Mount Misery Creek Diggings, Enfield State Park Circuit - 12Kms

 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 impressed us and brightened our day. A nice Correa bush was also in bloom. Apparently they are bisexual flowers, but we saw no proof of that on this day!

Thankful to Gordon having his Garmin in action, we turned several times on muddy roads, then went off-track through the bush. He showed us many signs of the mining damage from sluicing, with multiple unfenced old mining shafts, and a well-preserved basis of a puddling machine. The circular track for the horses was obvious, and the central raised area had a clear central hole.

We overlooked the surprisingly deep cavity of Mount Misery creek, then walked along its banks. Eventually we were convinced to cross the creek, climb the opposite bank, and climb a long hill. To our surprise, we re-joined Orchid track, and retraced our steps to connect to Misery Creek road and return to Surface Point and the cars.

This proved an interesting walk on and off tracks,  with much historical evidence of the extensive mining of 160 years ago, on a perfect autumn day. Thanks Gordon. We all learnt more of the history of this little known pocket of Enfield State park, and enjoyed our 11 kilometre walk in the process.

Photos by Andrew 

























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