U3A Ballarat Hikers

      Hike Report by Yvonne Jenkins The 6th and final leg of the Goldfields Track, from Sailors Creek Road to Daylesford Lake. We left Ballarat with dark clouds, thunder & lightning, so we started our walk with rain jackets on. By morning tea time we were a steamy lot, so jackets were stowed away. No rain, so it was very enjoyable with warm but not hot temperatures – ideal for walking. The track had some short uphill slopes, just enough for the less fit of us in the group to know our lungs were working. Two kookaburras could be heard encouraging us on our way (or were they laughing?) Further on down the track there was a wobbly bridge and 3 water crossings – with a little help, we all managed to keep our feet dry as we crossed. We passed the three lost children walk a few times on the track – Andrew had once again done a great job in getting the historical information for us. After climbing the final short hill into Daylesford it was a simple matter of getting chairs ...

           Hike Report by Anne Ottrey 14 walkers met at Kirks Reservoir for our 7:45 start to this stage of the Goldfields Track. We left half of the cars at the finishing point in Sailors Creek Road and travelled through clouds of dust to the starting point in Wallaby Road. With all of these wallaby placenames, there must be wallabies somewhere, but we only saw a few kangaroos. The walk undulated through the regrowth forest of the Great Divide with fringe lilies, hop goodenia and some pea plants in flower. There were many historical sites along the way – evidence of gold mining as we passed Mullens Dam, which was used for gold sluicing. Near Mollonghip, the route followed an old historic timber tramway, built in 1866 to supply timber to the mining industry in the surrounding area. We ate lunch at the site of the former Wombat Station – one of eleven stations on the busy line between Creswick and Daylesford, finally shut down in the 1950’s. Walking a sectio...

  Hike Report by Tim Bosher Stage 4 of The Goldfields Track - 1 December 2016 Jackass Rd to Wallaby Road.13 intrepid souls met at Kirk’s reservoir at the new assembly time of 7:45am, which allowed ample time for the increasing logistic chain of car shuffling involved as we venture further from Ballarat. We were happy to welcome Janet McKay to the group. The walk of about 16km was undertaken in perfect weather conditions through country ranging from bush tracks to open farmland. The walking itself was relatively easy with good surfaces and only fairly minor undulations. Morning tea was taken on a conveniently placed 13 person log and lunch at the Dean tennis courts. Historical interest was provided by a stop at the site of W.G. Spence’s childhood home (an important political figure in Australian political and trade union history) and natural history interest by the sight of our first snake (fortunately dead). Everyone survived the day without incident, mosquitos were surprisingly ...

  Hike report by Terry O'Brien Twelve walkers headed off on our third walk of the Wallaby Track on Thursday November 17th from White Swan to well past St Georges Lake. We discovered on this third walk that our fearless leader is not only a great organiser and prepared and across all the details but also a learner. We had stops for morning tea and lunch and so good to see that Gordon’s comments in the last report acted on. The day was ideal for walking with clear skies and temps in the high twenties although hot after lunch and the combination of pace and heat tested some towards the end. Andrew manages very comfortably the car shuffles that this walk requires and also had organised for water and sausages to be delivered at lunchtime. Unfortunately the BBQs were not functioning but the effort to make the walk work well is appreciated. Like all good walks we appreciate the natural surroundings and the exercise but also learn. Lots of history and environmental changes observed and tal...

  Hike Report by Gordon As opposed to the first leg, we walked this section in ideal weather conditions. We re-joined the Trail at the Redan wetlands, and followed the Yarrowee River to Central Ballarat and then past Black Hill and Brown Hill. Apart from a short walk along Peel Street, we were walking along the fringes of the city, and enjoying the view into occasional backyards. After a brief stop at Brown Hill, for what we thought was morning tea, we continued under the Freeway tunnel (echo-chamber?) and left the Yarrrowee for the long climb to the White Swan Reservoir. As the climb continued, it became obvious that the previous stop was the lunch break (!), and no more time wasting would be allowed. As the climb continued to continue, we realised that all we wanted to do was to outrun the mosquitoes: perhaps that explains the cracking pace of our leader. For the third leg on 17th November, bring the strongest insect repellent you have, and fill your pockets with food to eat on...

U3A Hike No 1  Jan Herperger, Phill Grant, Alan Pittard, Marlene, Anne Ottrey, Bob, Greg Anderson. Here's the group at the top of Mt Buninyong ready to start the first leg of our new adventure. Hike Report by Andrew Parker Despite the persistent rain we enjoyed some interesting scenery and good camaraderie. We started from the top of Mt Buninyong and headed steeply downhill until we reached the crater. It was fairly level going for a while before more downhill to Granny White's Lane.  We crossed the Midland Highway and hiked down into Buninyong. At the Buninyong Botanical Gardens we took shelter from the rain in the historic gazebo and enjoyed some morning tea. It was then time to hike up to Mt Helen in the steady rain. The owners of the 'Krooze In' cafe kindly allowed us to shelter on their covered deck and eat our lunch with the luxury of lattes, flat whites, cappuccinos and hot chocolates. It was then down hill from Mt Clear to t...