Forest Park and Gullies Circuit, Enfield - 11.7 Kms


 U3A Hike No. 132

Hike Report by Marianne

This was our first hike for 2021 and it was so lovely to see 19 friendly, familiar faces and exchange New Year greetings. 

We car pooled from the Coles car park in Sebastopol and drove to Bald Hill, Enfield, to commence our hike. With Andrew as our leader and Gordon as our whip, we started walking along Misery Creek Road before turning onto the Misery Creek Walking Track. It is a single file track with some rather steep, tricky sections; ascents and descents. The track was flanked on either side with dense undergrowth and interesting trees. There were views down into the gullies as well as up the slope in the opposite direction.

The temperature was perfect for hiking and the recent rain and sunshine had encouraged wildflowers to flourish. Pink Hyacinth and Blue Pincushions decorated each side of the track. At one stage Andrew called for the attention of the group to point out that the area had been used for surface mining. Gordon explained the processes, called sluicing, which involved the use of water to wash away the top soil to expose the fragments of gold. At this stage Gordon pointed out that in front of us we were looking at Mount Misery and behind us there was Mount Cockatoo. Just prior to this the resident cockatoos had been squawking as we hiked beneath their homes in the trees.

Morning tea was enjoyed at Surface Point Picnic Ground where a monument has been erected in memory of the many Chinese people who worked and died in the area.

We continued along the Mount Misery Walking Track before veering off to the left onto Long Gully Loop. Along this track we were to navigate several steep gullies that challenged our leg muscles and got our hearts pumping. Gordon spotted a timber bridge down in one of the gullies and, upon inspection, reported back that a tree had fallen on the other end of the bridge and damaged it. The bridge had obviously lead to somewhere though not at present; not until repaired at least.

Back at the cars we settled down in the shade of the trees with our picnic chairs, ate our lunch and chatted until it was time to bid our farewells.

This was a wonderful start to what we know will be another fantastic year of hiking, exploring the great outdoors and the enjoying the camaraderie of like minded people.

Thanks Andrew and Gordon. It was a great hike.

Photos by Mark B























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