U3A Ballarat Hikers

U3A Hike No 18 Hike Report By Alan Pittard Thursday 20th July saw 8 ‘ weather brave’ U3A hikers commence an 18 km section of the Ballarat to Skipton Rail Trail.   We began at Pittong, halfway between Skipton and Linton. Our destination was Nimmons Bridge, which is one of the largest timber trestle bridges in Victoria. It crosses the Woady Yaloak River near Newtown.   During the hike, heath, bracken fern, wattle and varieties of eucalypts compelled camera buffs in our midst to capture the many joys of the Aussie bush. Nearing Linton, we passed the Clarkesdale Bird Sanctuary, which has seventeen notable bird species.   The entire 53 km trail was re surfaced, profiled, compacted and drained in 2008 at a cost of $700,000 for the use of hikers, cyclists and horse riders.   Lunch at Linton provided energy and inner core warmth from a welcome cappuccino before ascending the locomotive friendly slope to Nimmons bridge.   As if pre-programmed , our cars mysteriously almost self-navigat

U3A Hike No 17  Hike Report By Gordon Talbett This was the Hiking Group’s first outing in the absence of Andrew, our highly organised Leader. We must have learned from him because we were able to complete the walk, the car shuffle and the lunch without a hitch.   The approach drive was through layers of fog and mist, reminiscent of a Chinese mountain landscape, but by Guildford we had clear skies and sun. The first section of the hike was up another mined-out gully, passing occasional mine shafts by the trackside and the spectacularly eroded creek bed.   The track then led around and up the northern slopes of ‘The Monk’: a local highpoint with 270-degree views west, north and east. We had a good look at Mt Alexander and the way ahead on the Bendigo section of the Goldfields Track.   The second section of the walk was along the Poverty Gully Water Race. This was a much grander affair than the miners’ water races of previous sections of the track. It was built as part of the Coliban