U3A Ballarat Hikers

Lerderderg Track Stage Five 18th April  2019 U3A Hike 64   By Gordon Talbett After a long drive into the rising sun and through clouds of dust from the roads, the 17 members of the Hiking Group emerged from the cars at Nolan’s Picnic Ground. At 7 degrees, this was the coolest morning for the year so far. Most of the group was wearing their blue and yellow Hiking Group shirts, so we looked like the IKEA Sales Team, with the addition of a few puzzled customers seeking advice on the assembly of flat-pack furniture. Andrew offered us a choice for the initial three kilometres of the walk: the steep, rocky Nolan Ridge Track, or the more gently inclined and fern-lined Nolan Creek Road. By popular demand the latter route was chosen and we followed the narrow valley of the Nolan Creek south, and then west along the Stockyard Track where the valley opened out and the sun began to reach us. High above a wedgetail eagle road the thermals. A long climb up a stee

Lerderderg Track Stage Four April 4th 2019 U3A Hike No 63  By Peter Treby  On Thursday 4 th April 2019 nineteen of the usual suspects met at Kirk’s Reservoir car park to attempt the next section of the Lerderderg Track. The plan was to walk from Blackwood township to Nolan Picnic Ground, generally following the Lerderderg River upstream through the Wombat Forest. Distance around eleven kilometres, not much elevation change, and rated easy. The morning was a little chilly early on, but warmed to perfect walking temperature when the gloom lifted before we started walking. Arranging our fleet of cars at the start and finish of the planned walk unfortunately went a little cock-a-hoop.   We headed towards our destination via the Blackwood-Trentham Road, then turned left onto the gravel at Wheeler Road. I saw Karen’s car in the rear-vision behind me turning on to Wheeler Road, but didn’t bother checking behind me again. By the time the lead group of cars reach