Where: Chinamans Campground, Mount Cole.
When: Saturday 13th September 2025, 12noon to 2.00pm.
On the 22nd February 2024, a bushfire started at Bayindeen, on the western slopes of Mount Cole. Hot dry and windy conditions caused the fire to burn out of control, resulting in the entire Mount Cole / Mount Buangor range being decimated, with further spread impacting nearby Mount Lonarch and Raglan. The fire burnt for more than two weeks and in total over 22,000 hectares were burnt.
First signs of smoke
Within an hour it had become a monster (view from the Western Highway as we evacuated)
Clearing and repair of roads took nearly 6 months. When the Mount reopened, the ground was still bare burnt ash, however the first signs of recovery were there - the trees were starting to shed their burnt bark, leaves were sprouting from the trunks and the tree ferns were making their claim in the gullies.
Source of the Wimmera (GC7NC0V)
The Glut (GC7NP6J)
All geocaches on the mount were completely destroyed. The reviewers understood that more time was needed for the ground to recover, flora to regrow and fauna to return and find their homes.
Fast forward 15 months from the fire and the Mount is now ready for us to start replacing old caches (where possible) and placing new caches again.
Chinamans Hut
Our Community Celebration Event is indeed a celebration of welcoming caching back to the Mount.
We have chosen Chinamans Campground as this has the only large hut that did not burn in the fire (although three very small day huts also survived). The hut can provide good shelter in the event of inclement weather and new drop toilet and picnic facilities have been erected.
Overnight camping is available to those who wish to do so.
We will provide an assortment of nibblies.
Please bring any other food and drinks you require, and throw in your chairs as well.
Access Notes:
Easiest access is via the small locality of Warrak, accessible from both the Western Highway and the Pyrenees Highway. Roads are suitable for all vehicles, so 2WD is fine.
If you are driving through Mount Cole itself, do not always believe what Google Maps tells you as it cannot tell the difference between the 2WD accessible main Mount Cole Road and all the 4WD tracks in the area, particularly some of the tracks that lead to this campground.
Community Celebration Events - 2025
This Event is part of a limited release of Community Celebration Events to celebrate 25 years of geocaching. Geocachers hosted events between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2025. Learn more about Community Celebration Events on the Geocaching Blog.