Breakneck Gorge and Blowhole, Hepburn Regional Park Circuit - 13.5 Kms

 U3A Hike No. 187

Hike Report by Martin

A small group of eight met at Kirks and then travelled to Hepburn Mineral Springs Reserve.

The initial stage of the hike was of course a climb, just for aerobic warmup, along a pathway in the “reserve’ that took us to the main street of Hepburn (Main Road).  Crossing over Main Road and though parts of Hepburn suburbia, passed the historic Hepburn Primary School (No 767) and on to Fifteenth Street and eventually to the gravelly Bald Hill Road.

We noted numerous large rural properties either side of Bald Hill Road, which we walked for about a kilometre, leaving the road at the Bryce’s Flat 400mm sign, for the Dry Diggings Track.  This track took us north along the eastern side of Sailors Creek, which we followed for some distance before reaching the Blowhole and taking time to enjoy our morning tea and some photography.

We then retraced our steps back up the stairs (at the Blowhole) to re-join the Goldfields Track and continued to follow Sailors Creek winding its way for several kilometres through valleys of lush vegetation, which was notably different from the vegetation found up at the top of the gorge, away from the waterways.

Still on the Goldfields Track we skirted around the Hepburn Recreation Reserve.  Shortly after the track left Sailors Creek and picked up Springs Creek.  It was in this area that we spotted a flock of White-Winged Choughs, a species that tends to congregate in social groups – the odd Kookaburra could also be heard.

Arriving at the Hepburn-Newstead Road we carefully walked towards Newstead for about 50 m to arrive at the other side of Spring Creek to again pick up the Goldfields Track.  A short distance in we took a short break to rehydrate and contemplate the beauty of nature that surrounded us.

“Back on the Road Again” (sorry), we continued to follow Spring Creek.  It was noted that much of the tracks that traced the both creeks, Sailors & Springs, were old Water Races.  Of particular note was the track that followed Spring Creek.  It was quite narrow with a steep embankment above the track and a steep drop-off on the other side, with an abundance of blackberry bush to cushion your fall, should you happen to slide or slip off.  The downside obviously is the sharp thorns (ouch).

New homes were noted across the valley of Spring Creek.  They were ideally placed to take advance of the view back up the valley to the north west.

From here our party continued along Goldfields Track, but we departed near the Golden Spring/Women’s Gully area.  And continued on until we reached the Back Hepburn Road and crossed over (near Jackson’s Lookout) to re-join the Goldfields Track for the final leg back to the Carpark at the Reserve, and a well-deserved cuppa and snack.

Thank you to Gordon and Andrew for leading this very enjoyable trek.

Photos by Andrew



























Comments

  1. Jan13 March 2022 at 15:36

    Hahaha
    Did Joan go in the blowhole? I bet she wanted to 😊

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

287. Frith Gully - Mt Misery Loop. Enfield State Park

Image
 U3A Hike No 287 Hike Report by Colin Fraser Eight hikers assembled outside the Marty Busch Reserve in Sebastopol for an 11.5 km hike on the Frith Gully-Mt Misery Loop in the Enfield State Park. We travelled in two vehicles to the start of the walk at Bald Hill on Incolls Road, Enfield. The walk was graded as moderate, and described as continuously hilly. We walking paths and rough bush roads through isolated parts of the park. There were deep gullies with lush vegetation, high ridges with open scrub, and areas that still bear the scars of extensive surface mining in the 19th century. We followed Misery Creek Road south then the Misery Creek and Forest Park walking tracks to Surface Point Picnic Ground, where we had smoko. Before arriving at Surface Point we were accompanied overhead by the raucous alarm calls of a group of cockatoos warning of our intrusion into their forest. Coincidently this occurred just near Mt Cockatoo!! We shared the picnic table with a man who was camping t...
Read more

343. Raglan Falls-Beeripmo Hike 10.6km

Image
U3A Hike No 343  Hike Report By Peter Treby Seventeen U3A walkers set off in perfect weather from Richards Campground in the Mt Cole State Forest for a 10.6 km walk incorporating parts of the Beeripmo Track linked by quiet gravel roads.   We firstly climbed a fine single walking track through granite boulders to Raglan and Rob Falls, and a railed lookout on top of a large granite tor. The forest here is mainly blue gums to about 30 metres, with tree ferns in the gullies. Later in the walk, the taller trees also included messmates.   Throughout the walk, the forest is still recovering from the Bayindeen – Rocky Road fire of late February 2024, which burned 22,000 hectares. The Beeripmo walk only re-opened in January 2025. Everywhere eucalypts are putting out epicormic foliage from their trunks, looking like leafy totem poles. The understory is still a little thin and bare, save for the wetter gullies.   After the falls w e reached less steep terrain and stopped...
Read more

Hiking Group Rules

Image
All members resident in Ballarat are expected to attend the meeting point for a travel briefing. Expectations as to pre-hike meeting times. 1. Arrive at the nominated meeting point prior to 7:50am. 2. 7:50 to 7:55 - Vehicle allocation & transfer gear to allocated vehicles. 3. 7:55 Briefing regarding travel to hike venue. 4. 8a.m. (or when all previous steps complete), depart the meeting point. All members of the U3A Ballarat Hiking Group need to sign a form which sets out the risks associated with hiking   A copy of the form can be found here:   Acknowledgement of risk form  All members will: ...play a part in maintaining my safety and that of the other members of the Group.   ...disclose to the leader details of any health problems that may arise during a walk.   ...be responsible for carrying their own medications on walks.   ...comply with the Hiking Group rules regarding clothing, equipment, and safety* ...follow the in...
Read more