Ted Errey Nature (Anakie Gorge) Brisbane Ranges National Park Circuit - 13.2 Kms

 U3A Hike No. 203

Hike Report by Anne

13 walkers met at Buninyong, huddled under umbrellas, to organise car sharing for our trip to Anakie Gorge. The further we drove away from Buninyong, the lighter the sky became, until we arrived at the Anakie Gorge car park to a day of mixed sunshine and clouds.

After stern words from our leader Gordon about not entering tunnels or falling off cliff edges, we set off up the track into Anakie Gorge. We soon encountered one of the forbidden tunnels, which were excavated during the 19th century to allow water pipelines to pass through. We passed a number of these tunnels and walked beside the old water pipes which carried water from the Lower Stony Creek Reservoir to Geelong – its first water supply.

After 1.3km, we turned left off the track, straight up hill onto the Ted Errey Nature Circuit. The track was rocky and uneven with some loose scree material, so it was eyes down until we stopped at our first viewpoint, 700m up the ridge. From there we continued higher still, until we turned off the main track to stop for morning tea at Nelson Lookout. We had a fine outlook over the Brisbane Ranges National Park, with our ultimate destination of Lower Stony Creek Reservoir, glinting in the distance.

Walking along on top of the ridge, the track was initially covered in loose scoria, evidence of the former volcano Mt Anakie. This gave way to a soft, level, sandy track where the eucalypts grew taller and we started to see some wildflowers. White hakea bushes were in bloom, some red correa, the odd yellow goodenia, and finally a small patch of flowering heath. We identified the local holly-leafed grevillea as the Stieglitz Grevillea, and wondered about some other widespread bushes that we did not know.

After stopping at another viewpoint, The Outlook, we soon started on our steep downhill trek back into the gorge. We followed the Gorge track to the base of the Lower Stony Creek Reservoir, which was discharging water, creating a number of wet crossing points along the track. The dam wall was built in 1873–1874 and was the first concrete dam built in Australia and the third in the world. The concrete was mixed on-site by hand or horse-driven puddling machine, and carted to the wall in hand barrows along wooden scaffolds. An amazing engineering feat for the time!

We walked to the top of the dam wall to view the Reservoir from this angle, then turned back along the Gorge walking track towards our starting point. We stopped for a welcome toilet break at Stony Creek Picnic Ground but continued to the Anakie Picnic Ground to have our lunch. Clouds were building up, but the rain held off until we were in our cars and on the return journey. 

Thanks to Gordon for leading a very interesting walk through attractive bushland.

Photos by Mark B






























Comments

  1. Anonymous10 July 2022 at 20:04

    Looks like a lovely walk. Thank you Anne and Theresa.

    ReplyDelete

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