Marthavale is located about an hour and a quarter north of Bairnsdale, almost half way to Omeo as the crow flies, assuming the crow pulled to the left a bit as it flew along.
We took the direct route, which was sealed road or well formed dirt road all the way from Bairnsdale until the Marthavale Track turn off. As good as the road was, the visibility wasn't, as a rather grey and overcast day down at sea level proved to be a very moist and foggy day as we ascended up the mountains and into the clouds themselves! Despite that the trip was good and traffic was non-existent, which was a touch surprising for the Saturday of a long weekend. Apart from a gathering of gold diggers at Bullumwaal, we didn't see any vehicles between the picnic area at the very foothills of the mountains and the hut itself, so it was a very peaceful journey for us. Also a very twisty and windy journey, so it was iPads away and look out the window for our eldest girl who gets motion sickness if her head is buried in a book or stuck to a screen in this sort of terrain.
Distance from Melbourne: 334km
Access Rating: Medium (4WD) in dry conditions. Doable in an AWD in the dry, but all terrain tyres advisable. Don't stick around if it gets wet unless you know what you're doing.
Scratchy Rating: Not scratchy. Bumpy, but not scratchy.
What's there: Picnic table, composting toilet, fire pit, couple of dispersed camping areas.
There were a couple of families not long set up when we arrived, and this "formal" camp area was large enough for their camper trailer (soft floor) plus the roof top tent of the next 4WD to be set up side by side. There's enough room on the grass for a couple of tents as well (provided you didn't get too close to the fire pit!), plus a second "informal" camping area down on the other side of the hut. At a pinch you could fit probably half a dozen vehicles worth of campers here, maybe more, bearing in mind there was only a single loo. That said, it was beautifully quiet down there with just the campers and my group, and this place is on my short list of camp sites I absolutely intend to come and stay a few nights at.
The hut itself is one of my favourites, too. Quite large - I think three rooms, from memory - in good condition with a decent fireplace. There's a smattering of furniture - a table, some drawers - but plenty of space inside. It didn't have many windows or skylights but was surprisingly light inside, despite the rather gloomy conditions outside. All in all a pretty inviting place that has obviously had a lot of time and love invested into it.
The surroundings are topped off by the creek that is running past the back of the hut, just down below the camping area. The track down to Marthavale Hut continues across this creek and back up into the hills, with lots more to be found along the way I've been told. I'll definitely be coming back to investigate further.
Complete with a sofa and an excellent fireplace, it's easy to imagine a bunch of friends spending time here relaxing... and hunting, judging by the odd casing on the ground.
