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413. Doctors Gully - Grand Designs - Hepburn Regional Park 7.8km

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 U3A Hike No 413 Hike Report By Chris Fourteen walkers gathered at Hepburn Mineral Springs Reserve on a still but chilly morning. We were joined by Kelly, Barbara’s daughter from California. The frost even made the asphalt in the carpark and an early wooden bridge crossing slippery. The trail to the west of Hepburn took us along the forested and scenic Doctors Gully, generally along a broad, level terraced track. We did climb one short scrabbly hill and there were a few ups and downs to keep it interesting. The recent rains left a few muddy patches and ice encrusted puddles. Lots of fungi were evident. We disturbed occasional grey kangaroos along our quiet track. An embankment near Westward St was a pleasant place for the morning tea stop, prior to a return via another gully towards Spring Creek. Here we saw some stylish modern homes with elaborate retaining walls and clever garden sculptures. We stopped at the peaceful waters of the old Hepburn swimming hole which had a good flow ...
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412. Buckshot Track- Friday's Cammpground, Brisbane Ranges NP, 11.6km, circuit.

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 U3A Hike No 412 Hike Report by Kath     As I drove from my house in the teeming rain to our meeting spot in Buninyong, I thought “ am I crazy ” and perhaps many fellow hikers also shared those doubts as we were a small (but select) group of five that set off in two cars to the start of the hike. Gordon often opts to hike in the Brisbane Ranges National Park on days forecast for heavy rain, as often there is less rain there than in and around Ballarat and…once again ….our faithful Gordon proved himself right. While spouses and fellow would be hikers remaining in Ballarat watched the rain teem down all day , the merry band of five only encountered a bit of drizzle from time to time during our 11.6 kms hike .  We started our walk from Friday’s campground where a small group were indeed camping, huddled around the ir campfire . The Brisbane Ranges may have a reputation for being dry but during this lovely hike we delighted in all the greenery , the variety in the...
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411. Long Forest Reserve (Coimadai) 10km

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 U3A Hike No 411 Hike Report and photos by Michelle McGillivray While the early morning was cold, it became a delightful day for a walk in the forest. Cool, dry, still and beautiful. It certainly beats staying home in bed.   A special welcome to new walkers Greg and Maureen.   After car-pooling and a quick car shuffle, we started south of Merrimu Reservoir and walked west to Pyrites Creek. Mark, our leader for the day, decided to avoid “Steep Track” and instead turned south along the Coimadai Track. We still managed to hike many hills and mixed terrain, making it an interesting and varied walk. We kept our wits about us on the steep rocky climbs and descents.   Trekking on the eastern edge of Pyrites Creek was beautiful and serene, with mixed vegetation, birdsong and evidence of wombats making their home in the forest. Some of us could not resist exploring the inviting burrows.   We walked by the remnants of a cottage set beautifully on a hillside overlookin...
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410. Hepburn Springs-Hunts Dam-8KM

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 U3A Hike No 410 Hike Report by Anne O Nine fearless hikers m et at Kirks to carpool and travel to Hepburn Mineral Springs Reserve .  With 10-25 mm of rain predicted, the most common comment was “We must be mad!” As it turned out we were lucky, with lightly spitting rain the worst we experienced. Andrew had already decided to shorten the walk to avoid the heavier falls likely to come late morning. This worked well as the rain started to intensify just as we reached the carpark at the end of the walk. A short distance from the start , t he walk passed Wyuna Springs , then followed Wild Cat Gully to Argyle Mineral Springs. We passed a couple of mine adits . New signage along the way, attractive seating areas and carvings of native plants and animals showed that some money had been spent on this section of the track. Much of the walk followed rocky walking tracks and we needed to concentrate on where we placed our feet. A well-placed tree saved one hiker from a slide do...
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