Mitta Mitta River - Hinnomunjie Bridge to Gibbo Junction

The Interactive Guide to Australian Paddling

Mitta Mitta River
Hinnomunjie Bridge to Gibbo Junction Contributed by Julien Atherstone

Class:	II – III
Season:	Snow fed river, running form August through to January depending on the season
Gradient:	2.5m/km (after Taylors Crossing information is hard to get as river is often under the lake)
Time:	2 days (Can be made into a day section by starting or finishing at Taylors Crossing)
Length:	20km – Taylors Crossing, 13km from there down to Gibbo Junction
Level:	Minimum 0.75m, above 2.0m it becomes continuous and flooded
Gauge:	Hinnomunjie Bridge
URL:	http://www.BoM.GOV.AU/cgi-bin/wrap_fwo.pl?IDV60154.html
Shuttle:	1 ½ hours one way.
Character:	Open bouldery rapids separated by quite pools
Suits:	River running kayaks, C1’s, C2’s and rafts.

NE Victoria. Approx 120km Nth of Bairnsdale

With the Mitta Gorge being one of the premier sections of whitewater in the state, this section of the Mitta tends to get over looked. While containing no major rapids to speak of and while being quite overgrown in sections by willows this section does make a nice journey for novices in a lovely area.

The hardest rapid of the trip is only about 3km from the start, take the right channel around the obvious island. From here on the rapids are often ledge style with bedrock showing through. While willows do play a part in the section down to Taylors Crossing soon after leaving the crossing the influence of the lake is felt.

From Taylors down is quite interesting because if you manage to catch it when the lake is low there are some quite fun and interesting rapids with very clear banks and no influence from trees.

When the lake is at about 40% the lake doesn’t begin right till the Gibbo junction so some very fun paddling is to be had. When the lake is even lower, which has only been once since it was built, you can even paddle the big old rapids that were found after the Gibbo junction. A very old reports put the 3 rapids at class IV , V & VI, while unlikely to be that hard, they were said to be the hardest rapids in Victoria..

Lake levels can easily be obtained in most of the newspaper or by ringing the Dartmouth Dam Keeper direct.

comments: re: hinomunjie to taylors crossing paddled below taylors crossing starting at the gibbo junction. Rapids were fun, III - III+, with a bigger feel [hinomunjie gauge @ 1.0m] than you normally get on the mitta [think sharks tooth rapid]. Dam was at 34% which was almost too high. Tim Wallace

Putting In:	From Melbourne follow the Princess Highway east for 277km to Bairnsdale and then the Omeo Highway north, through Omeo. About 7km after Omeo, still following the Omeo highway turn right onto the Omeo Valley Road. Follow this for about 10km to Hinnomunjie Bridge, this is the put in.
Taking Out:	Follow the Omeo Valley Rd 2km back the way you came, turn left onto the Hinnomunjie Connection Rd and follow this to Lake Omeo. Drive around the lake to Benambra and then follow the Corryong -Benambra Rd North. About 12km out of Benambra turn left onto the Tablelands Rd. After 5km turn right onto Lower Tablelands Rd. (to get to the alternate take out of Taylor’s Crossing follow Tablelands Rd to the river). Lower Tableland Rd will then take you all the way to the junction with the Gibbo, warning the last 2km is not an official road and is therefore not maintained.
Map:	Benambra – Leinster 1:50000
Camping:	There is excellent camping at Hinnomunjie Bridge, Taylors crossing and many places in between, below Taylors Crossing there is still camping but it is a little rougher.
Entry Date:	3rd June 2001

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