340. Upper Maribyrnong River 11km
U3A Hike No 340
Hike Report By Jan Herperger
Today’s hike was on a 5th Thursday which meant we were off to Melbourne. Using public transport to get to the start of the hike and then back from the finish point was too convoluted so we drove instead to Canning Reserve in Avondale Heights. Two of the vehicles were left there and then the nine of us climbed into the other two cars and set off to begin the walk at Brimbank Park, in Keilor Park. This is a very large parkland (328.7 hectares) managed by Parks Victoria and judging by the size of the car parking area and large number of picnic tables it must be a very popular spot.
The weather was overcast at the start and there was a bit of a cool breeze - perfect for a ramble along a river. The path was nice and wide which made it perfect for chatting with the person next to you and also flat enough and devoid of rocks and bark and other trip hazards so that it was easy to look around at the scenery.
This scenery included lovely old red gums, flowering wattles, lorikeets, a tree full of bats hanging upside down!, a circling eagle, white faced herons, kangaroos, a very tall railway bridge, views of the Western Ring Road, the Medway Golf Course and the remains of the old 3LO radio transmission tower.
At different points along the way we could see the evidence of very high flood levels, from sticks and branches piled up high behind trees and even a tyre up a tree!
We were kept company by a regular overhead stream of noisy aircraft on their way to land at the nearby Melbourne airport and also the sounds of trucks and cars on the freeway at one stage.
Because it was a fun thing to do, at Solomon’s Ford we crossed the river on large stepping stones. In the 1830’s, prior to bridges and punts, this was the main crossing point on the river. A bit further along we crossed back over the river on a proper bridge and kept going until we arrived at the finish point at Canning Reserve where we got into the two cars that were waiting for us and drove back to Brimbank Park and had lunch there.
It is wonderful that we have access to these green spaces next to various rivers and creeks where you can forget that you are in the middle of a vast city and can enjoy lots of different birds, wildlife, old, old trees and a smorgasbord of vegetation.
Thank you Andrew for leading this hike. I’ve regularly driven along the freeway over the years and had no idea that there was such a lovely pathway so close by. It’s wonderful to explore these secret places.
And thank you to Kim who passed his first time being whip with flying colours.
(I almost forgot to mention that while we were having morning tea at a lovely spot by the river, Gordon won the “Colin Award” for finding a pair of sunglasses. Well done Gordon! The sunglasses will be passed on to Colin on our next hike :-) )
The weather was overcast at the start and there was a bit of a cool breeze - perfect for a ramble along a river. The path was nice and wide which made it perfect for chatting with the person next to you and also flat enough and devoid of rocks and bark and other trip hazards so that it was easy to look around at the scenery.
This scenery included lovely old red gums, flowering wattles, lorikeets, a tree full of bats hanging upside down!, a circling eagle, white faced herons, kangaroos, a very tall railway bridge, views of the Western Ring Road, the Medway Golf Course and the remains of the old 3LO radio transmission tower.
At different points along the way we could see the evidence of very high flood levels, from sticks and branches piled up high behind trees and even a tyre up a tree!
We were kept company by a regular overhead stream of noisy aircraft on their way to land at the nearby Melbourne airport and also the sounds of trucks and cars on the freeway at one stage.
Because it was a fun thing to do, at Solomon’s Ford we crossed the river on large stepping stones. In the 1830’s, prior to bridges and punts, this was the main crossing point on the river. A bit further along we crossed back over the river on a proper bridge and kept going until we arrived at the finish point at Canning Reserve where we got into the two cars that were waiting for us and drove back to Brimbank Park and had lunch there.
It is wonderful that we have access to these green spaces next to various rivers and creeks where you can forget that you are in the middle of a vast city and can enjoy lots of different birds, wildlife, old, old trees and a smorgasbord of vegetation.
Thank you Andrew for leading this hike. I’ve regularly driven along the freeway over the years and had no idea that there was such a lovely pathway so close by. It’s wonderful to explore these secret places.
And thank you to Kim who passed his first time being whip with flying colours.
(I almost forgot to mention that while we were having morning tea at a lovely spot by the river, Gordon won the “Colin Award” for finding a pair of sunglasses. Well done Gordon! The sunglasses will be passed on to Colin on our next hike :-) )
Photos By Andrew Parker
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