Wallaby Track Stage Two 2020

U3A Hike No 95

Hike Report by Joan Brick

“Over the bumpy roads and through the woods

To the Wallaby track we go

Andrew knows  the way to  guide our sleighs

Through winding  forest roads hooray!”

Our adventure on Thursday took us along Stage 2 of the Wallaby Track.  Once we completed our car shuffling between our starting point of Dean and our finishing point of Leonards Hill, we were ready to hit the trail.  We were excited by the view we had at the start which looked pretty good as it was one long seemingly flat trail surrounded by tall straight gum trees but then Andrew took a sharp left and we were left wondering where this turn would take us.   As we were walking our attention was turned to the beekeepers in the area that seem to be getting ready to either place the bees in that area or move them elsewhere.  The trail along this section could be called the zig zag section as it kept us on our toes. We then came to the area where Andrew pointed out Andersons Tramway which was named after John, James and William Anderson who came out from Scotland and established a timber milling enterprise in the Bullarook Forest.  We were able to see the where the tramway was situated and how useful it would have been in getting the timber to the various  surrounding sawmills.  As we walked among all these very similar looking trees we realised how much of the original forest would have been cleared.  We also passed through areas where there seemed to have been fires and we could get a feel for the bushfires that have recently occurred  in many part of our state and country. 

We were pleasantly surprised to come to a lovely rotunda which begged us to sit and have our lunch while taking in the surrounding view.  At this point Andrew explained the location’s significance as it was one of the stations along the Railway that ran between North Creswick and Daylesford from 1887 until 1953.  Some of the other stations included Broomfield, Allendale, Newlyn, Wombat and Leonard’s Hill.  From here to the end of our walk we travelled on the actual railroad trail. It was amazing to think of the work that was done, much of it by hand, to get this railroad established.  We walked in parts where we felt like we were in a gorge with walls of rock on each side to where we were on top of the gorge looking down on the treed areas below.  This would have been a very scenic railway trip for those using it as it was for us just walking it.  We were treated to letting the “inner child” come out in us when were we able to walk through a tunnel used as a water drain. This was one time when being short was an advantage!! As we made our way to the end of our hike we were glad to have had the chance to experience a beaut day in the Australian bush with a bit of history and great company as added bonuses. 

Photos by Mark Bevelander

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