BTAC Activity 16-18 October 2026
Northern Prom, Five Mile camp to Johnny Souey Cove
A team of 14 BTAC volunteers contributed 245 person-hours to clear the section of the Northern Prom circuit walk from Five Mile Beach camping area to Johnny Souey Cove, 3.5kms of heavily overgrown track. Hikers will no longer have to contend with difficult navigation while exploring this section of Wilsons Prom.
The original plan was to clear both the Five Mile to Jonny Souey and the 3 Mile Point Tracks with camping at Stockyard for the first night. The camp location changed earlier in the week, due to road closure and obstacles created with the erection of the new barrier fencing.
Friday: The BTAC volunteer team arrived between 3pm and 7pm to camp the night at an open area on the Vereker Fire Break just beyond the management gate at Five Mile Road Car Park, some 14 km from the gate of the National Park. Parks Victoria provided us with a key to the gate. The site had plenty of flat ground and no facilities, but everyone was well-prepared.
Saturday: At 8am we were met by Parks Victoria Rangers, Luke Malady and Kyle Campbell, for the drive down 5 Mile Road. After a safety briefing, BTAC volunteers travelled in four 4WD vehicles, to limit the traffic on the track. We drove the 40 minutes to Miranda Creek where the BTAC gear was transferred from the trailer to Parks Victoria’s ATV for transport along the beach to the campground. Participants carried their packs for about 1.5km along the beach. It took two trips for the ATV to deliver the gear and water. We selected the gear we needed and crossed Miranda Creek by 10:30am (low tide) to commence work.
The track had previously been taped by Parks Victoria, so it made it easier to locate. We had two groups that leap-frogged, the first led by Patrick and the second lead by Joe, with 7 participants in each group.
Most of Saturday the groups worked up hill through thick coastal vegetation. We downed tools at 3:30pm to walk the 1.7kms back to Five Mile camp for the night. We arrived back to higher tide and a waist deep creek crossing. The day's results showed we had underestimated the work required on this track so would only be able to complete the 5 Mile to Johnny Souey track (3.5km). We make plans to the best of our ability, but those plans frequently change when we are on the ground, and able to see the actual conditions. Luckily we are a flexible bunch!
Sunday: Returning to our tools with Patrick’s group moving forward, clearing the track on the northerly slope, the vegetation lower but still robust in the dryer environment.
Due to the impressive progress made by the two crews the track clearing was completed by 1pm, with both groups reaching Johnny Souey by 1:30pm.
Some participants took the opportunity to take a swim, whilst others preferred to acquaint themselves with the campsites and water source in the cove.
We started our return trip to Five Mile at 2pm, all arriving back on low tide at Miranda Creek safely by 3:20pm. The rangers were loading the ATV for their 2nd of 3 trips back to the trailer. The participants then
walked the remaining 1.5km with their day packs and fresh water.
All volunteers worked safely and diligently, expending 245 person-hours on track clearing, and 93 person-hours on travel to and from Wilson’s Prom.
A big thanks to all crews and team leaders, and thanks to Parks Victoria, it is always great to work alongside your rangers.
Meredith Quick
BTAC Activity Leader
