302. Lerderderg Tunnel - Lerderderg State Park 10.6km
U3A Hike No. 302
Hike Report by Barbara WhitfieldIt was a lovely day, lovely walk and lovely company. Well, the day might not have been quite deserving of lovely status, but it was certainly OK , with no rain, no wind and little sun. The company and walk certainly do deserve lovely status.. The car shuffle at the start enabled the 20 of us to set off on the “mostly downhill” walk.
We meandered through beautiful tall trees along a ridge line before we hit the descent to the trip highlight of Tunnel Loop. The tunnel is impressive, quite narrow and quite tall. Especially impressive when you consider the times in which it was created ! The miners noticed that the Lerderderg River had a significant loop here, and theorized that if they cut a tunnel through the reasonably narrow ridge they could divert the stream and fossick in the hopefully rich gravel remains of the bend.No one knew if they were successful in gaining riches, but it is certainly an interesting story.
We then proceeded UP and UP and more UP until we reached a water race, which we followed around many gullies. It was lovely to see the river (occasionally) below. Apparently some goats were sighted springing along the edge of the steep slope, but all the author can attest to is that she heard bushes crackling. The trail along the edge was right at the edge, with a very steep descent below us on the right hand side. We traversed some dry sclerophyll bush interspersed with lush and verdant growth in the gullies.
Thank you Mark and Andew for an interesting and enjoyable day.
Photos by Andrew Parker and Barbara Whitfield
It was a lovely day, lovely walk and lovely company. Well, the day might not have been quite deserving of lovely status, but it was certainly OK , with no rain, no wind and little sun. The company and walk certainly do deserve lovely status.. The car shuffle at the start enabled the 20 of us to set off on the “mostly downhill” walk.
We meandered through beautiful tall trees along a ridge line before we hit the descent to the trip highlight of Tunnel Loop. The tunnel is impressive, quite narrow and quite tall. Especially impressive when you consider the times in which it was created ! The miners noticed that the Lerderderg River had a significant loop here, and theorized that if they cut a tunnel through the reasonably narrow ridge they could divert the stream and fossick in the hopefully rich gravel remains of the bend.
No one knew if they were successful in gaining riches, but it is certainly an interesting story.
We then proceeded UP and UP and more UP until we reached a water race, which we followed around many gullies. It was lovely to see the river (occasionally) below. Apparently some goats were sighted springing along the edge of the steep slope, but all the author can attest to is that she heard bushes crackling. The trail along the edge was right at the edge, with a very steep descent below us on the right hand side. We traversed some dry sclerophyll bush interspersed with lush and verdant growth in the gullies.
Thank you Mark and Andew for an interesting and enjoyable day.
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