The wire rope barrier installation started just over a week ago. The first part being installed around the overtake lane this side (Buller) of the Murrindindi Road turn off.
Its coming from Sth and Eastern suburbs that makes yarra glen quicker, Sth via Eastlink to East. If we ever get a road that goes to the Hume Fwy faster from Sthn burbs it would change.
Winter not long ended and the water is below the Boat ramp at Bonnie Doon... yike. Lowest for the last 5 years, at this time of the year.
I'm not sure I like the green colour scheme as much as the white, but aside from that, it wasn't a bad day hiking here yesterday. So peaceful, hardly another soul about, had the mountain to ourselves. Spent a few hours zig-zagging our way to the Summit enjoying plenty of wildflowers, a picnic lunch with an awesome view, a good workout preparing for the USA in a couple of months, finishing up with a couple of drinks at the Arlberg. Dinner at the Royal Mail pub in Yea. Perfect day. So no snow skiing, but people were still managing a ski at Bonnie Doon, although the water level is pretty low. The annual boat show displayed some stunning specimens, so definitely no serenity here this weekend! @djam, there looks to be a couple of safety barriers installed now just before Yea on the Melbourne side.
A friend of mine wants to go to buller over the summer (i'm thinking like Jan/Feb to escape the heat) and has asked for some recommendations on accommodation etc. I havent been up there during summer for years, what's the go with places to stay? Not too worried about the style of accommodation, they are just after something quiet for a getaway. He'll be taking a downhill bike and hiking shoes.
Wombat and Southside chairs were stacked on the ground. Howqua and Grimus still had most chairs attached. A couple of pano shots from the Summit
I got up there just the other weekend, on a Sunday arvo. A few hours of hiking. Was great to see the arvo sun glinting off two of the arms of Lake Eildon, looking west. Place was wonderfully quiet. Even with the extended 80kmh zone, I still managed to reach Seymour from Mansfield in an hour flat.
Stakeholder Notification Service - 2015-16 Summer Gate Operations This summer, the RMB will be manning the gate to gather accurate data about the resort's summer visitor market. While summer visitation has long been gauged by a counter across the road that identifies how many cars enter the resort, this new approach will provide Resort Management with insightful customer data. This includes exact tourism numbers, visitor source markets, visitor days generated, occupancy levels and more. Having staff at the gate will also provide a visitor information point for guests prior to them arriving in the Village, welcoming them to the resort, advising them which businesses are open and guiding them through the summer mountain experience. To assist with these efforts, all vehicles looking to enter Mt Buller or Mt Stirling must pass through the entry gate when it is open (as indicated by digital signage at the gate). While visitors must stop for surveying, all staff, residents and contractors can pass through the express lane (on the far left hand side of the gate). Any oversized vehicles or cars with bikes mounted to their roof that are too big to pass through the gate area must pull alongside the main office instead, where they will be met by staff. How long before the bikes on the roof of a car hit the gate canopy... it happened earlier this year.
So stoked that winter ratepayers are going to be burdened further by excessive RMB staffing during a vastly unprofitable and heavily subsidised time of year.
I'd flip them the bird as I drove past. What the **** are they going to do, fine me for not filling out a survey. Its free entry, its free entry. I suggest everyone ignores it and just drive past, that way they will get no results and it'll be just another RMB fail under the matt and wont hear about it again.
Instead of this they should be looking at reviewing the services they offer and how they can be reducing instead of increasing them. Wonder how the permit for the dams going? Slowly......like everything RMB does!
Are the bike trails and hiking trails one and the same? @wolly that site has a number of lodges open during summer, so I'm assuming they're available to all, including foot plodders not just bike riders? Are these the only places open over the summer months or does anyone have other on-mountain accommodation suggestions that might also be available? I'd love to go up again for more hiking, and for longer.
Hear your sentiment. I think that the only upside is that the aim of this 'research' is to investigate the potential to have summer activities generate revenue instead of them being funded by winter visitors/businesses/ratepayers. It will be very interesting to see if they introduce a resort entry fee for summer 2016/17 as being mooted. Being a 'dead end' road Buller is probably the only one of the Vic Big 3 that could do it. Falls has the issue of being a through road in summer and also except for riding the MTB trails nearly all of the popular summer product is actually undertaken outside of the resort in the surrounding National Park. Falls could only really do it by introducing paid parking fees, for people who stop or stay within the resort, like most real councils do.....which really plays against the softer Resort Entry description that they use in winter. Be great for the sub alpine towns because people would stop there and park for free to have a coffee or lunch as opposed to paying to park on the mountain.
Buller should just man the gate for a weekend or two, calculate an average of occupants per vehicle then go back to automated counting and apply the average. Would well and truly be good enough for those stats.
A mate's car was on fire down at the gate, didn't deter the staff member who tried to conduct the survey while smoke was billowing from the bonnet!!
I received a similar message to what djam did, but with the addition of "having staff at the gate will also provide a visitor information point for visitors where they can find out which bars, cafes and restaurants are open" They're working hard on the "we're doing you a big favour so you'll never guess we're actually all about revenue" spin. Subtle, not
Hey all, does anyone know of any improvements happening at mt buller over this summer. EG: snowmaking, new dam, chairlift upgrades??
This continued push to develop summer visitation is a joke, it is just lip service to Govt 2020 directive to diversify the resort, it will never amount to anything Data for who is driving through the gate means little when many / most are just up for a walk around and to eat their cut sandwiches or do some work on lodges, this is not income or further still profitable income.
Haha, now that would be throwing good money after bad. Might be doing my first Buller visit this weekend, I hear the riding is OK.
What is happening with the new dam? according to the schedule they should have already stared to build it....
"According to documentation submitted to the department the proposed dam and its associated infrastructure would be built in the resort's 2015-16 "summer works program", between October, 2015 and May, 2016. "More than one hectare of native vegetation would be removed" during the project, and "offsets" for native vegetation removal would be required, the documentation reveals." Taken from The Age, 11/08/14: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/n...ter-supply-20140811-102voj.html#ixzz3xu4952ng
still working through the approvals, might start construction next summer, at this stage. Then fill the following... The govt (Minister) has instructed the resorts to not spend money on the green season.
Thank you Djam for the response, do you know if they will be doing any upgrades to the snowmaking during the summer period?
I received this email today. "As we charge through another summer the team at Mt Buller are heavily working away to ensure the 2016 winter season is the best yet. We are in the process of installing 12 new snow guns to ensure even more snow this year and continue our commitment to being Victoria’s premier ski resort."
New guns just replacing existing old guns or new guns offering snowmaking coverage to new terrain ....................
quote : Over the 2015 summer, we’ve invested even more in this important system by pourchase six new fully automatic guns. These completes the automation of our high pressure guns and means better skiing for longer on runs like Wombat, Shakey Knees and Family Run. It will also extend snowmaking to the bottom pitch of intermediate favourite, The Chute. ?
One of those runs sort of parallel to Kofflers T bar Intersected by a trail and a lower part ends at trail Howqua chair.
is that all resorts or just Buller? Do you have a reference where I can read more? very disturbing if it's a blanket policy
