U3A Ballarat Hikers

 U3A Hike No. 249 INTERACTIVE MAP OF THIS VIA THE LINKS AFTER THE PHOTOS Hike Report by Anne  Eight hardy walkers set out to walk the Bunny Hop rail walk, despite dire predictions of wind and rain. We walked along the Canadian Creek trail from Valley Drive towards Ballarat, passing Canadian Lakes and then diverting to Lake Esmond. We met a lone swimmer in the lake, who turned out to be Denise, a former member of our hiking group and regular daily swimmer in Lake Esmond. We couldn’t resist a spin on the flying foxes and some of us took advantage of the handy toilet facilities. From the top of Lake Esmond, we found our way to the corner of York and Rodier Streets, where Andrew pointed out the site of the former York St Station. Housing had replaced the railway line, where it once descended from Eureka Station to this point. Between Wilson and Spencer Streets, we walked a remnant section of the railway embankment where Levy Station once stood. On crossing Spencer Street, we lost sight of

 U3A Hike No. 248 Hike Report by Teena We set off towards the Bungal State Forest surrounded by a lot of fog which we hoped would disappear by the time we reached our destination. Arriving at the carpark, we were met with drizzly rain, but the fog had lifted and so the twelve of us set off. First obstacle was the fact that the road was closed due to the bridge being washed away during the floods last year. We followed Andrew’s lead past the ‘Road Closed’ sign and down the bank into the creek, through the creek and up the other side. Watched by a very bemused camper. We continued up into Bungal State Forest following the Moorabool River which offered a perfect opportunity for the group photo. After climbing down to the river and the photo being taken Anne pointed out the face in the rockside opposite. It certainly looked like a Monkey’s face, but not everyone could see it. Anne felt it was a special place so she named it Anne’s Secret Sanctuary, the smell of the Eucalyptus trees were

 U3A Hike No. 247 Hike Report by Don 12 intrepid hikers woke to 0 degrees Centigrade but bravely left the Bunnings Sebastopol  carpark when the temperature had risen to 3C. While they had launched into beanies, jackets and gloves, the sun rose further and the day proved perfect for hiking. A magical autumn day had arrived.  We drove south through Enfield and turned west on to Misery Creek Road, to reach the Surface Point Picnic Area car park. The walk started on an easterly track, soon passing the Memorial stone to the Chinese miners who worked this area in the period 1860 to 1880. After a kilometre, we deserted this perfectly good track, and turned south to head into the bush and climb up a hill until we joined the Mount Cockatoo track. No cockatoo was seen, and indeed Mount Cockatoo was somewhat of an overstatement. We crossed Misery Creek road, then turned onto Orchid track. No Orchids were to be found, but the Victorian floral emblem (Pink Heath or Epacris Impressa) ,both impress