Long Forest

August 2, 2011 in hiking, west of melbourne | No comments

Long Forest - Look for the orange markers, though this one in particular pointed nowhere... sersiously!

Long Forest - Look for the orange markers, though this one in particular pointed nowhere... sersiously!

About Long Forest

Location

Long Forest is a surprising little gem near Melton, about 50km west of Melbourne.

Nearest Town

Long Forest is between Melton and Bacchus Marsh. Melton is about 8km from Long Forest.

Opening hours

The Park doesn’t appear to have official opening/closing hours.

Activities:

Long Forest is a great place for hiking or trail running.

Dogs, horses and other animals are not allowed. And no firearms. There are no vehicle access tracks within the park.

Getting there

From Melbourne, take the Western Highway for about 40km towards Ballarat and take the second Melton exit at Coburns Road. Continue for 5km and cross Djerriwarrh Creek. Continue for about another kilometre and then turn right towards Lake Merrimu. Follow Long Forest Road for 2km and turn into the small car park on the left.

Contact

Call the Parks Victoria office at Bacchus Marsh for information on Long Forest:

Phone: 03 5366 0000

Facilities

Picnic tables and bbqs. No toilets.

Gnarly!

Gnarly!

Hiking and Trail Running

Long Forest is a gem of a place to go for a short hike or do some trail running, under an hour from Melbourne.

There are a number of short walks you can do or put a few together and create your own circuit of about 10km:

  • Moonah Track – 1.5km return, easy
  • Coimadai Track – 5km return, medium
  • Happy Valley Track – 4km return, easy
  • Djerriwah Track – 3km, easy

To make it worthy of your trip out there, I suggest starting a the car park along Long Forest Road and taking the Happy Valley Track to the Coimadai Track. I had every intention of continuing along this track to Long Point, but somehow got a bit lost and realised we were going in circles when my arm found the same broken branch as earlier (scraaatch!) and my sister recognised her footprint in the mud… so what we did was walk and run along Coimadai track and cut across an unnamed track to Long Point Track and walked along this track for a few hundred metres and then turned right to rejoin the Coimadai Track and then followed the Happy Valley Track back to our car. We had planned on a 10km trail run but it ended up being closer to 8km with us missing Long Point.

Winter's sun streaming through the trees at Long Forest

Winter's sun streaming through the trees at Long Forest

Maps & Books

Maps

Books

A Long Forest Walk features in Day Walks Melbourne by John Chapman and can be purchased from Open Space Publishing.




Mount Macedon

January 8, 2011 in hiking, Mt Macedon | No comments

View from Mt TowrongAbout Mt Macedon

Location

Mt Macedon is approximately 65km from Melbourne off the Calder Freeway and through the township of Mt Macedon.

Nearest Town

Mt Macedon is the nearest town. The summit is short drive from the township.

Opening Hours

Mt Macedon Regional Park is only closed on days of forecast Code Red Fire Danger.

The Top of the Range Tearooms at the summit are open:
Weekdays 10:30am to 4pm
Weekends 10:00am to 5pm
Tel: (03) 5427 3466

Activities

Mt Macedon Regional Park is superb for hiking, trail running, mountain biking and rock climbing at the Camel’s Hump area. There are also limited horseriding options. Check with the Park Rangers to find out where you can and can’t ride your horse.

Mt Macedon Regional Park is dog-friendly so bring your pooch along, so long as Fido is on a leash.

Getting there

Take the Calder Freeway for 57km and then exit at the Macedon/Mt Macedon turn off. Follow Mt Macedon Road for approximately 7km to the Mt Macedon township. Don’t confuse Macedon with Mt Macedon. Mt Macedon is the place you want to be.

For some hikes, you’ll want to continue through town following signs that turn off to the summit. For hikes that start in town, park somewhere near the Mountain Inn pub.

Contact

Calls the Parks Victoria office at Macedon or the Woodend Visitor Information Centre.

Parks Victoria Macedon Office
Nursery Road, Macedon 3440
Tel: (03) 5421 5500
Woodend Visitor Information Centre
High Street Woodend 3444
Tel: (03) 5427 2033

Facilities

There are fantastic picnic grounds with seats and tables, the Top of the Range Tearooms near the summit, plenty of toilets, bbqs, BYO wood fireplaces (not on days of total fire ban, of course!)

Wildlife in the Park

Be on the lookout for Mountain Possums (Bobuck), Greater Gliders, Swamp Wallabies, Eastern Grey Kangaroos, echidnas, wombats and koalas. Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoos are local to the area, too.

Hiking & Trail Running, Mt Macedon

A misty morning on the Macedon Ranges Walking Trail

A misty morning on the Macedon Ranges Walking Trail

The thing I love best about Mt Macedon is how varied the tracks and surfaces you find yourself on are. There is something for all levels of runner and hiker, from easy to moderate tracks to very steep ascent and descents, single tracks, fire tracks and rocky tracks.

The Macedon Ranges Walking Trail is clearly marked and it’s hard to get lost out there, even for one as navigationally challenged as me.

Be prepared

It can get really cold and even snow during the winter months, so bring adequate gear for warmth and protection. Because some of the sections are so rocky and loose underfoot, a walking/hiking pole is also recommended.

Bring your own water.

Tracks and trails

There’s about 60km of tracks and trails to choose from. Here are some suggested hikes:

Macedon Ranges Walking Trail (MRWT) – 13km (approx) option

This walk involves a car shuffle. Leave a car in the town centre near the Mountain Inn hotel. Take the second car to the summit and park near the tea rooms. You can find the MRWT behind the tea rooms. Follow this trail and head toward McGregors Picnic Ground then continue to Camel’s Hump. The side trip to Camel’s Hump is optional. It’s about an extra 20 minute walk. From that junction, continue following the MRWT to Days Picinic Ground, cross Lions Head Road and follow the Forest Eco-Tourism Walking Trail to Sanatorium Lake. Again, this side trip to to the lake is optional.

Walk to Barringo Road, cross it and then follow Zig Zag track to Hemphills track where you’ll turn left. Follow this track for about 1.5km to the turn off to Mt Towrong. It’s a short, sort of steep ascent to the summit of Mt Towrong, then follow the steep, rocky path to Anzac Road. Turn left from here and walk back to Mt Macedon Road and once there, turn left to reach the Mt Macedon township where you parked your car.

It’s easy to follow this route on the Parks Victoria – Mt Macedon Walking Trails map.  Follow sections 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14.

For the more adventurous not afraid of a steep ascent to start your hike (and for those who won’t have two cars to do the car shuffle), you can start this walk from the township, follow Mt Macedon Road to Douglas Road (on the left) for almost 2km and then take the MRWT  on the right and climb up to a junction with Hoods Track. Then turn right to get to the Mt Macedon Memorial Cross. This hike, together with the trails mentioned above, is about 16km.

Hiking books

We recommend:

Maps

Trail running events and ultramarathons

The next Trails+ Mt Macedon Trail Run will be held on Sunday 3 June 2012. There will be 30km and 50km options. Help support one of Victoria’s best off-road ultramarathon events!


You Yangs Regional Park

January 8, 2011 in hiking, west of melbourne, You Yangs | No comments

East West Circuit Walk at the You YangsAbout the You Yangs

Location

The ‘Youies’ as I affectionately call them are about 60 km west of Melbourne and 22km from Geelong.

Nearest Town

Lara is 10kms from the You Yangs and Little River is about the same.

Opening hours

The Park is open from 8.00am to 4.30pm year round and 8.00am to 6.00pm on weekends and public holidays during daylight savings. It has one of those metal spike things at the exit so you can drive out after the park has closed but you can’t drive in unless you want punctured tyres!

Activities:

The You Yangs is a great place for mountain biking, hiking, trail running and rock climbing.

Horse riding is permitted and dogs on a leash are also allowed.

Getting there

Melway reference: Key map 11

From Melbourne, take the Princes Highway and exit at Little River. Pass through the small town of Little River and continue for 3km then turn left into Farrar Road for 1.7km and then turn right into Branch Road for about 4km to the park entrance.

Turn right into the park and follow the signs to the Turntable Carpark, which is where the East/West walk begins and it gives you easy access to the summit of Flinders Peak and the Branding Yard Circuit track.

Contact

Call the Parks Victoria office at Lara:

Phone: 03 5282 3356
Duty Ranger: 0408 512 580

Facilities

Picnic tables and bbqs, toilets, disabled toilets and an information centre near the park entrance.

Wildlife in the You Yangs

I’ve hiked and run and mountain biked out there many times and have seen snakes and many wallabies, the occasional koala and lots of wild goats!

Hiking and Trail Running

The You Yangs are a great place to go hiking or trail running and under an hour from Melbourne.

It’s probably best to steer clear of the Stockyards and Kurrajong Plantation areas as these are the mountain bike tracks and unless you’re up for dodging out of the way of speeding and high flying mountain bikers, best to stick to the strictly feet only walking tracks!

You Yangs 50|50 Ultramarathon

You Yangs 50|50 Ultramarathon

Trails+ runs the annual You Yangs 50|50 ultramarathon including distances of 50 miles (80km), 50k, 30km and 15km for the less ambitious. This is a fantastic, well-supported, friendly event on a great course held annually in July. I should know because I always volunteer to man an aid station out there :)

Here are some great trails to get you started:

  • East West Circuit
  • Flinders Peak
  • Branding Yard Circuit

Mountain Biking

The You Yangs is an excellent place to go mountain biking, but be careful! I know of lots of people who have taken some major spills out there, myself included!

There are permanent mountain bike courses set up in two areas:

  • Stockyards
  • Kurrajong Plantation

Bikes are not permitted in the Western Plantation or on any of the walking tracks throughout the You Yangs.

For something more tame, you can cycle around the 12km sealed Great Circle Drive.

There are regular mountain biking events taking place in the Park.

Maps


Werribee Gorge Circuit Walk

October 5, 2010 in hiking, werribee gorge, west of melbourne | No comments

About the Werribee Gorge State Park

Werribee Gorge - Looking into the GorgeLocation

About 65 km west of Melbourne

Nearest Town

Werribee Gorge is 8kms west of Bacchus Marsh

Size

564 hectares

Activities:

Suitable for hiking, trail running and rock climbing. No dogs, no firearms, no horses and no bikes allowed!

Getting there

From Melbourne, take the Western Freeway past Bacchus Marsh and take the Pentland Hills Road exit. Look out for and follow the brown ‘Werribee Gorge State Park’ signs from the Highway.

You can also get there via the Iron-bark Road (Ballan-Ingliston Road) from Bacchus Marsh.

For the Circuit Walk and Short Circuit Walk, to get to Meikles Point Picnic Area, follow the unsealed road into the park. The first picnic ground you come to is Quarry Picnic Area. Don’t park your car here, you need to follow the hairpin bend down into the Gorge to get to Meikles Point Picnic Area. It’s quite steep and narrow, so take it easy when driving down in case you meet someone on their way out and have to get out of their way in a hurry.

Contact

Call the Bacchus Marsh Department of Primary Industry and Parks Victoria office on 03 5366 0000 for park updates.  The Circuit Walk may be impassable after heavy rain, so if it has been raining, check with the Parks Vic office before heading out there to make sure the track is open and passable.

Facilities

Picnic areas, toilets, fireplaces and picnic tables at Meikles Point and the Quarry Picnic areas but bring your own water.

Werribee Gorge Circuit Walk

Werribee Gorge Circuit Walk signDescription

The Circuit Walk is graded Medium-Hard. Parks Victoria suggest 10kms, 4.5 hours, while Glenn Tempest’s track notes in his book ‘Daywalks Around Melbourne’ suggests 8km, 3 hours. We followed Glenn Tempest’s notes and it took us 2:15 moving at a moderate pace and without a rest break.

The first 45 minutes were quite steep, but not in an excruciatingly lung busting kind of way.

Here’s the map generated from the GPS data gathered by my Garmin Forerunner 405:

Werribee Gorge - Circuit Walk map

Werribee Gorge - Circuit Walk map

And here’s the elevation profile of the walk:

Werribee Gorge Circuit Walk - Elevation Profile

Werribee Gorge Circuit Walk - Elevation Profile

Highlights: There were some excellent views along the gorge edge, a great mix of surfaces from sand to loose stone, some rock scrambling and using wire ropes fixed to the gorge to help you get around some of the sheer rock faces above the Werribee River. Fun!

Werribee Gorge Circuit - Metal ropes to help you negotiate a tricky section of rock climbing

Tips: Follow the orange triangles on the markers. The walk is somewhat unclear and you could make a wrong turn until you pass the Short Circuit Walk turnoff then it’s damn near impossible to get lost, even for me! Do the walk in an anti-clockwise direction. Start from Miekles Point Picnic Ground, not Quarry Picnic Ground, so the hardest uphill part is out of the way early.

Werribee Gorge Circuit - follow the orange markers

Watch out for snakes! Red-bellied black snakes love the waterholes.

Other Walks in the Werribee Gorge State Park

River Walk

Medium, 3km return, 1.5 hours
Highlights: Aqueduct, cliff base climb, river.

Falcons Lookout

Medium, 3km return, 2 hours
Highlights: Panoramic views of the Gorge and surrounding district. It is also the only rockclimbing site in Park.

Centenary Walk

Centenary Track Junction

Medium-Hard, 4kms return, 2.5 hours
Highlights: Open woodlands, creek crossings, steep climb to James Whyte Island Reserve, expansive views.

Follow the directions for the Circuit Walk until you get to the Centenary Walk junction as per the image above.

Short Circuit Walk

Follow the directions for the Circuit walk for approximately two kilometres and take the Short Circuit Walk option to the left when you come to the track junction and head back to Meikles Picnic Ground. This walk is marked with blue triangles on posts.

Werribee Gorge - Short Circuit Walk Junction

Maps

Other Information about the Werribee Gorge State Park

Websites

Rock Climbing

  • Chockstone – Werribee Gorge Rock Climbing information

Blogs

Books

The Circuit Walk features in Dayswalks Around Melbourne by Glenn Tempest. You can purchase this excellent book through Open Spaces. This book also features track notes for Falcons Lookout and the Western Bluff and Ironbark Gorge walks.

Flora & Fauna

Keep an eye out for echidnas, koalas, swamp wallabies and eastern grey kangaroo. If you’re lucky you may even see a Platypus swimming in one of the deep river holes.  There’s plenty of bird life and notable species include the wedge-tailed eagle and the peregrine falcon.