U3A Ballarat Hikers

 U3A Hike No 344. Hike Report By Barbara Whitfield Three carloads of happy hikers set out on a beautiful sunny morning for the Boden’s Water Race walk. We parked at Argyle Dam on Surface Hill Road and walked up a lovely sandy track through a green glade of trees.  Soon we reached a place where the water race transected the road and we then set off following the water race.   We trekked along the scrubby water track to Doctors Road where we stopped for morning tea next to the Bodens No.1 Dam. The breach in the dam wall is clearly visible where the original valve was removed that had allowed the water to be released as needed.  The value of the metal meant that they were usually reused elsewhere. A little further on we had a look at the sign for the short Boden’s Water Race walk which provided lots of information about the water race system and included a photo of sluicing in progress. We then traversed down and across the amazing remains from the water sluicing that a...

U3A Hike No 343  Hike Report By Peter Treby Seventeen U3A walkers set off in perfect weather from Richards Campground in the Mt Cole State Forest for a 10.6 km walk incorporating parts of the Beeripmo Track linked by quiet gravel roads.   We firstly climbed a fine single walking track through granite boulders to Raglan and Rob Falls, and a railed lookout on top of a large granite tor. The forest here is mainly blue gums to about 30 metres, with tree ferns in the gullies. Later in the walk, the taller trees also included messmates.   Throughout the walk, the forest is still recovering from the Bayindeen – Rocky Road fire of late February 2024, which burned 22,000 hectares. The Beeripmo walk only re-opened in January 2025. Everywhere eucalypts are putting out epicormic foliage from their trunks, looking like leafy totem poles. The understory is still a little thin and bare, save for the wetter gullies.   After the falls w e reached less steep terrain and stopped...

 U3A Hike No 342 Hike Report By Monica McCormack On the sort of bad-hair day that sets every hiker’s - and firefighter’s - nerves on edge, the plan to walk through the local Glen Park State Forest, was abandoned. Last minute messaging and phone calls from Andrew re-directed our excursion to Victoria Park in central Ballarat for a two-stage walk: the first, around Lake Wendouree, the second around Victoria Park itself. This trusty stand-by option during extreme fire danger days, proved once again to allow a walk-and-talk session for the 13 plus one (Colin joined us for morning tea after locating us on his bike) participants. For several newcomers to the hiking group it also allowed a snapshot view of Ballarat’s green and wetland scene, together with location highlights, that might otherwise be overlooked when concentrating on driving and traffic lights. The first leg involved the familiar circuit walk for native Ballarat-ians around Lake Wendouree, its grey waters whipped up by high...