U3A Ballarat Hikers

 U3A Hike No 352 Hike Report by Sharon Moss On a somewhat overcast, cool,  drizzly morning 14 hikers set off for Mt Macedon including 2 guests , Jan’s brother, Mark & Graeme, a friend of Mark Hawley. The Macedon Ranges are part of the Great Dividing Range. We started our walk with an attempted visit to the Memorial Cross , which was temporarily closed off in preparation for Anzac Day. After The Shrine of Remembrance, Mt Macedon Memorial Cross is considered the most significant war memorial in Victoria. Located on the summit of the mountain the Cross stands at 21 metres & commemorates all those that served in wars & conflicts. We then progressed to Major Mitchell lookout , by which time the sun was shining , offering superb views to the north west . Major Mitchell lookout was named after Major Thomas Mitchell, the first European to climb the 1000 metre peak in 1836. For those interested in history, after spotting Port Phillips Bay  from the southern aspect of t...

U3A Hike No 351 Hike Report By Gordon Talbot Our walk this week was to the Pyrete Range, an eastern outlier of the Lerderderg State Park, situated north of Bacchus Marsh. After driving through drought-stricken paddocks devoid of any pasture we parked at a barrier on the boundary of the park. The first 2km of the walk were continuously uphill along a dirt road and the unseasonably hot weather made for uncomfortable walking. At last we reached the crest of the ridge and turned off onto what was once a dirt road but was now a walking track. (This road must have been in good condition at least until the 1960s because we passed the remains of a Morris Mini car lying in the bush.) We followed the track along a dry creek-bed through dry, sparse bushland to arrive at a unique bridge across a small gulch. The bridge was made of sections of reinforcing mesh, joined together and anchored in the ground on either side of the creek. Since our last visit the bridge has sagged badly: it appeared t...