Mt. Beckworth





 Hike No. 82



 Hike Report by Greg Anderson



10 keen hikers  met at the Ballarat Aquatic Centre as planned at 7:45 am and made our way in 4 cars through Coghills Creek to The Dam car park at the base of Mt Beckworth .

With no car shuttle we set off hiking by 8:30am  and quickly climbed our way up to The Oval then on to the Northern Ridge Track where we climbed up to the The Lollipop Tree and finally to the summit of Mt Beckworth.

We enjoyed our morning tea break taking in 360 degree views of the surrounding area. All refreshed we made our way down by the Southern Ridge Track with many stops to admire the clear surrounding views, birdlife overhead, varieties of native orchids and, would you believe an echidna [spiny ant eater] in its burrow.

 Congratulations to Mark on spotting the first native orchid. 

We then hiked on to the Manna GumTrack and after passing the manna gums picnic area  we were back at our cars by 12:15 pm with 8.8kms completed. 

Picnic lunch was enjoyed sitting in the spring sun by the dam. A perfect day of fitness, fun, and friendship was completed with a coffee gathering in Clunes. Thanks to Gordon for organizing another enjoyable and memorable hike.  

Photo's by Mark Bevelander

Video slide show click here
 





















































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