U3A Ballarat Hikers

 U3A Hike # 359 Hike Report By Chris Charleson Eleven hikers congregated at Henderson Spring for a walk featuring lots of U turns and dry creek beds and dams, ridges to clamber up and some amazing water race constructions. Our hike introductions were interrupted by complaints from the locals - a small herd of cattle hoping that we carried fodder. Henderson Spring has a plaque remembering Gordon Henderson who “stoned” or lined the spring for easier access in 1925. He was later to meet his demise on the Thai- Burma railway. Here we walked part of the way along the water race cut into a steep ravine. Soon we came to our first quarry cut into the ordovician rock which was laid when the region was a sea floor. The rocks have been compressed into a series of ridges which were quarried for their slates and shales back in the day. We visited the site of the Charlesford mine which operated up until the 1950’s near Dead Horse Gully. The  extensive scarring of the landscape by high pres...

 U3A Hik #358 Hike Report By Kim Radenic On a beautifully crisp and sunny morning, 12 of us gathered at the tennis courts in Forest Street, Buninyong, ready for our nearly hour-long drive to the You Yangs. While one vehicle took a more “scenic route” (no names mentioned!), involving a few missed turns, we somehow all arrived at the base car park around the same time—perfectly in sync. We were warmly joined by Corinne from Hepburn U3A, who has now become a member of our group. Mark, our leader for the day, briefed us on the plan: we’d be hiking the eastern side of the You Yangs, with an optional detour up to Flinders Peak Lookout at the end. This hike delivered something refreshingly different from our usual walks. The rocky terrain and rugged scenery were spectacular. We set off on the East Track— a steep and well-formed track weaving between split rocks. Along the way, we were rewarded with expansive views of Corio Bay, Avalon Airport, and the Melbourne city skyline emerging throu...