U3A Ballarat Hikers

 U3A Hike No. 209 Hike Report by Annette Our small group of seven met at Kirks just after 7.30am on a gloomy Thursday morning. Waterproof gear was everywhere, as with a "70% chance of rain" we expected to get wet! We loaded up into three cars and all made our way to Korweinguboora (great name!), then off into the bush (Wombat State Forest), parking the cars at the intersection of Bullarto Rd and Specimen Hill Rd.  It was not raining at this point, so, after Gordon’s quick chat, we followed him down Burnt Stable Track, with Ken bringing up the back of the pack.  We all knew instantly it was going to be VERY wet underfoot as it was a ‘Liquid Landscape’, as Gordon called it. - the tracks and trails were literally running with water. This bush was well named, as we noticed lots of wombat dung on the tracks (but didn’t see any live specimens). We did find one old signpost, covered in moss but none of us were able to decipher what was left of the writing on it. To add to our confus

 U3A Hike No. 208 Hike Report by Gordon THE EYE OF THE STORM The signs were inauspicious during the week before this walk. On Sunday there were forecasts of torrential rain and flooding, on Monday the airports were over-crowded with Hikers flying north, on Tuesday old men with beards were frantically trying to complete the huge boats that had been sitting in their backyards for 20 years, on Wednesday my cat took to wearing a life-jacket and sleeping on the top of the tall cupboard in my bedroom and on Thursday morning there were only three hikers at the Buninyong meeting place. But it was not raining! We drove to Steiglitz, already wearing full weather-proof clothing and parked by the historic Steiglitz Courthouse (opened 1874 and not needed after 1879). It was not raining. We donned packs and started off along a track which passed the many street signs of what was once a suburb of Steiglitz; the (modern) signs are all that remain of the streets. We soon reached the first crossing of

 U3A Hike No. 207 Hike Report by Mark B Five ‘true believers’ ventured out on a very cold, grey, rainy morning to meet at the Bunnings Car Park where the icy wind caused us all to put on our warmest gear. Car-pooling in two cars we travelled, via Smythesdale, to the Surface Point Picnic Ground in the Enfield Forest. As soon as we parked our cars the rain began to fall and, except for some short breaks, continued for the duration of the walk. Even with all our wet weather gear on it made for an uncomfortable stop for morning tea. We commenced our walk travelling North along the Long Gully Loop Walk, the track all the way along was greatly degraded due to trail bike activity. This created some difficulty, particularly going up and down very steep gullies. I think everyone of us experienced a slip and a slide of some sort. No injuries though. While the terrain was very hilly, the track generally followed the contours with some exceptions involving some significant and long, steep cl