracks and surrounded by beautiful towns like Harriettville, Bogong, Omeo, Swifts Creek, Bruthen, Bairnsdale, Maffra, HeyfieldErica, Jamieson, Howqua and mansfield. It is east of the area that was most damaged in 2009 Victoria bushfires.
Aboriginal and European History Aboriginal people visited the area over thousands of years during the summer to eat the nutritious bogong moths which migrate here. They also hold ceremonies while in the Alpine area. European pastoralists started to move to the area in 1830s and built the historical huts that now are scattered around the alpine country. Gold rushes pulled prospectors to the high country from 1850s, and history from these times can today be seen in towns like Dargo, Mitta Mitta, Harrietville, Bright and Omeo.
Alpine Vegetation Alpine National Park contains the greatest range of flora and fauna in Victoria. There are more than 1100 native plants species, twelve of which, including silky daisy and bogong daisy-bush, are endemic to the park (meaning they are found no-where else in the world). Alpine vegetation changes with altitude. On lower slopes, alpine ash forests are abundant, but as you go higher up, snow gums and other more cold-resistant species take over. Above the tree-line where it is too cold for trees to grow, are heathlands, grasslands and herbfields, known for the beautiful Alpine wildflowers during the summer months.
Alpine Animals and Birds Alpine animals have adapted to the extreme cold conditions of Australian Alps: Common wombat, smoky mouse, broad-toothed rat, spotted tree frog and she-oak skink. Little ravens and powerful owls inhabit the area, and the mountain pygmy-possum which is only found in a few areas of Australia's high country, is the only exclusively alpine marsupial and it survives the winters by storing food (mostly bogong moths) to last over the winter.
Summer - Bushwalking During the summer, the Alpine National Park is a great place for bushwalking. There are many walking tracks, but the most famous is the 65km-long Australian Alps Walking Track between Canberra in east and Walhalla in south. If you are not a bushwalker, there are also opportunities for horse riding, mountain climbing, fishing, canoeing and four-wheel driving.
Winter - Australian Ski Resorts During the winter, it’s all about snow and the most famous ski resorts include Mt Baw Baw, Mt Buller, Mt Hotham, Falls Creek and Mt Buffalo. Cross-country skiing can be done at Lake Mountain, Mt Bogong, Mt St Gwinear and Mt Stirling. Many access roads can be closed during the snowy season, you can check the road conditions at the Victoria Snow Report website.
Here's a map of Alpine National Park, where I have tagged the places that I mentioned on this web page. You can click on the tags to see what places they are, and double-click anywhere on the map to zoom it in and see the places closer. Drag the map to move around, and if you want to see the satellite image with Google Earth, click on "Sat" in the top right hand corner.
NOTE: This website is written in British English, which is the English we use in Australia. You will find words like "traveller", "harbour" and "realise", and they are all correct in the language used in Australia.
