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391. Buninyong Parks & Lanes 10.6km

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 U3A Hike No 391 Hike Report by  Michelle MacGillivray   🥾 In the beginning… Kim set a brisk pace leading twenty-one happy hikers from an early gathering in Buninyong to walk the beautiful Buninyong paths, tracks and roads through gardens and forests, taking in the rich history and abundant local surrounds. 🍺 Buninyong Brewery… While beer may have stopped flowing here, the first point of interest was the historic Buninyong Brewery (established in 1855). Onwards we walked beside the picturesque “Gong” and onto the Wallaby Track through the Botanic Gardens to our next point of interest. 🌳 The tree… While most in the group knew about this particular and well-known tree, some were enlightened about the tree’s history of being ring barked and then saved by a local arborist. They used a bridge grafting process that left a mosaic of scars on the trunk; and so, the tree lives on. 📍 Onwards… A quick pit stop at De Soza Park before heading west beside a gently flowing Uni...
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390. Jubilee Mine-Jubilee Historic Area 7.5km

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 U3A Hike No 390. Hike Report by Joan Brick ⛏️ The Journey Begins: Italian Gully The Era of Alluvial Gold (1850–1882) The hike started with a history lesson at Italian Gully. Unlike the massive operations later in the day, this area was defined by "easy" gold. Method: Shovels, picks, and pans. The Boom: A rush of hopefuls arrived to work the surface earth, but the area was eventually abandoned once the easy gold and water supplies vanished. 🌸 Unexpected Finds & The Birdtrail Nature Among the Ruins Before hitting the heavy industrial sites, the bush offered up its own treasures. Spotted Hyacinth Orchid: A rare, leafless find that stood out against the summer scrub. The Rainbow Birdtrail: We spotted the distinctive blue posts marking this 35km historical hiking and riding loop. 🧱 Scaling Up: Mullock Heaps and Dams Signs of Underground Mining As the trail progressed, the landscape changed. Huge mullock heaps (piles of waste rock) signaled that we were entering an a...
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