Wallaby Track Stage One 2020

U3A Hike No 93

Hike Report by Joan Brick

With a large group of eager hikers ready for the days adventure, we began with a car shuffle from Kirks Reservoir to Dean and finally  to Creswick.   We headed through the grounds of the School of Forestry making our mark by taking a group photo in front of the main building  which seemed to set off a few bells and alarms which really didn’t seem  to concern the locals.  

Once on the Wallaby track we were introduced to the art work that appears on the track in the form of decorated mosaic tiles laid on the path,  painted totem poles and iron sculptures with a series of picturesque dams in the background.   We ventured into the Le Gerche Forest Walk which has been newly incorporated into the Wallaby track.  This was  a special part of the walk where we were able to appreciate the efforts of Le Gerche  in  reforestation of this area due to the  detrimental effects  suffered from the goldmining era and illegal removal of  timber .

From here we continued on the Goldfields track where we walked through a variety of vegetation patterns from well treed areas to gravel patches with sparse vegetation .  We had our ups and downs  along the way though we all took them in our stride and finally realised that each up which was suppose to be the “last uphill climb”,  really wasn’t!  A few trees straddling across the path and some sections with larger rocks provided us with opportunities to test our agility skills which we all passed with flying colours.  Along the way we also saw a “wanna be fenced in  Koala park” that failed due to the fact that the Koalas climbing skills were underestimated.

We had a lovely lunch break at the former site of Spence House which is where William Guthrie Spence lived.  He was known for his contribution in the political arena as well as his involvement with founding the AWU, the oldest union in Australia.

The last part of our walk towards Dean took us on flat (yippee) gravel roads surrounded by paddocks that were looking relieved after the nice bit of rain recently received in the last couple of days.  Seeing the long line of cars parked ahead on the side of the road was a welcome sight that put a spring in our step and visions  of a nice cuppa at Creswick  in our minds.

What started as a pretty bleak and drizzly morning finished as a perfect day for a walk in the park!  A big thanks to Andrew for a very enjoyable and informative walk and to Ken for watching out for all of our backs. 

Photos by Mark Bevelander 

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