Nuggety Gully Circuit, Linton State Forest - 11.9 Kms

 U3A Hike No. 225



Hike Report by Anne
16 walkers turned up on this cool, cloudy day for the first walk of summer. Starting from the Linton footy ground, we set off north on the rail trail. A short stop at the handily placed toilets and we were off. 

We followed the rail trail for a short distance then headed north towards Nuggety Gully.  We were walking on bush tracks that were somewhat eroded by the recent rains, with squelchy, muddy patches at the bottom of each gully. Up and down, up and down, until we stopped to investigate a mine adit. It had a beautifully arched profile, but we resisted the urge to enter.
Wildflowers along the way included trailing Goodenia, milkmaids, yam daisies, chocolate lillies, pink triggerplants, native violets and towards the end, some egg and bacon were flowering. 

We stopped at the Linton Firefighters Memorial, on the site where 5 firefighters from Geelong West CFA died in a bushfire on December 2, 1998. The truck had been directed up the narrow track just shortly before the wind changed, and they were trapped by the fire on their way to refill their tanks. Another crew just metres away somehow survived. The men who were killed ranged in age from 17 to 47. We took our group photo here. (See Historical Notes link below)

The walk continued until we crossed a water race, a sign that we were now entering an old gold mining area. Some climbed a large mullock heap and others checked out a great big hole in the ground with a very deep mine in the centre. We found two bikes discarded in the bush and lots more household junk filling up some of the old mines.

We wandered on, but at one point there was some dispute about whether we were following the correct route. With the recent elections in mind, some suggested we should go right, but others favoured a move to the left. There was some muttering about a no-confidence vote in the leadership, but this was thought to be an unwise move while misplaced somewhere in the middle of the bush. Finally the three holders of the GPS reached a consensus and we proceeded on our way.

The next point of interest was the Linton Cemetery, established in 1860. This was in a beautiful setting, surrounded by impressive plantings of mature European trees, including monkey puzzle trees, a weeping cypress and out the front, a lone pine to commemorate Gallipoli. We looked at some of the old graves in their denominational groupings, including an old Chinese section. The track rejoined the rail trail for the walk back to the footy ground, where we sat and ate our lunch together. 

Thanks to Andrew, Gordon and Mark for another interesting walk.

Photos by Andrew






















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