Lake Mournpall Loop, Hattah ~ Kulkyne National Park - September 2018

Late afternoon on the Lake Mournpall shore.

Sam and I had tried to do this walk last year but environmental floods had stopped us in our tracks about half way around our walk. Without a pack raft we were going no further on that walk and we had to retreat to Mournpall Track and follow the road back to the camp ground. On this visit I decided to do something very un-Feral like and check out if there was any change of conditions for Hattah-Kulkyne National Park on the Parks Vic website. Finding that all was good on the ground it looked like the walk was a goer this time. Some unkind people may say I should of done that last time before I made the 6 hour drive up here, yeah maybe…

Today's track is well signposted and marked for the most part.

Leaving the ute at the Lake Mournpall Campground I set off across Mournpall Track into the low red dunes, having successfully completed this section of the walk on my last visit I didn’t muck around taking too many photos this afternoon. The track arced around a little to the west before striking out generally north against the grain of the dunes. Now while I was climbing and descending a bit along here the dunes are pretty low mostly, so it was only the soft sand that slowed me down. The country along here is your typical semi arid scrub with lots of Cypress Pines, Mallee Trees, Porcupine Grass and a few Buloke Trees and it was all looking quite pleasant in the late afternoon light.

Initially the track crosses some low red sand dunes.

The Mallee Trees always look their best in the late afternoon light I think.

There are a few views from the higher dunes.

Crossing Mournpall Track I lost a few metres of altitude and started the lake section of the stroll, I’d now be walking near either Lake Konardin, Lake Yelwell, Lake Yerang or Lake Mournpall. Initially i was walking beside Lake Konardin, it’s water shimmering between the Red Gums in the golden late afternoon light. The track along here mostly stays a hundred metres or so from the shore of the lake but the open ground made it easy to detour across to any spots that piqued my interest. Lake Konardin is inside the Kangaroo Fence so even though there is permanent water in the lakes the population of roos isn’t crazy, that said there were still quite a few Kangaroos and Emus about.

Looking across to Lake Konardin.

Lake Konardin

Heading along the track a little further towards Lake Yelwell I reached the spot were the environmental water flow had stopped Sam and I last time. Today there was no water to be seen though, in front of me today was a parched black soil flood plain with a few track markers on it. Apart from some huge old Red Gums these flood plains don’t feature a lot of flora, Lignum bushes are probably the most common plant growing out here I’m thinking.

This is as far as we got on our last visit.

We would of needed a pack raft to get through here last time.

Skirting around the western shoreline of Lake Yelwell there are a lot of very nice, mature Red Gums, each of these old trees seem to have their own personality etched into their weather beaten trunks. With Lake Yelwell still having a good amount of water in it and the sun now casting everything in a beautiful soft light I was in a good head space this afternoon. Eventually the track climbed a little away from the black soil of the Lake Yelwell Floodplain and I headed across a grassy low dune to the site of the 2nd Mournpall Homestead.

Lake Yelwell

The Lake Yelwell Floodplain is a bit of a desolate spot.

The loneliness of the solo walker.

The homestead site dates back to 1847 but nowadays there is little left out here apart from a small copse of introduced trees. Situated on a low sand dune like an island between Lake Mournpall, Lake Yelwell and Lake Yerang this must of been a nice spot to live in good seasons, although the views wouldn’t go a long way to alleviating the remoteness that these early settlers must of felt out here, I’m thinking. After poking around the old Mournpall Homestead for awhile I set off again, now heading directly into the setting sun as I approached Lake Mournpall.

The green trees mark the spot of the 2nd Mournpall Homestead Site.

Lake Yerang

Lake Mourpall is the biggest lake that I’d visit on this walk and it’s great to see it fairly full of fresh water at the moment. The track actually stays a hundred metres or so above the waterline for a fair while and I found myself trudging through soft sand now. Although with the shimmering water beckoning me through the Red Gums I soon decided to abandon the marked track and head down to the waterline. Once down beside the water the firm sand made walking fairly easy as I walked the last couple of kilometres back to the ute, the only thing slowing me down occasionally was the need to detour away from the shore line to get past fallen trees, oh yeah, and the fact that I was taking way to many photos of Lake Mournpall bathed in the soft afternoon light.

I soon worked out that it was easier walking down near the waterline.

Lake Mournpall

The Dirt.
According to my GPS I walked 9.7 kilometres and climbed 111metres on this afternoon’s stroll. I guess I’d rate this as an easy-medium grade walk, the tracks are all pretty well defined and marked, the soft sand in spots is the only real issue on this walk I think. Melanie Ball has written this walk up in her book Top Walks in Australia and Parks Vic also have a free download available on the web. It pays to jump onto the Parks web site to check for any change of conditions on this walk before heading for Hattah as environmental flows can cut this walk off, as Sam and I found out on our previous visit. With Hattah-Kulkyne National Park a fair drive from most of the big population centres then it can pay to camp at the park for a night or two, both Lake Hattah and Lake Mournpall have large, well appointed camping areas, although they both need to be pre booked.

Relevant Posts.
Hattah Lakes Circuit, Hattah-Kulkyne National Park, 2018.
Lake Mournpall Circuit, Hattah-Kulkyne National Park, 2017.

This dune encroaching on the shoreline of Lake Mournpall signalled that I was about to arrive back at the campground.

It was getting quite dark as I walked the last few metres.

Time to head off on the long drive home.