Paddling in Warby-Ovens National Park

Warby-Ovens National Park sits in the broad corridor between the Victorian Alps and the Murray Valley, about 10 kilometres from Wangaratta.

The paddling here is defined by one river: the Ovens, specifically its lower reaches as they wind through the park's heritage-listed floodplain.

This is flatwater country — a maze of channels and wetlands set beneath River Red Gum forest on a river unregulated by dams, which means the floodplain ecosystem is unusually intact and the river moves on its own schedule.

The Ovens through the park runs up to Class II at most, and the character is calm and exploratory rather than technical. Channels split and rejoin, banks are heavily vegetated, and the sense of being inside a functioning floodplain forest is constant.

That same unregulated nature means flows can change; conditions worth checking before you put in. Multi-day trips are possible.

A common approach is to put in at Wangaratta and paddle roughly 32 kilometres downstream to Frosts, the first campsite inside the park boundary, where there's a beach for landing.

From Frosts, it's around 20 kilometres further to Peechelba, though the banks along that lower stretch are steep and stopping spots are limited.

The park provides seasonal access to dispersed camping along the river in addition to its two designated campgrounds — check Parks Victoria for current access before planning an overnight trip. The Ovens here is genuinely accessible paddling.

The still-water character of the lower channels suits canoes and touring kayaks, and the absence of significant whitewater means the focus shifts to reading the maze of channels and managing a long day on the water.

Steep banks and limited egress points are the practical challenges, not hydraulics. Paddling inside a national park means the river is held to a different standard than the water upstream. That's exactly what makes the lower Ovens worth the trip.