Lincoln Gully - Wrights Gully Circuit, Creswick Regional Park - 12.4 Kms

 U3A Hike No. 204


Hike Report by Fiona

The 12 km circuit hike in the Creswick State Park was led by Mark Hawley.  It involved walking through parts of the Goldfields Track as well as other minor bush tracks. Throughout the hike we sighted many remains of 19th Century goldmining activities including deep mines, sluicing remains and water races.

We commenced walking eastward from Slatey Creek Camp Ground 1 along the Goldfields Track for about 1 km before turning left, heading north and descending down a steep gully.  Along the way we sighted some early flowering wattles and cream flowering hakeas. 

When we climbed out of the gully we continued on the Goldfields track until we reached Humbug Rd.  We walked along Humbug Rd for about 1 km before crossing Lincoln Gully Road. We stopped for a pleasant morning coffee break in an open clearing nearby.

As we continued along this track we passed by the Lincoln service Basin (Central Highlands Water) near Creswick-Bungaree Road.  Quite soon along our path we passed by Lincoln Dam. The land in the gully below had been heavily sluiced during past mining operations.

We walked up to Lincoln Gully Link Road which climbed slowly up the hill until reaching Bush Inn Road. We crossed the road and walked along a few minor tracks following the trail of ‘soft toys’ left by Mark and others to mark the way! Ken was particularly excited to pose for a photo alongside ‘Tiges’.

This small circuit crossed over Bush Inn Road again. As we neared Wrights Gully Road we discovered quite a few old deep mines which had been dug during exploration for a quartz reef.  We turned right at Wrights Gully Road and walked downhill in a northwesterly direction to Slatey Creek Campground 3.

We followed the Slatey Creek River down it’s stony river bed on the Goldfields track. Just before the end of the walk at Slately Creek Campgroud 1 we observed further mining excavation degrading the surrounding hillsides.

Lunch was enjoyed at the campground before returning home.  Thanks to Mark for leading the walk and exploring early gold mining activity in the area.

Photos by Mark B






















**The GPX map for this hike will be added at a later date.

Comments

  1. Anonymous18 July 2022 at 13:05

    A lovely walk by all accounts. Jane

    ReplyDelete

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