LerderdergTrack Stage Five

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 steep and rocky ridge brought us to the highest point in the Wombat Forest (878m) and the broad Camp Road and its associated firebreak. Camp Road took us north along a narrow ridge marking the divide between the Lerderderg and the Werribee River catchments. We stopped briefly at the reconstructed fireplaces and chimneys marking the former location of Balt Camp. This was a forestry camp, constructed after World War Two, and manned by immigrants from the Baltic countries of Europe (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania), known colloquially as Balts.

By now we had walked three sides of an enormous square with 3km sides. Now our trail turned west and ran steeply downhill to Spargo Creek, and then along a narrow trail beside the creek. After a gentle climb through forest, the trail descended to the Werribee River and then ascended steeply (too steeply and for too long for most of us) to the cars.

This was a glorious day of walking and Andrew was thanked by everyone. We did not have the chance of praising his choice of weather because he had already claimed all the credit for that!

Photo's by Andrew Parker
























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