Enfield Forest Hike
Hike No 83
Hike Report by Andrew Parker
On a beautiful sunny morning, twelve hikers met at the
Buninyong tennis courts, before travelling in three cars to Dredge Rd Enfield.
We commenced hiking south-west (ably led by Gordon) along
the Forest Park Track for seven kilometres which is a narrow track with many
steep gully crossings.
Shortly after starting, we passed a large shallow dam with
plenty of birds evident including a heron.
When later we paused to re-group, several Sulphur Crested
Cockatoos raised the alarm with their raucous squawks.
On a disappointing note, we observed many invasive weed
species along the edges of the track, some identified as Capeweed and Oxalis,
both highly invasive.
Reaching the Surface Point Picnic Area, we stopped for
morning tea which was a very pleasant break and Gordon needed to crack the whip
to get us moving again, as it was very pleasant sitting chatting in the
sunshine.
At the picnic area there is a memorial to the Chinese miners
who worked in the area, with some not living to tell the tale.
We then turned to hike in a northerly direction for a
further four kilometres, again in single file before reaching the Misery Creek
Rd where we stopped for lunch in a very pleasant 22 degrees.
After lunch I gave a brief talk on our experiences hiking in
the Sandstone Mountains in Germany, before Theresa shared about her Mont Blanc
circuit hike.
Eucalypts included Narrow-leaved Peppermint, Broad-leaved
Peppermint, Manna Gum, Swamp Gum and the less common Yarra Gum. The wattles
were in bloom (prickly moses?)
We saw an abundance of wildflowers. Many species of orchid
including bearded greenhoods (pterostylis plumose) were seen. Also, many types
of egg and bacon plant including Golden Bush-pea (pultenaea gunii), and
Victoria’s Floral Emblem, Common Heath (Epacris Impressa). We saw two types of
grevillea, the Holly Grevillea and another which was later identified as the
Enfield Grevillea (Grevillea Bedggoodiana) which is endemic to the Enfield
State Park and is listed as ‘threatened’.
Other plants included:
Tetratheca ciliata
Hardenbergia (native sarsaparilla)
Running postman (kennedia prostrata)
After lunch we made our way back to the cars via Misery
Creek Rd and Incolls Rd, which was easy walking and ideal for social chatting
as there was no longer the need to walk single file.
The Espresso Depot in Buninyong was our very pleasant coffee
stop before we went our separate ways.
I would like to thank Gordon for ably leading the group
while I was away in Europe.
Photo's by Andrew Parker
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