It actually feels like we're on holidays, now! Yesterday we went for a lovely walk around Totteridge with D's parents. You can see the map here. Today we're heading to Bristol for the weekend. We're looking forward to seeing our friends and maybe having a day out in the countryside.
I'm still editing and uploading photos from July, but hopefully in the next couple of weeks I'll start to upload photos from the UK.
Showing posts with label maps. Show all posts
Showing posts with label maps. Show all posts
7 October 2011
28 February 2011
18KM WALK: MARIBYRNONG RIVER – BRIMBANK PARK – WESTERN RING ROAD – STEELE CREEK: 20TH JAN 2011
(Wow, this is a bit late!)
Here is a map of the walk.
Here are all the photos we took.
We met E at Essendon station (unplanned) and took the 903 bus to the start of the walk. The plan was to walk up to Brimbank Park, do a loop back to (near) the start, then head downstream around the large curve in the river to catch the 903 bus back to Essendon at Steele Creek.
We headed down the side of the valley to the river on one of the unofficial tracks, through shoulder-high grasses, past huge purple thistle flowers and the occasional wild/feral fennel bush.
Once down at the river, it was easy to see how high the recent floodwaters had come, and also to imagine how fast it must have been flowing. Large branches had been swept onto the path, and bushes had been tipped on their sides. The path was also damaged (though no longer wet), with water channels creating small ditches along its length. We walked under the Maribyrnong River Viaduct/Quarter Mile Bridge and had to take a picture of the kissing gate below – so plastered with leaves and twigs that it looked deliberately thatched!
Check out that concrete, Dad!
It was kind of unsurprising, then, when we met a ranger underneath the ring road, who told us that the path was actually closed (we hadn’t seen any signs) due to flood damage. “We can’t guarantee the safety of any of the trees or the path,” she told us, and strongly advised us against coming back that way . . . which was exactly what we’d planned to do! Luckily, there is a higher path to Brimbank Park from Western Ring Road (which we’d intended to use on our return trip), so we took that over the top of the valley walls and were treated to excellent views out towards Mt Macedon.
It was pretty cool to see up close some of the geological features that are so obvious when you take a plane out of or into Melbourne (and we saw A LOT of planes!). Around those north-western areas it’s clear that the high parts are not hills – it’s a plain, and the watercourses have cut huge valleys out of it.
Once down in Brimbank Park, we had a wander around and decided to treat ourselves to an iced coffee (or iced chocolate in D’s case) at the café. It was perfect weather to sit under the high verandah and consult Google Maps on E’s phone. We couldn’t cross the river to Horseshoe Bend because both the fords were underwater, so we decided we’d walk back to the Western Ring Road, follow the path around to Steele Creek, and have lunch there. From there, we’d decide on our next move.
Flood damage and picnic tables
For a little way the Western Ring Road Trail was surprisingly pleasant, but after we crossed Keilor Park Drive it was pretty grim walking to the Calder Freeway, sandwiched between the ring road and various industrial estates and warehouses.
It was a relief to get into suburban streets and then finally descend into the greenery of Steele Creek. We walked a little way from the freeway noise, then downed our bags to sit in the shade, reapply sunscreen and eat lunch.
Consulting the map again, we decided to head down to what Google calls Niddrie Lake, but which seems to be known as Valley Lake on the ground. After trying to follow Google’s map (incorrect), we decided to simply scramble down the side of the hill through an undeveloped plot of land in order to get to the lake. We hypothesised that this used to be an enormous quarry (internet searches tell me we were right). It is quite a bizarre place: a newly landscaped lake with a great big sculpture of a person sitting on a ladder gazing east through a pair of binoculars; huge quarry walls; recently planted trees and unestablished ‘wetland’; patchy development of new McMansion-style estate homes, some perching almost too close to quarry walls for comfort! It will be interesting to go back in ten years to see how the trees have matured and the lake and wetland have become more established.
Although the map said otherwise, we were able to follow Steele Creek right down to Rosehill Road and then to Buckley Street (though we had to do a bit of rockhopping to get to the path on the east side of the creek). Although it was hot, a cool breeze kept it from being stifling, and there were lots of small birds, moths and butterflies flitting about to keep us distracted.
We climbed the path near Buckley Street to get the view over the explosives factory and down to the city, and we sat on a shady bench to enjoy the scenery and drink a cup of tea. From there, it was back to Buckley St and the (wonderfully airconditioned!) 903 bus. Despite not being allowed to do the walk we’d planned, we had a good time exploring totally new places – plus we ended up exactly where our original walk would have taken us!
In conclusion: I wouldn’t be keen to walk the Western Ring Road Trail again, but it worked for us as a link between Brimbank Park and Steele Creek (would probably be less obnoxious to ride it on a bike). We probably all got a touch sunburnt - we were pretty careful, but there really wasn’t much shade on the path. We hadn’t walked with E before, but we all seemed to strike the same pace, and be comfortable with the distance. All in all, a good day!
Here is a map of the walk.
Here are all the photos we took.
We met E at Essendon station (unplanned) and took the 903 bus to the start of the walk. The plan was to walk up to Brimbank Park, do a loop back to (near) the start, then head downstream around the large curve in the river to catch the 903 bus back to Essendon at Steele Creek.
We headed down the side of the valley to the river on one of the unofficial tracks, through shoulder-high grasses, past huge purple thistle flowers and the occasional wild/feral fennel bush.
Once down at the river, it was easy to see how high the recent floodwaters had come, and also to imagine how fast it must have been flowing. Large branches had been swept onto the path, and bushes had been tipped on their sides. The path was also damaged (though no longer wet), with water channels creating small ditches along its length. We walked under the Maribyrnong River Viaduct/Quarter Mile Bridge and had to take a picture of the kissing gate below – so plastered with leaves and twigs that it looked deliberately thatched!
Check out that concrete, Dad!
It was kind of unsurprising, then, when we met a ranger underneath the ring road, who told us that the path was actually closed (we hadn’t seen any signs) due to flood damage. “We can’t guarantee the safety of any of the trees or the path,” she told us, and strongly advised us against coming back that way . . . which was exactly what we’d planned to do! Luckily, there is a higher path to Brimbank Park from Western Ring Road (which we’d intended to use on our return trip), so we took that over the top of the valley walls and were treated to excellent views out towards Mt Macedon.
It was pretty cool to see up close some of the geological features that are so obvious when you take a plane out of or into Melbourne (and we saw A LOT of planes!). Around those north-western areas it’s clear that the high parts are not hills – it’s a plain, and the watercourses have cut huge valleys out of it.
Once down in Brimbank Park, we had a wander around and decided to treat ourselves to an iced coffee (or iced chocolate in D’s case) at the café. It was perfect weather to sit under the high verandah and consult Google Maps on E’s phone. We couldn’t cross the river to Horseshoe Bend because both the fords were underwater, so we decided we’d walk back to the Western Ring Road, follow the path around to Steele Creek, and have lunch there. From there, we’d decide on our next move.
Flood damage and picnic tables
For a little way the Western Ring Road Trail was surprisingly pleasant, but after we crossed Keilor Park Drive it was pretty grim walking to the Calder Freeway, sandwiched between the ring road and various industrial estates and warehouses.
It was a relief to get into suburban streets and then finally descend into the greenery of Steele Creek. We walked a little way from the freeway noise, then downed our bags to sit in the shade, reapply sunscreen and eat lunch.
Consulting the map again, we decided to head down to what Google calls Niddrie Lake, but which seems to be known as Valley Lake on the ground. After trying to follow Google’s map (incorrect), we decided to simply scramble down the side of the hill through an undeveloped plot of land in order to get to the lake. We hypothesised that this used to be an enormous quarry (internet searches tell me we were right). It is quite a bizarre place: a newly landscaped lake with a great big sculpture of a person sitting on a ladder gazing east through a pair of binoculars; huge quarry walls; recently planted trees and unestablished ‘wetland’; patchy development of new McMansion-style estate homes, some perching almost too close to quarry walls for comfort! It will be interesting to go back in ten years to see how the trees have matured and the lake and wetland have become more established.
Although the map said otherwise, we were able to follow Steele Creek right down to Rosehill Road and then to Buckley Street (though we had to do a bit of rockhopping to get to the path on the east side of the creek). Although it was hot, a cool breeze kept it from being stifling, and there were lots of small birds, moths and butterflies flitting about to keep us distracted.
We climbed the path near Buckley Street to get the view over the explosives factory and down to the city, and we sat on a shady bench to enjoy the scenery and drink a cup of tea. From there, it was back to Buckley St and the (wonderfully airconditioned!) 903 bus. Despite not being allowed to do the walk we’d planned, we had a good time exploring totally new places – plus we ended up exactly where our original walk would have taken us!
In conclusion: I wouldn’t be keen to walk the Western Ring Road Trail again, but it worked for us as a link between Brimbank Park and Steele Creek (would probably be less obnoxious to ride it on a bike). We probably all got a touch sunburnt - we were pretty careful, but there really wasn’t much shade on the path. We hadn’t walked with E before, but we all seemed to strike the same pace, and be comfortable with the distance. All in all, a good day!
27 September 2010
WALKING OUT OF THE CITY: DAY FIVE
Tuesday 27 July 2010
Lilydale to Woori Yallock
26km / Approx 7 hours
Map
My photos
Dear Diary,
Today we walked out of the city.
This is the entry I jokingly suggested I should write after the fifth day of our walk, which took us from Lilydale station through outer suburbia and remnants of bushland, over a filled-in aqueduct, past the place my mum went to school as a kid, around the other side of Mt Dandenong, along great stretches of rail trail, through a tunnel of early-spring wattle blossoms, squeezed us down the valley at the foot of the Warramate Hills, and then spat us out into the fertile river flats and gently rolling vineyards of the Yarra Valley near Woori Yallock. After all of my philosophising about what 'the city' might mean or be, it seemed clear enough (as the honey light from the setting sun warmed our backs, and a gentle breeze wafted the fresh smells of damp earth and cow shit around us) that we were no longer in it.
Because it was going to be a long walk (the longest day on our walk out of the city), and because there was a lot of transport to coordinate (especially on the return journey), D, M and I took the train out to Lilydale early-ish in the morning. We started walking at about 10am after finding some coffee and pastries (including an ENORMOUS custard tart). The plan was to follow the Lilydale-Warburton Rail Trail most of the day, with one detour around a small section of the Mount Evelyn Aqueduct Walk, and to arrive in Woori Yallock before sunset!
D and J at the start of the rail trail at the end of Lilydale Station carpark
As we approached Mount Evelyn, Mount Dandenong was in full view - odd to see it from the 'side' rather than the 'front'!
Walking the rail trail was a very informative experience. Most (if not all) of the old stations exist as the outlines of platforms, grass overrunning them, with a large sign proclaiming the station name, and often a few picnic benches nearby. There are many information points along the way, too, telling you about the history of particular areas and buildings.
Mount Evelyn Station has a great display of historical information.
First Aid Post Reserve - they used to have first aid 'competitions' here!
One of the personally significant aspects of this walk for me was getting the chance to explore the area where my mum lived as a kid (after her family migrated from the Netherlands). I remember hearing stories about her childhood, and walking through the area gave me more of an appreciation of that family history. For one thing, since I grew up in the bush, I've always thought of Mount Evelyn as being suburban - and it is, but barely! It is on the very outskirts of town, backing onto farmland. I wonder if it felt more isolated in the 1950s and 1960s, or if there is a feeling of community there that is not possible to observe when you're just passing through.
Mount Evelyn Aqueduct Walk: the aqueduct has been filled in, but this is still a lovely tunnel of tranquillity!
Morning tea, just the other side of Mount Evelyn.
From here, the trail runs to Wandin North, hemmed in on both sides with rural acreages, scraps of bushland, and hillside paddocks.
At Wandin North we stopped for a small break and to use the toilets at the cafe. We would pass back through here on the bus later in the evening and decide that this might be a good spot to bring visitors for a nice walk - Wandin North to Woori Yallock is around 12km. Not only would it be an easy walk that takes in some of the most contrasting bits of the trail, you would also get to see the pigs outside the hardware store at WN and visit Carriage Cafe in Seville.
Despite the fact we had our lunch with us, we had to pop in to Carriage Cafe for a hot chocolate. It is exactly my sort of thing - seemingly randomly situated next to the rail trail, and obviously catering for trail users. There's even a place to tether your horse!
It was after Seville that we walked out of the valley and into the wide expanse of the Yarra River flats. The following few pictures give an idea of the contrast:
(Impressionist!)
We definitely felt as though we'd left the city, and a sign for the RURAL code of conduct proved us right! Apart from the obvious visuals, the scents and sounds seemed to provide the different atmosphere - grass and farm smells, the sounds of breezes across the valley and of cattle in the distance. We admired the vineyards, the Yarra Ranges in the background, the sunlight streaming past us, the horses crossing the long bridge, the creek burbling alongside us. . .
. . . and trudged onwards to Woori Yallock, to collapse in the bus shelter and wait to be taken back to Lilydale Station. Apparently, there had been chaos on Melbourne public transport that day, but we had missed it all. We felt a little smug about that!
Today we totally did walk out of the city!
Lilydale to Woori Yallock
26km / Approx 7 hours
Map
My photos
Dear Diary,
Today we walked out of the city.
This is the entry I jokingly suggested I should write after the fifth day of our walk, which took us from Lilydale station through outer suburbia and remnants of bushland, over a filled-in aqueduct, past the place my mum went to school as a kid, around the other side of Mt Dandenong, along great stretches of rail trail, through a tunnel of early-spring wattle blossoms, squeezed us down the valley at the foot of the Warramate Hills, and then spat us out into the fertile river flats and gently rolling vineyards of the Yarra Valley near Woori Yallock. After all of my philosophising about what 'the city' might mean or be, it seemed clear enough (as the honey light from the setting sun warmed our backs, and a gentle breeze wafted the fresh smells of damp earth and cow shit around us) that we were no longer in it.
Because it was going to be a long walk (the longest day on our walk out of the city), and because there was a lot of transport to coordinate (especially on the return journey), D, M and I took the train out to Lilydale early-ish in the morning. We started walking at about 10am after finding some coffee and pastries (including an ENORMOUS custard tart). The plan was to follow the Lilydale-Warburton Rail Trail most of the day, with one detour around a small section of the Mount Evelyn Aqueduct Walk, and to arrive in Woori Yallock before sunset!
D and J at the start of the rail trail at the end of Lilydale Station carpark
As we approached Mount Evelyn, Mount Dandenong was in full view - odd to see it from the 'side' rather than the 'front'!
Walking the rail trail was a very informative experience. Most (if not all) of the old stations exist as the outlines of platforms, grass overrunning them, with a large sign proclaiming the station name, and often a few picnic benches nearby. There are many information points along the way, too, telling you about the history of particular areas and buildings.
Mount Evelyn Station has a great display of historical information.
First Aid Post Reserve - they used to have first aid 'competitions' here!
One of the personally significant aspects of this walk for me was getting the chance to explore the area where my mum lived as a kid (after her family migrated from the Netherlands). I remember hearing stories about her childhood, and walking through the area gave me more of an appreciation of that family history. For one thing, since I grew up in the bush, I've always thought of Mount Evelyn as being suburban - and it is, but barely! It is on the very outskirts of town, backing onto farmland. I wonder if it felt more isolated in the 1950s and 1960s, or if there is a feeling of community there that is not possible to observe when you're just passing through.
Mount Evelyn Aqueduct Walk: the aqueduct has been filled in, but this is still a lovely tunnel of tranquillity!
Morning tea, just the other side of Mount Evelyn.
From here, the trail runs to Wandin North, hemmed in on both sides with rural acreages, scraps of bushland, and hillside paddocks.
At Wandin North we stopped for a small break and to use the toilets at the cafe. We would pass back through here on the bus later in the evening and decide that this might be a good spot to bring visitors for a nice walk - Wandin North to Woori Yallock is around 12km. Not only would it be an easy walk that takes in some of the most contrasting bits of the trail, you would also get to see the pigs outside the hardware store at WN and visit Carriage Cafe in Seville.
Despite the fact we had our lunch with us, we had to pop in to Carriage Cafe for a hot chocolate. It is exactly my sort of thing - seemingly randomly situated next to the rail trail, and obviously catering for trail users. There's even a place to tether your horse!
It was after Seville that we walked out of the valley and into the wide expanse of the Yarra River flats. The following few pictures give an idea of the contrast:
(Impressionist!)
We definitely felt as though we'd left the city, and a sign for the RURAL code of conduct proved us right! Apart from the obvious visuals, the scents and sounds seemed to provide the different atmosphere - grass and farm smells, the sounds of breezes across the valley and of cattle in the distance. We admired the vineyards, the Yarra Ranges in the background, the sunlight streaming past us, the horses crossing the long bridge, the creek burbling alongside us. . .
. . . and trudged onwards to Woori Yallock, to collapse in the bus shelter and wait to be taken back to Lilydale Station. Apparently, there had been chaos on Melbourne public transport that day, but we had missed it all. We felt a little smug about that!
Today we totally did walk out of the city!
26 July 2010
BELGRAVE - EMERALD - MENZIES CREEK, JULY 2010
It’s about time I shared some photos from our lovely anniversary (8 years!) walk, since it was a week and a half ago now! I really can’t be bothered writing up a big report (famous last words! I bet this will end up huge!), so maybe I’ll just post photos and have a ramble about them underneath each one. It was a nice two-day trip, and reminded us that walking for more than one day in a row is so excellent – waking up on that morning with nothing to organise except packing our bags and setting off was a truly relaxing feeling . . . not to mention that we only had a short day of walking ahead of us so we could take our time getting up and lounging around over breakfast (on which note, I do recommend Glenview Retreat B&B if you’re in the area).
Anyway, here is the map of our 2 day walk: click for map. I wouldn’t recommend people try to follow it exactly as we walked down roads that don’t actually exist on the ground and found ourselves having to cut through people’s paddocks and back yards a few too many times for our liking!
All our photos of the 2 days can be found here, or you can see just day one here or day two here. Now, on with the show!
After our previous adventure and soaking, we'd come prepared for drenching rain, but apart from a few patches of drizzle on the first day, we didn't encounter much precipitation.
We said hello to Puffing Billy, knowing we would meet up with it again at the end of the next day . . .
. . . and headed into Sherbrooke Forest. It was quite spectacular with the morning light filtering through the trees and the bird calls echoing through the tree tops.
In fact, just after this photo was taken, a lyrebird strolled across the path not three metres in front of us! Then, five minutes down the track I said, "That sounds like another lyrebird" (you can often tell because it repeats the same half a dozen bird calls all at the same volume) . . . and then D spotted it up a tree! We stood and watched it singing for about ten minutes! Here are some little videos of it, taken with our photo camera:
Out of Sherbrooke Forest, we decided to brave Ward Road again - we weren't sure how much of it actually existed, but we knew the first bit could be walked and were hoping that we could cut through to the next road.
The view is so great from there. It is actually kind of annoying that it's a view only property owners (and devious walkers) get to enjoy!
This photo shows D on Ward Road - that straight blue line on the map is meant to be it. You can see the path behind him . . . not particularly road-y, is it?! Somewhat predictably, we scrambled along for a while and at some point decided that we should have hit the first road by now. With my super map-reading skillz, I led us down the hill to the tops of the gardens, and we stepped over a low fence (strange how much of a psychological barrier a flimsy fence can be: you are now DEFINITELY trespassing!) . . .
. . . and into a vacant block. We then traipsed down to William Road, walked for another kilometre or so, and then sat down by the side of a quiet road to enjoy the view and have 'morning tea' (at about midday, if I recall correctly). A couple of goats looked on from a shed above us as we picked out which house we would live in and debated whether or not we'd have to also buy a car to get around.
After a bit more roadside walking - and more mysterious non-existent roads on the map - we headed onto the track beside Sassafras Creek (called the Sassafras Creek Forest Trail, the Dandenong Tourist Trail or Track and other names).
It was beautiful, but hard(er than expected) going in patches because there were some trees down across the path - one huge one that we had to caterpillar over in stages, throwing our bags across and digging our fingers into the bark as we scrambled across - and the winter rains had turned parts of the track into slippery mudslides and mini-waterfalls. We saw some cool mushrooms and fungi, though.
We sat down for a quick bite to eat at around 2 or 2:30, a bit rushed because rain threatened, and also because we were aware that due to a late-ish start, some dawdling (the lyrebird!) and some slow going (Ward Rd!) we were going to have to make up some time in order to get to our B&B before dark.
Also, I had a headache. The stretch along the creek before lunch had unfortunately just seemed to go forever, but now we were on Woori Yallock Creek (of which Sassafras Creek is a tributary) we made good time, and soon we were emerging onto the outer fringes of Emerald. We climbed the steep hill onto Prince St and followed roads into the town itself.
Back yard alpacas!
Us in Emerald! D used the facilities near the library, then we toddled down into Emerald Lake Park - highly recommended for a picnic and a stroll, and conveniently located next to a Puffing Billy stop (maybe it's actually the other way round)!
The park is a lot bigger and the lake a bit smaller than I'd imagined, and I could easily spend a day exploring. In peak season it must get busy, what with the train, a little swimming pool, lots of waterfowl, an outdoor gym, paddle boats and various picnic areas to draw the crowds.
We crossed the bridge over the lake, got a little bit mixed up with unsignposted walking tracks, and ended up (once again) sneaking through a back yard in order to get onto Bower Ct. A few corners later and we arrived at our B&B to be greeted by our friendly host (Jenny), a bottle of red wine, a bowl of chocolates, and a wonderful suite.
We had a long soak in a hot bath - actually, it was a spa, but we didn't really want to use the spa function - drank our wine, ate the chocolates, watched Legend (haha, I know!) and slept wonderfully. (Some of you will be pleased to know that a little note beside the spa asked us to leave the water in after the last use so that it could be used to water the garden.)
*
The next morning we lazed in bed for a while, having ordered breakfast (from the menu!) for 9/9:30, and sat out on the balcony in the fresh morning air, wrapped in our bathrobes.
As we ate breakfast, Jenny came by our little courtyard and put out some seed . . . and suddenly the yard was full of lorikeets and galahs! It was all very lovely, and what we really wanted to do was STAY FOR LONGER. Instead, we slowly got ourselves together, settled our bill, said goodbye and headed back down to the lake . . .
. . . up to town, where we caught a few glimpses of wonderful views across the hills . . .
. . . through some vacant land, and back down to the creek.
Heading up along Ridge Road, we were less concerned by the 'no through road' and 'private access only' signs (the map clearly stated that there was a walking track!), and more concerned with the size of the hill looming before us! We were aiming for the trig point and picnic area marked on our map as having 'excellent views', so we knew there was going to be at least a bit of a climb!
As we toiled up the hill, though, we reaped immediate rewards - the views seemed to unfold around us. First we could see just the next hill, then the next, then all the way across to Mount Donna Buang near Warburton!
From the top, the view was absolutely stunning. We could see the Yarra Valley, Donna Buang, Mount Beenak, and Silvan Reservior.
And that's just showing you the vista to the north-east! As we sat at our picnic table with the sun on our backs, we drank tea, ate chocolate, and soaked in the view to the south and south-east. From here we could see Cardinia Reservoir, Western Port Bay and French Island, Arthur's Seat on the Mornington Peninsula, and glimpses of Port Phillip Bay to the south-west. We also wondered if the hills in the distance might be Wilson's Prom - they were definitely South Gippsland, anyway!
This was pretty much as good as it was going to get! We would have been happy to stay until sunset, but we needed to get back down to Menzies Creek and catch Puffing Billy back to Belgrave.
Yeah, I'm a peak bagger! ;)
I should take a moment to point out that we had, for some reason or another, found the word 'Trumpington' very amusing the previous day. We thought it sounded like a euphemism for farting, and so we'd devised various phrases - the ones that caught on were all about Little Lord Trumpington: "Little Lord Trumpington has come out to play!" and, "Did you invite Little Lord Trumpington along to dinner?" and suchlike. Hopefully this explains D's pose in the previous photo! You might also notice the big sign saying "LOCAL TRAFFIC ONLY". There was also one saying "No through road". Having walked along so many roads marked as such, and having found them at least a little walkable, we ignored the signs.
It started off fine . . .
. . . and continued to be more than adequate for quite a while. But then it simply disappeared, and we were faced with the prospect of climbing all the way back up the hill and continuing mapless to Menzies Creek via another route (we hadn't photocopied an alternative). Or, we figured, we could just continue where the map said the road was meant to be and get to Menzies Creek that way - after all, we were so close! We could pretty much see the town. And so . . . we pushed on. First on the outside of the fence, and then, when it got too steep and scrambly, over the fence and into the paddock we went.
We weren't too happy about this turn of events. Particularly as some of the fences looked like they might have been electric (I tested them with a blade of grass, they weren't on), and then even more so when a young bull started running at us! Luckily it was just curious, not angry, but we scarpered into the next paddock! By this stage we were well and truly concerned, and wondered how lost we might actually get.
If you look at the map linked at the start of the post, you will see that Trumpington Grove is meant to curve west to meet Belgrave Gembrook Rd, and we hoped that there would be some kind of bridge or ford across the creek at that point. There wasn't. There was, instead, a large, wet swamp. We considered our options. We could wade across the swamp? After all, it was the very end of our walk, so we wouldn't be uncomfortable for long. It didn't seem appealing, though, so we decided to follow the creek around for a bit to see if there was an easier crossing point. After all, we'd trespassed so much by now - in for a penny, in for a pound as they say. And there was! There was a little land-bridge across the creek at the end of the paddock! All we had to do was go through the sheep pen (making sure to close the gates properly behind us) and up through the back yard of the house onto the main road. The sheep were quite happy to see us, and one in particular seemed keen to nibble on whatever we might have to offer (our packs, for instance). We patted them, took a deep breath, and started to climb out of the creek.
Someone came running out of the house, so we called out our apologies and checked with them that we were actually in Menzies Creek (at this point we were just happy to see a person). She said yes, but also said we were lucky she was home, because their dog was "very unfriendly", and who knows what it might have done to us if she'd not been around. She let us hop over the gate and onto the verge of the road, and as soon as we'd gone she let her dog go. It snarled and barked and was generally ferocious, and we were very glad that everything had turned out OK. (I should point out that I had a long-lasting, very intense fear of dogs after being "chased and mauled" - more like "played with and licked on the face" - by one that was bigger than me when I was about three or four years old, and I would actually rather face a bull than a large dog!)
Needless to say, there are no pictures of this.
We power-walked up the road and scampered into Menzies Creek station just as Puffing Billy arrived. A kindly conductor took pity on us when we asked him if we could buy a ticket from him (I think you're meant to pre-purchase - well, now we know) and pointed us to a carriage.
It was with some relief that we sat back to admire the view as the train pulled out of the station. I'd been a bit worried about the trestle bridge, because I remember being terrified when we went over it when I was a kid! However, I think I'd used up my worry for the day! The bridge seemed quite small and solid this time round!
At Belgrave, we noticed our friend's car at her mum's house and we dropped in to say hi. We were treated to cups of tea and slices of delicious home-made lemon tart, and we stayed for an hour or so, patting the cats and chatting. Then E drove us home, and we sang Beatles songs all along the freeway. It was an unexpected and lovely end to our trip.
A+, would walk again. But not along Trumpington Grove!
Anyway, here is the map of our 2 day walk: click for map. I wouldn’t recommend people try to follow it exactly as we walked down roads that don’t actually exist on the ground and found ourselves having to cut through people’s paddocks and back yards a few too many times for our liking!
All our photos of the 2 days can be found here, or you can see just day one here or day two here. Now, on with the show!
After our previous adventure and soaking, we'd come prepared for drenching rain, but apart from a few patches of drizzle on the first day, we didn't encounter much precipitation.
We said hello to Puffing Billy, knowing we would meet up with it again at the end of the next day . . .
. . . and headed into Sherbrooke Forest. It was quite spectacular with the morning light filtering through the trees and the bird calls echoing through the tree tops.
In fact, just after this photo was taken, a lyrebird strolled across the path not three metres in front of us! Then, five minutes down the track I said, "That sounds like another lyrebird" (you can often tell because it repeats the same half a dozen bird calls all at the same volume) . . . and then D spotted it up a tree! We stood and watched it singing for about ten minutes! Here are some little videos of it, taken with our photo camera:
Out of Sherbrooke Forest, we decided to brave Ward Road again - we weren't sure how much of it actually existed, but we knew the first bit could be walked and were hoping that we could cut through to the next road.
The view is so great from there. It is actually kind of annoying that it's a view only property owners (and devious walkers) get to enjoy!
This photo shows D on Ward Road - that straight blue line on the map is meant to be it. You can see the path behind him . . . not particularly road-y, is it?! Somewhat predictably, we scrambled along for a while and at some point decided that we should have hit the first road by now. With my super map-reading skillz, I led us down the hill to the tops of the gardens, and we stepped over a low fence (strange how much of a psychological barrier a flimsy fence can be: you are now DEFINITELY trespassing!) . . .
. . . and into a vacant block. We then traipsed down to William Road, walked for another kilometre or so, and then sat down by the side of a quiet road to enjoy the view and have 'morning tea' (at about midday, if I recall correctly). A couple of goats looked on from a shed above us as we picked out which house we would live in and debated whether or not we'd have to also buy a car to get around.
After a bit more roadside walking - and more mysterious non-existent roads on the map - we headed onto the track beside Sassafras Creek (called the Sassafras Creek Forest Trail, the Dandenong Tourist Trail or Track and other names).
It was beautiful, but hard(er than expected) going in patches because there were some trees down across the path - one huge one that we had to caterpillar over in stages, throwing our bags across and digging our fingers into the bark as we scrambled across - and the winter rains had turned parts of the track into slippery mudslides and mini-waterfalls. We saw some cool mushrooms and fungi, though.
We sat down for a quick bite to eat at around 2 or 2:30, a bit rushed because rain threatened, and also because we were aware that due to a late-ish start, some dawdling (the lyrebird!) and some slow going (Ward Rd!) we were going to have to make up some time in order to get to our B&B before dark.
Also, I had a headache. The stretch along the creek before lunch had unfortunately just seemed to go forever, but now we were on Woori Yallock Creek (of which Sassafras Creek is a tributary) we made good time, and soon we were emerging onto the outer fringes of Emerald. We climbed the steep hill onto Prince St and followed roads into the town itself.
Back yard alpacas!
Us in Emerald! D used the facilities near the library, then we toddled down into Emerald Lake Park - highly recommended for a picnic and a stroll, and conveniently located next to a Puffing Billy stop (maybe it's actually the other way round)!
The park is a lot bigger and the lake a bit smaller than I'd imagined, and I could easily spend a day exploring. In peak season it must get busy, what with the train, a little swimming pool, lots of waterfowl, an outdoor gym, paddle boats and various picnic areas to draw the crowds.
We crossed the bridge over the lake, got a little bit mixed up with unsignposted walking tracks, and ended up (once again) sneaking through a back yard in order to get onto Bower Ct. A few corners later and we arrived at our B&B to be greeted by our friendly host (Jenny), a bottle of red wine, a bowl of chocolates, and a wonderful suite.
We had a long soak in a hot bath - actually, it was a spa, but we didn't really want to use the spa function - drank our wine, ate the chocolates, watched Legend (haha, I know!) and slept wonderfully. (Some of you will be pleased to know that a little note beside the spa asked us to leave the water in after the last use so that it could be used to water the garden.)
*
The next morning we lazed in bed for a while, having ordered breakfast (from the menu!) for 9/9:30, and sat out on the balcony in the fresh morning air, wrapped in our bathrobes.
As we ate breakfast, Jenny came by our little courtyard and put out some seed . . . and suddenly the yard was full of lorikeets and galahs! It was all very lovely, and what we really wanted to do was STAY FOR LONGER. Instead, we slowly got ourselves together, settled our bill, said goodbye and headed back down to the lake . . .
. . . up to town, where we caught a few glimpses of wonderful views across the hills . . .
. . . through some vacant land, and back down to the creek.
Heading up along Ridge Road, we were less concerned by the 'no through road' and 'private access only' signs (the map clearly stated that there was a walking track!), and more concerned with the size of the hill looming before us! We were aiming for the trig point and picnic area marked on our map as having 'excellent views', so we knew there was going to be at least a bit of a climb!
As we toiled up the hill, though, we reaped immediate rewards - the views seemed to unfold around us. First we could see just the next hill, then the next, then all the way across to Mount Donna Buang near Warburton!
From the top, the view was absolutely stunning. We could see the Yarra Valley, Donna Buang, Mount Beenak, and Silvan Reservior.
And that's just showing you the vista to the north-east! As we sat at our picnic table with the sun on our backs, we drank tea, ate chocolate, and soaked in the view to the south and south-east. From here we could see Cardinia Reservoir, Western Port Bay and French Island, Arthur's Seat on the Mornington Peninsula, and glimpses of Port Phillip Bay to the south-west. We also wondered if the hills in the distance might be Wilson's Prom - they were definitely South Gippsland, anyway!
This was pretty much as good as it was going to get! We would have been happy to stay until sunset, but we needed to get back down to Menzies Creek and catch Puffing Billy back to Belgrave.
Yeah, I'm a peak bagger! ;)
I should take a moment to point out that we had, for some reason or another, found the word 'Trumpington' very amusing the previous day. We thought it sounded like a euphemism for farting, and so we'd devised various phrases - the ones that caught on were all about Little Lord Trumpington: "Little Lord Trumpington has come out to play!" and, "Did you invite Little Lord Trumpington along to dinner?" and suchlike. Hopefully this explains D's pose in the previous photo! You might also notice the big sign saying "LOCAL TRAFFIC ONLY". There was also one saying "No through road". Having walked along so many roads marked as such, and having found them at least a little walkable, we ignored the signs.
It started off fine . . .
. . . and continued to be more than adequate for quite a while. But then it simply disappeared, and we were faced with the prospect of climbing all the way back up the hill and continuing mapless to Menzies Creek via another route (we hadn't photocopied an alternative). Or, we figured, we could just continue where the map said the road was meant to be and get to Menzies Creek that way - after all, we were so close! We could pretty much see the town. And so . . . we pushed on. First on the outside of the fence, and then, when it got too steep and scrambly, over the fence and into the paddock we went.
We weren't too happy about this turn of events. Particularly as some of the fences looked like they might have been electric (I tested them with a blade of grass, they weren't on), and then even more so when a young bull started running at us! Luckily it was just curious, not angry, but we scarpered into the next paddock! By this stage we were well and truly concerned, and wondered how lost we might actually get.
If you look at the map linked at the start of the post, you will see that Trumpington Grove is meant to curve west to meet Belgrave Gembrook Rd, and we hoped that there would be some kind of bridge or ford across the creek at that point. There wasn't. There was, instead, a large, wet swamp. We considered our options. We could wade across the swamp? After all, it was the very end of our walk, so we wouldn't be uncomfortable for long. It didn't seem appealing, though, so we decided to follow the creek around for a bit to see if there was an easier crossing point. After all, we'd trespassed so much by now - in for a penny, in for a pound as they say. And there was! There was a little land-bridge across the creek at the end of the paddock! All we had to do was go through the sheep pen (making sure to close the gates properly behind us) and up through the back yard of the house onto the main road. The sheep were quite happy to see us, and one in particular seemed keen to nibble on whatever we might have to offer (our packs, for instance). We patted them, took a deep breath, and started to climb out of the creek.
Someone came running out of the house, so we called out our apologies and checked with them that we were actually in Menzies Creek (at this point we were just happy to see a person). She said yes, but also said we were lucky she was home, because their dog was "very unfriendly", and who knows what it might have done to us if she'd not been around. She let us hop over the gate and onto the verge of the road, and as soon as we'd gone she let her dog go. It snarled and barked and was generally ferocious, and we were very glad that everything had turned out OK. (I should point out that I had a long-lasting, very intense fear of dogs after being "chased and mauled" - more like "played with and licked on the face" - by one that was bigger than me when I was about three or four years old, and I would actually rather face a bull than a large dog!)
Needless to say, there are no pictures of this.
We power-walked up the road and scampered into Menzies Creek station just as Puffing Billy arrived. A kindly conductor took pity on us when we asked him if we could buy a ticket from him (I think you're meant to pre-purchase - well, now we know) and pointed us to a carriage.
It was with some relief that we sat back to admire the view as the train pulled out of the station. I'd been a bit worried about the trestle bridge, because I remember being terrified when we went over it when I was a kid! However, I think I'd used up my worry for the day! The bridge seemed quite small and solid this time round!
At Belgrave, we noticed our friend's car at her mum's house and we dropped in to say hi. We were treated to cups of tea and slices of delicious home-made lemon tart, and we stayed for an hour or so, patting the cats and chatting. Then E drove us home, and we sang Beatles songs all along the freeway. It was an unexpected and lovely end to our trip.
A+, would walk again. But not along Trumpington Grove!
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