Monkey Gully Circuit, Ross Creek State Park

Monkey Gully Circuit, Ross Creek State Park - 13 Kms

July 30, 2021

U3A Hike No. 158

Hike Report by Martin

The leadership team: Gordon, Andrew and Ken as Whip. Ten hikers and two instructors meant we could comply with Covid requirements and still hike in one group. The hike covered hilly terrain, along tracks that were rough, wet, stony and slippery. Gaiters and poles recommended as usual, along with pith helmets and bananas in the event we descended into Jumanji territory. The weather was promising, and as the day unfolded, lived up to our expectations.

The parties met at the designated rendezvous point at the appointed times, and following a short briefing from the respective “leaders” proceeded to the jumping-off point – a picnic area tucked away in the Ross Creek State Park, along Victoria Road about 5kms east of Browns Road and very close to State Park Road (which runs north/south).

The picnic area is well furnished with a number of picnic tables and a modern, albeit a single, dunny, or toilet or lavatory; or as they are more commonly referred to these days, a bathroom. The picnic grounds would serve as a nice quite spot for family picnic.

Once assembled, and following the traditional pre-hike safety briefing (including warnings about the potential dangers from wildlife), each group set off along a four-wheel track in a south west direction, which, after a short time took us down into Monkey Gully. This was to be our first water/mud hazard – clearly a favourite for the four-wheel-drivers. It had a fairly steep descent of about 15 to 20 metres with a soft muddy surface. Nominating a person to watch for marauding monkeys, we exercised care to ensure that none embarked on a mud skiing venture for extra thrills.

As we passed through this low gully, identified by Gordon as “Monkey Gully”, we learned that a member the group had strong ancestral links to the area – of the human version not the monkey. According to legend and retrieved records of the day, his father was born at “Monkey Gully”.

Having safely navigated the large mud hole in the Gully we were confronted by the first of numerous hills that Gordon had warned of. This hill was a challenge to all and once we had ascended to the top of the ridge, a well-earned short break was taken to catch our breaths.

We followed a series of ridges and traversed a number of gullies in westerly and then south westerly directions for approximately 4 to 5 km. Skirting around numerous large ponds of water with deep ruts left behind by the four-wheel drivers of the area. Some of these ruts were quite deep – almost a third to a half the length of a standard walking pole. Extra care was necessary to ensure you did not slip into a rut as you stepped across the wet and muddy rut tops – as one party member can attest to. Later in the hike, a less than secure foothold quickly led to a dunking.(and a dead mobile phone)

Anyway, back to the hike.

Continuing through the beautiful bush landscape, where quite a number of trees had fallen - clearly the impact of recent high winds in the area, chainsaws having been put into action to reduce them to lengths suitable for fire places. Climbing more hills, traversing along ridges and scrambling down into slippery gullies, we arrived at around the halfway mark - in close proximity to Staffordshire Reef Road. Here we stopped for morning tea and a well-earned rest.

Whilst having morning tea, we enjoyed the view out over the valley towards Staffordshire Reef Road and Andrew pointed out that the Jubilee Mine was only a short distance away to the south.

With morning tea over, and the necessary clothing adjustments completed, we set off again – this time in a northerly direction towards Corio Dam Road. We travelled in this direction for approximately 2km, passing a large tandem trailer strategically placed beside timber cut for someone's fire at home, before heading east for a very short distance, maybe 100m, then south and then south west along the hillsides - steadily climbing as we went.

Turning north, we were on the home stretch. Walking north for approximately 1 km and then eastwards into and along gullies and back up close to ridgelines for the last 3 to 4 km back towards Monkey Gully where we had traversed back over the large four-wheel drive water hole - crossed at the beginning of the hike – and back up the hill, which seemed endless, to the welcome sight of our cars at the picnic site.

It was now time for lunch and general conversation. Andrew took the opportunity to demonstrate how we can use Google Maps and the “Emergency Plus” (App) on our phones to determine our location in the event of an emergency. This training will be a feature of future hikes to ensure we can all determine our locations if ever necessary.

Thank you, Gordon and Andrew for another great day out in nature.