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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