U3A Ballarat Hikers

U3A Hike No 91 Hike Report by Ewan Barker The culmination of this year’s programme of interesting and varied hikes was the gentlest and easiest hike of the whole year , and one of the shortest . It even started at the civilized hour of quarter to nine. But there was method in the madness because we had to be back at Ingrid and Andrew’s house in time for the traditional Christmas barbecue.   We left Valley Drive and started out walking back towards the centre of Ballarat along the Canadian Creek Trail, passing the remains of a large cyanide tank in the ground, a remnant of our gold mining past. At the netball courts we turned right and continued up through Pennyweight Gully , where we saw the path of the old Buninyong railway line and the remains of a small bridge on it. Our route then took us past Sparrow Ground Reserve and Pax Hill Scout Camp and Activity Centre, where we decided not to try the climbing wall, not least because it was locked away.   From

U3A HIKE NO 90 Hike Report by Frances Watt According to the Victoria’s Goldfield Walks guide the Tarlita Creek Gorge is rated as a moderate to difficult walk. To place the hike in context this is the blurb from the guide: Tarlita Creek drains Mt Franklin’s western slopes before entering Upper Lodden State Forest, a largely forgotten area linking the damper Daylesford forests with the drier woodlands of the Castlemaine region.   In truth Tarlita Creek Gorge is less a gorge and more a rocky gully, though its relative isolation and tranquil surroundings more than make up for any lack of grandeur.   Though parts of the hike involved some off-track free style walking our small group of six walkers all enjoyed the walk and found the gorge peaceful and appealing.   After leaving Daylesford we travelled along Porcupine Ridge road, skirting Mt Franklin and passing through lifestyle properties and farmland, our road altering from bitumen to a dirt track as we moved into

U3A Hike No 89 Hike Report by Janet McKay 21 hikers met at the White Swan Reservoir on a cool but fine morning, perfect hiking weather. We welcomed Lyn to her first hike with the group and set off, stopping briefly to acknowledge being on the very top point (watershed) of the Great Dividing Range before walking along undulating tracks through mature forest towards Slaty Creek. Gold mining activities were in evidence including a lengthy water race meandering through the bush culminating in what seemed a smallish dam. We could only imagine the backbreaking work of the early miners digging this by hand. On reaching Slaty Creek, we stopped for a leisurely morning tea before continuing through Creswick Regional Park. There were plenty of wildflowers to note and we stopped at a copse of native conifer, Cherry Ballart, that we learned grow through attaching their roots to eucalypts for nutrition. Also, that the bright red ‘fruits’ are actually the flower s