Kelly cave (Beechworth). Medium + a little exploratory, approx. 15km

Date/Time
Date(s) - 15 May 2022

Category(ies)

  • Grade 3 Medium
  • Leader: David G
  • Phone: 0432 632 142 after 7pm the Wednesday-Thursday leading up to the walk please
  • Participant numbers:
  • Final booking date:

  • Key risks - slipping on loose dirt or damp grass on slopes near Kelly caves, and/or in the gorge above Barry falls

1 – Note the date change (it was originally tentatively scheduled for 1 May)

2 – Following a recce, the Barry waterfall (on the original description) is barely flowing (unlikely to change before the walk) so we’ll skip that and do the following instead. This drops the distance and difficulty from a medium-hard to a medium.

We’ll meet in Beechworth and then convoy to the starting point of the walk (only 10-15 minutes). I’m not planning on a general car-pool from Wodonga, but let me know when calling to book in if you need transport to Beechworth and I can see if another driver will be able to take you.

The first 5km are easy walking (relatively flattish) on a well-maintained but quiet 4WD track with the Beechworth historic park (forest) on one side and open farmland on the other. We then leave the track and head into the forest to the cave, which is part of a large rock outcropping overlooking Woolshed valley.

We won’t be following a proper track for this part – instead we’ll be pushing through the scrub for roughly 500m. The cave is on a steep slope which is likely to have slippery rock and loose dirt/vegetation. I have the location in my GPS, but there is no path so we might take a less than ideal route.

After morning tea we’ll head back through the scrub up the slope to rejoin the track. We’ll then continue another 100m along the track before ‘going bush’ again to look at a prominent rock formation – any scrambing on the rocks is voluntary. We’ll then go back to the track, and continue another 100m along the track before ‘going bush’ again to look at another prominent rock formation. I think there is another ‘cave’ in this area, but I’m not sure and haven’t been able to nail the location down.

We’ll have lunch at an appropriate time and then return the 5-6km to the cars.

Most of this walk is on good 4WD/unsealed road. But we will have to go slow and take care on the off-track sections, particularly when we are near the slopes/gorges.

Please call to book in after 7pm on Wednesday or Thursday night. I have work and then bushwalking club meetings both Monday and Tuesday nights, so won’t be able to take bookings on these days. Apologies for being painful with this.