Tipperary - Blow Hole (Daylesford) 16.8 Kms

December 10, 2020

U3A Hike No. 130

Hike Report by Geoff Howard

It seemed when we met at Kirk's at 7.45 that Andrew and his good connection with the weather gods may have let us down as it was raining lightly with a cold wind blowing down on us. By the time we had reached the car park at Tipperary Springs however the cool misty start gave way to dry mild conditions and, as we progressed the patches of blue above extended to overcome the clouds bringing perfect walking conditions.

This week we were a group of ten. Enid Blyton may have dubbed us the Tenacious Ten (in line with the Famous Five and Secret Seven for the benefit of those with non-Enid Blyton childhoods).

Our starting point at Tipperary Springs was very peaceful and idyllic and we were able to watch a family of wood ducks including six little ducklings, making their way around the pond by the springs. Some of us also drank at the spring before we departed.

The trail, as planned by Gordon and Andrew led us first from Tipperary Springs picnic area, south along an old water race high up above Sailors Creek to Twin Bridges. As with much of our walk, this afforded beautiful views over Sailors Creek and its well vegetated valley. The creek was flowing well so the babbling of the flow added to the comforting sounds experienced as we walked.

While orchids were no longer flowering there were many other wildflowers to greet us along our way. Most notable were the golden helichrysums, (everlasting daisies) seen most abundantly in the later part of the walk and clumps of brunonia (blue pincushions). We had to be careful to heed Gordon’s advice not to talk too much and to concentrate on the edge of the narrow track as it could have been easy to step wrongly off the edge of the path to find ourselves tumbling down through the gorse and blackberries towards Sailors Creek to end up as red, battered pincushions.

On the subject of pincushions, Kerren drew our attention to an echidna that unsuccessfully tried to scuttle unnoticed from the path. Not surprisingly, when discovered it tucked in its snout and presented as a faunal pincushion, occasionally peeping out to see if we had gone. After most of the group continued, he, or she, (Andrew never did turn our monotreme captive over to determine its sex) decided it seemed safe enough to continue his/her way.

Reaching Twin Bridges picnic area, by the Midland Highway we crossed the creek via large stepping stones, returning to Tipperary Springs on the West side of the creek. From Tipperary Springs we continued north, towards the Blow Hole. Again, much of the walking was along old water races, constructed to support gold mining activities in the 1800s. There were however the obligatory ascents and descents as we moved from one gully to another or from one water race to another.

Many areas also still showed the ravages of sluicing, their moonlike, sparsely vegetated areas featuring uneven rocky mounds were experienced. As we neared Bryces Flat two young walkers temporarily became caught up in our group and when Marianne turned around to continue her conversation with me, she was amazed to see that I suddenly seemed taller and younger, but she was not fooled for long.

In crossing the creek at Bryces Flat we again were able to use the large stepping stones placed across the creek as a more practical option than using a bridge structure. The large trees piled up near the crossing point demonstrated how turbulent the creek can be in flood.

After leaving Bryces Flat we climbed out of the creek valley again, only to descend again soon after to inspect the very impressive remains of a bridge where the stone work on both sides of the creek is still in excellent condition showing how much effort and skill went into the construction of public works through the later part of the 1800s. The well-cut stones were capped with significant stone ridging and the tuckpointing was still evident.

Soon after, we came upon groups of young women who were from St Monica’s College in Epping, undertaking Duke of Edinburgh activities on a five-day excursion.

The approach to the Blow Hole now features a lengthy, very modern steel ramp down to the creek. We enjoyed lunch at the spectacular Blow Hole, a tunnel cut through a cliff face as part of the early mining, to allow water to be diverted from a loop section of Sailors Creek. Again, with good water flow the waterfall cascading from the tunnel was worth viewing. After lunch we walked around to the entrance of the tunnel, then proceeded back towards Tipperary Springs, this time along the eastern side of the creek. Along our way we passed several adits and the deep but well covered and rustically presented Mistletoe Mine shaft, along with much country seriously disturbed by sluicing operations of the 1800s.

We reached our starting point just before 2.00 pm, where we sat under the trees to enjoy a coffee, or billy tea, in Gordon’s case. Andrew initially reported that his GPS device showed that we had walked 54 kms. He then noted that he hadn’t reset it prior to our start so the boasting of our epic endeavour would be unfounded as we had only covered around 17 kms.

Another very spectacular walk in near perfect weather conditions. Thanks again Gordon and Andrew for your leadership.

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