U3A Ballarat Hikers

U3A Hike No 74 Hike Report by Mary Cannon Gordon led our day out to Melbourne. 12 walkers met at Ballarat Railway Station and took the 08:10 train to Southern Cross. One very eager hiker thought he would make a head start and walk to Port Melbourne but he was tracked down and returned to the fold.!! From Port Melbourne we headed east with a head wind and a brisk pace. We kept to walking paths with Port Phillip Bay and dramatic views of Williamstown and Melbourne CBD. Our route took us past Pt. Ormond, Pt. Cole, and Brighton Beach. We had lunch and a rest there and the colourful beach boxes afforded a good opportunity for photos.    This area was a significant Aboriginal site. Along the way we saw some very impressive Jellyfish.  The Brighton Beach tunnel was built in1861. The rail track led from Brighton Beach station to the pier at South Road. The tramway was used to transport goods to the pier. The pier no longer

U3A Hike No 73 Hike Report by Peter Treby    Three Lost Children Walk  On Thursday 15 August 2019, Fifteen U3A hikers walked the Three Lost Children walk from Daylesford to Wombat Creek picnic area, with a detour to take in Sailors Falls. A useful map of the route and some helpful notes can be found Here The route roughly follows Sailors Creek south, upstream through the Hepburn Regional Park to Sailors falls, then wriggles east through Wombat State Forest.  The walk is well marked, and shares some of the Goldfields Track and signage. A lot of the walking is gravel road, but single track as well, and through some fine forest of candlebarks, broad and narrow-leaved peppermints, manna gums, and particularly in the Wombat Forest, messmates. The walk is named after the tragic loss of three young boys aged 4,5 and 6, who on 30 June 1867 wandered off into the bush looking for feral goats. Kids in search of goats, as Alan said. Their adventure ended tragically with their death