U3A Ballarat Hikers

 U3A Hike No 305 Aerial Photo Showing Former Airfield Hike Report By Sharon Moss. On a blustery but fortunately dry morning , 19 intrepid travelers made their way to Southern Cross Station to begin their suburban hike through Fisherman’s Bend - Port Melbourne. We set off at a brisk pace with Andrew capably leading us & Gordon as whip. We had a lovely walk along the banks of the Yarra River, passing impressive boats moored at the marina with one bearing the name Costa Lot ! Andrew pointed out pylons that are decorative rather than functional, as they sit adjacent to the Bolte bridge but are not part of the structure . Passing under the bridge, we then joined busy Lorimer St , where conversation slowed somewhat as noise overtook. We were all alert watching out for bikes , scooters, joggers & traffic ! We passed several landmarks of interest . The  art deco building previously GMH , with one part of the building now occupied by a Ballarat company J King  Homes . Andrew shared inte

 U3A Hike No 304 Hike Report By Lyn Hooper By the time we had all reached Kirks Reservoir the fog had lifted and the day promised to be an absolutely perfect day for a hike. Leaving the cars just west of the picturesque Cricket Willow café and ground we headed off on our walk. Following bush tracks we went up and we went down, some hills being steeper than others but we all seemed to cope with no murmurings of discontent. In all, the bush, the weather and company were just delightful.  We were fortunate to see a wallaby in the early stages of our walk and then the presence of previous mining activity became apparent.  After morning tea at a pub with no beer but gigantic aloe vera plants ( one with a huge flower spike ), Gordon explained how this environment would have been so different in the 1860s. We marveled at the sheer size and depth of nearby mine shafts and the mullock fingers which radiated out from us. The area is criss-crossed with gullies bearing interesting but eclectic nam