U3A Ballarat Hikers

 U3A Hike No 8 Hike Report by Jan Herperger Our group has swelled to 19 enthusiastic hikers - our largest number yet. After driving along a labyrinth of gravel roads and making a couple of U turns we arrived back at Toe Rag Track, the finish point of our last walk and the beginning of today's stage of our long walk in the bush. We stopped briefly at the site of the Wombat Forest Tramway turntable and learned that there also used to be a sawmill at this location. Fun fact: the small stream nearby was the Werribee River.   There were times that the track narrowed to single file walking but much of today's journey was tramped along fire tracks and other roadways lined by very tall, straight eucalypts. There were also some lovely damp areas with ferns and more varied species of trees. We stopped at Balt Camp which was a refugee work camp for displaced persons from World War Two. The camp was constructed in 1946 by the Forestry Commission and housed 45 displaced men from the Balti...

 U3A Hike No 7 Exciting to see such a good turnout for our first hike of 2017. Eighteen keen hikers is our best yet! We finished 2016 with an enrollment of 18 and start 2017 with 25 members. I only envisaged a hardy group of half a dozen when I floated the idea of stage-hiking last year. I would like to thank everyone for their support and encouragement to make this a robust viable group.  Thanks everyone: Andrew Parker Hike Report by Gordon Shaw On Thursday 2nd Feb 2017 the U3A Hiking Group commenced the first of this year’s series of walks which will cover the Daylesford-Bacchus Marsh Lerderderg Track. The walk organised, led and precisely navigated by Andrew Parker took us from Daylesford to the point where the track briefly joins with the Star Track on the way to Bacchus Marsh. We started with a short stretch on the edge of Lake Daylesford then headed south to Jubilee Lake and then into the Wombat Forest. The weather was wonderful, the bush often truly beautiful and the co...

      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...