Bungalow Spur Walk

Easy

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A 22km return climb of over 1300m from Harrietville to the summit of Mount Feathertop (1922m), called by parks.vic.gov.au one of the classics of the Victorian High Country, best done as an overnight hike via Federation Hut in this fuel-stove-only, no-campfires area.

☰ Trail details

Hide panel — map only✕

Distance

0.28 km

Est. time

8 min

Elevation gain

31 m

Route type

Out & back

Steepest stretch: +35m over ~300m (around the 0.0km mark)

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In an emergency

Call 000 for police, fire or ambulance — Australia's emergency number works even with a weak signal, and without a SIM if any carrier has coverage.

You're in Alpine National Park, Harrietville, VIC. Mobile reception in this area is not guaranteed — this is exactly why the offline map and GPS position on this page work without signal.

Tell someone your plan and expected return time before you set off. A PLB is the most reliable backup where there's no reception at all.

Tracks & plans

+ Add to tracks / plans

Species to look for on this trail

Ancient trees and rare flora confirmed in this park. Spot one? Add it as a sighting pin below.

Snow Gum

Eucalyptus pauciflora

Sub-alpine woodland specialist▾

Sub-alpine woodland specialist

The classic eucalypt of Namadgi's high country, forming gnarled cold-climate woodlands above roughly 700m across the Brindabella and Bimberi ranges. A rarer, lower-altitude Snow Gum Grassy Woodland also survives on Mount Majura's eastern slopes.

How to spot it

Smooth white, grey or yellow bark shed in colourful ribbons; glossy green lance-shaped leaves (60-200mm); white flowers in clusters of 7-15 from October to February. Often multi-trunked and wind-sculpted at higher elevations.

Family Myrtaceae · Source: Wikipedia: Eucalyptus pauciflora; ACT Parks and Conservation Service

Photo: Toby Hudson (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Wikimedia Commons

Wildlife you might see on this trail

Animals confirmed in this park. Spot one? Add it as a sighting pin below.

Greater glider

Petauroides volans

EPBC-listed Endangered (uplisted 2022)▾

EPBC-listed Endangered (uplisted 2022)

Australia's largest gliding marsupial, the (southern) greater glider was uplisted from Vulnerable to Endangered under the EPBC Act in July 2022 after severe habitat loss from logging and the 2019-20 bushfires. It is a nocturnal, solitary specialist that feeds almost exclusively on eucalypt leaves and buds.

How to spot it

Look up into tall, hollow-bearing eucalypts at night with a spotlight - the eyeshine glows a bright orange-red. Body 35-46cm plus a long, non-prehensile bushy tail up to 60cm; fur ranges from a dark almost-black morph to pale mottled grey, always with a lighter belly. Unlike sugar or yellow-bellied gliders it is silent and solitary, gliding in long slow swoops between tall trees rather than bounding through the canopy.

Family Pseudocheiridae · Source: Wikipedia (Southern greater glider; Greater glider)

Photo: Samrhorton (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Wikimedia Commons

Yellow-bellied glider

Petaurus australis

IUCN Vulnerable▾

IUCN Vulnerable

A large, highly vocal gliding possum of eastern Australian eucalypt forests, able to glide up to 150 metres between trees. It lives in small family groups and is best known for its far-carrying, gurgling shriek that can be heard up to 500m away at night.

How to spot it

Grey-brown above with an off-white to orange-yellow belly, large pointed ears, body about 30cm plus a bushy tail up to 48cm. Listen at dusk for its distinctive rolling shriek/gurgle call - often the first sign it's around before you spot it gliding between widely spaced tall eucalypts. Look for characteristic V-shaped incision marks on trunks where it has sap-fed.

Family Petauridae · Source: Wikipedia; IUCN Red List

Photo: Greg Schechter (CC BY 2.0) via Wikimedia Commons

Gang-gang Cockatoo

Callocephalon fimbriatum

EPBC-listed Endangered (uplisted from Vulnerable in 2022 after the Black Summer bushfires); IUCN Vulnerable▾

EPBC-listed Endangered (uplisted from Vulnerable in 2022 after the Black Summer bushfires); IUCN Vulnerable

The gang-gang cockatoo is the faunal emblem of the Australian Capital Territory, found in cool, wet forests and woodlands of the mountains and tablelands of south-eastern Australia. It was uplisted from Vulnerable to Endangered under Australia's EPBC Act in 2022 after the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires burned a large share of its habitat.

How to spot it

A small, stocky cockatoo (32-37cm). Males have an unmistakable wispy, curled bright-red head and crest against slate-grey body plumage; females are all grey with a smaller grey crest. The call is distinctive - a creaky, grinding growl often likened to a rusty gate hinge or a cork being pulled from a bottle. Found in tall mountain forest over summer, moving to lower woodlands (including suburban Canberra) in winter.

Family Cacatuidae · Source: Wikipedia; EPBC Act conservation listing

Photo: JJ Harrison (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Wikimedia Commons

Wedge-tailed eagle

Aquila audax

IUCN Least Concern — common but iconic▾

IUCN Least Concern — common but iconic

The wedge-tailed eagle is Australia's largest bird of prey, with a wingspan of up to 2.84 metres. Once persecuted as a livestock threat, it is now widespread and secure across virtually every Australian habitat from desert to alpine woodland.

How to spot it

Unmistakable in flight: a huge dark raptor with a long, diamond-shaped tail, often seen soaring high on thermals over open or rocky country. Adults are blackish-brown with tawny-rufous hackles on the neck; juveniles are paler and more rufous. Despite its size, its call is a surprisingly thin, high whistle.

Family Accipitridae · Source: Wikipedia

Photo: JJ Harrison (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Wikimedia Commons