This is a reminder that as of Monday, December 16 all moderate walks will commence at 9.00a.m. Car pooling will be at 8.30 a.m. Easy walks will continue to commence at 9.30 a.m. Combined walks on Friday, December 20, Wednesday, January 1, Friday, January 17, Wednesday, February 5, Friday, February 21, and Wednesday, March 4 will all commence at 9.00a.m. with carpooling at 8.30 a.m. as per the schedule.
Attached are the notes for our walk on Saturday, 14th December. The 10.5 km walk is along a formed track from Cockatoo to Emerald Lake.
We will take our lunch to have during the walk.
If you could please let me know (preferably by email) by Thursday, 12th December if:
1. You intend to participate in the walk.
2. You are driving direct.
3. You are happy to drive and how many passengers you can take or you require a lift.
4. You will be having a coffee before the walk.
Email: wilmawaters@bigpond.com Mobile: 0417 980 777
The committee has suggested that you purchase a snake bite bandage for your own first aid kit. The bandage is about $8. It has the extra length required and a symbol on it that changes when stretched. It was decided by the Committee that as they are readily available from a range of chemists, members could buy the bandage themselves.
BENDIGO BASE CAMP.
Stay at Big 4 Bendigo Park Park Lane on McIvor Highway from Monday 23rd March to Thursday 26th or Friday 27th. A Group booking would be made. Mixture Cabins and Camping – good camp kitchen can be busy on Friday/Saturday nights with families.
DAY 1. On arrival an afternoon walk – leave at 2.00 pm for a walk around Kennington Reservoir – about 10kms- 2.5 hours. Walk up Highway, cross road and walk around school to you get to the bike track and take the bike track up the hill, walk straight once you hit the little streets and you will reach the Reservoir – walk around the lake clockwise on the left side and back again. You could car shuffle and have some cars at the lake if you didn’t want to walk back – also bike ride possible.
DAY 2. Morning. Car shuffle – leaving cars at Lake Weerona – all day parking. Walk from Caravan Park up the O’Keefe Rail Trail to the junction then turned left and walk to Lake Weerona for morning tea (could be a coffee cart on the left side of the lake) – then walk about 2.5kms along the Bendigo Creek Trail to Rosalind Park – walk up the main street alongside the park to see the Historic Buildings then back into the park and up the viewing platform and to the old Gaol – lunch in the Park. Walk back to Lake Weerona for the cars – can have a coffee at the Café, go shopping or back to Caravan Park.
EVENING OUTING on the Talking Drinks Tram (only during daylight savings) $10 including drink – highly recommended.
DINNER across the road from the Talking Tram at the Deborah Gold Mine – National Hotel – cheap – happy hour till 7pm and good food – will give you a private room for large group.
DAY 3. Morning – drive to Kangaroo Flat Bushland Reserve. Drop all walkers off then drop cars off at Crusoe Reservoir. Walk from Bushland Reserve about 6kms to the reservoir for morning tea – then a 7km walk around the reservoir – really pretty and bushy. Lunch back at the undercover hut at the carpark at the Reservoir. Start walking about 9.30am and finish at about 1.30pm.
Optional afternoon walk to One Tree Hill – starting point depends upon how long you want to walk – can walk half an hour gradually up and do a circle back. You can drive up and look as well.
DAY 4. Morning – car shuffle – leaving cars at Bendigo Botanical Gardens. Walk up O’keefe Rail Trail to the Bushland Trail – through the bush to near the gardens then a bit along the highway to reach the gardens. Wide dirt roads through bush – no traffic – about 12kms in total. Also must see the Garden of the Future. Very Pretty.
You can then leave to go home or say the night and go to the Axedale Hotel for dinner.
Chiew Yan has added two views of Whittlesea to our photo gallery page.
Kalparrin Gardens and a Little More, Greensborough
4.5-6kms 1¾ hrs Mel 20 J1
Bert & Helen Fine, Ian Burns
Surface = 2, steepness = 2
Hard surface path but with wide grassy edges most of the way, minimal undulations. Ample car parking along Whatnough Park and/or Yando St.
The walk begins at the Kalparrin Early Childhood Intervention Centre in Kalparrin Ave., Greensborough.
From Kalparrin turn left onto Yando St using the footpath going very gently uphill, passing the skatepark and St. Mary’s Tennis Club on the left.
Ignore the park entrance just beyond the Tennis Club and with the lake now in full view, continue along Yando St. to the second park entrance.
Enter the Park and walk westwards along the northern edge of the lake, veering slightly left at the toilets on the right, with a children’s playground on the right and a footbridge on the left.
Cross the lake using the bridge. Turn immediately left and walk along the southern side of the lake until reaching an obvious U-turn to the right leading to the BBQ/picnic area further on the left. This upper path roughly follows the direction of the railway line on the left.
Just past the BBQ shed, turn right into Pinehills Drive and walk through the carpark to the other side of the lake, ignoring the first path on the right.
Re-enter the park using the second path on the right towards the playground and the duckpond.
Walkers who brought some stale bread can now feed the ducks (haha), while others might want to make use of the toilet amenities a little further on the left.
Return to Yando St. using a short uphill path behind the toilets and then all the way down to Kalparrin Ave.
At the intersection of Yando St and Kalparrin Ave, find the footbridge across the Plenty River (on the left). Walk across the bridge and turn sharp left onto the lower (old) section of the trail, through abundant vegetation (acacias in spring) and with the river in full view all the way. At the junction with the shared path (watch for bikes) take a right and walk back to the footbridge.
At this point the group can decide to call it a day (approx. 4.5 km) or continue around Partington’s Flat via the Diamond Valley Soccer Club, up the escarpment to the Greensborough Tennis Club and the “dreaded” swing bridge.
Cross this, turning right immediately and walking back around Whatnough Park to the cars in Kalparrin Ave. This extension may be a little easier underfoot depending on weather conditions and will add approx. 1.5 km to the walk making it a total distance of 6 km.
Coffee at Mabel Jones, Grimshaw St, Greensborough (park at rear).
The walk this coming Friday is exploratory in nature. As such, it might be included in our walks programme, or be a ‘one-off’ walk. Whatever the case, I think the area will be new to many of us, and worth checking out.
The walk: Findon Creek, and the middle reaches of Darebin Creek, Epping. We will be walking on paths that for much of the time are adjacent to both of the creeks. There are some stands of very old eucalyptus trees, especially along Findon Creek.
Terrain, grade and distance: Mostly shared sealed footpaths, with an easy grade and covering, at a guess, about 7km.
Meet either at the car-pooling point alongside the Diamond Valley Sports Complex, off Civic Drive, Greensborough at 9.00 a.m. or at the start of the walk, in Dalton Rd, close to the corner of McDonalds Rd and Dalton Rd, Epping (Melway 182 C10) at 9.30 a.m.
To reach the start of the walk:
If coming from Eltham /Greensborough, drive to McDonalds Rd, South Morang, using either Yan Yean Rd and Kurrak Dve, or the Western Ring Road and Plenty Rd. Travel West along McDonalds Rd. There are a couple of tricky intersections along the way. The first is at Bush Blvd, which you will pass and which is on the left, and then Ferres Blvd, where McDonalds Rd veers left past South Morang Rail Station. Continue along McDonalds Rd, past both Pindari Ave on the left, and Greenbrook Dve, also on the left. A further 1km brings you to a roundabout. Turn right here into Dalton Rd, and park in Dalton Rd (there are houses on the left, and a creek reserve on the right)
Post walk: Kathy has suggested that we have early lunch at Dosa Hut, an eatery that specialises in South Indian food, and located at Shop R10, 415 McDonalds Rd, Mill Park, Westfield Plenty Valley (tel 8418 3579). This is at the western end of this linear complex of shops, close to the cinemas. So, as we are coming from Epping, it will be the first turn into the shops on the right. The cafe is in an open area just before the main shopping mall. The menu can be found at dosahut.net.au, then at View Dosa Hut Plenty Valley menu.
If you would like to join the group for lunch, let me know by Thursday, 5pm, 31 October, via email: stutterd45@gmail.com, or mobile: 0419 093 214. If you are not lunching, then there is no need to contact me; make a decision to walk on Friday morning, or whenever.
I hope to see you on the walk,
Tony
Ian has updated the walking documents. These are available on the documents page and are in 2 versions – with photos and without photos.
See this document for planned trips for 2020
Here are the details for the upcoming Saturday walk on August 17 organised by Stephen and Ruth. Please reply to rs.sl@bigpond.com if you are interested in going.
