The White Box Walking Track, an 8.5 km circuit, is in the Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park, 275 km NE of Melbourne, just south of the small town of Chiltern.
This large Park is 21,565 ha, and protects a vast forest which contains a diverse range of natural and historic landscapes.
It's a remnant of of a forest type (Box-Ironbark) which was once much more widespread in Victoria. It is made up of Grey Box, White Box, Red Box and Mugga Ironbark, as well as Red Stringybark and Blakeley's Redgum.
This forest originally consisted of large well-spaced trees and a grassy floor. The discovery of gold in 1858 resulted in destruction of many of the trees to supply timber for the mines and firewood for local people. Now, the vegetation is mainly regrowth and the trees are mostly young - less than 60 years old, straight and relatively close together.
There is an extraordinary diversity of birds in the Park, with well over 200 species having been recorded.
Animals inhabiting the Park include Tree Goannas, Lizards, Skinks, Possums, Kangaroos and Wallabies.
Early mining was destructive on the environment, resulting in erosion in later years. The forest has repaired itself to some extent, but the scars on the creek walls are still present.
There are many old mine shafts in the area adjacent to the Track.
We hiked the complete White Box Walking Track on December 14, 2008, starting at the Honeyeater Picnic area.
The highest point reached is known as "Hill View", 340 m.
Numbered marker posts along the Track correspond to features described in the Notes published by Parks Victoria, which are available from the Track Notes box at the Information Board at the Park entrance off Lancashire Gap Rd.
See the full set of Photos of our trip!
This large Park is 21,565 ha, and protects a vast forest which contains a diverse range of natural and historic landscapes.
It's a remnant of of a forest type (Box-Ironbark) which was once much more widespread in Victoria. It is made up of Grey Box, White Box, Red Box and Mugga Ironbark, as well as Red Stringybark and Blakeley's Redgum.
This forest originally consisted of large well-spaced trees and a grassy floor. The discovery of gold in 1858 resulted in destruction of many of the trees to supply timber for the mines and firewood for local people. Now, the vegetation is mainly regrowth and the trees are mostly young - less than 60 years old, straight and relatively close together.
There is an extraordinary diversity of birds in the Park, with well over 200 species having been recorded.
Animals inhabiting the Park include Tree Goannas, Lizards, Skinks, Possums, Kangaroos and Wallabies.
Early mining was destructive on the environment, resulting in erosion in later years. The forest has repaired itself to some extent, but the scars on the creek walls are still present.
There are many old mine shafts in the area adjacent to the Track.
We hiked the complete White Box Walking Track on December 14, 2008, starting at the Honeyeater Picnic area.
The highest point reached is known as "Hill View", 340 m.
Numbered marker posts along the Track correspond to features described in the Notes published by Parks Victoria, which are available from the Track Notes box at the Information Board at the Park entrance off Lancashire Gap Rd.
See the full set of Photos of our trip!
This looks good Bob! I'll consider this for Tuesday I think - there are so many walks to choose from up that way though!
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