Summit hike up Mt Lofty - Warrandyte State Park

These photos were taken on Thursday December 30, 2010, in the Warrandyte State Park, 40 km east of central Melhourne.

They show the spectacular panoramas from the summit of Mt Lofty - the Yarra River winds its way around the base of the mountain.

My route started from the gate at the junction of Lower Homstead Rd and Stephen Rd, then a steady climb to the summit where there is a picnic table and seat. From there, a steep descent down the fire management track to the water point on the Yarra, where another picnic table and seat is located.

I sat there for a while and drank my boxed Apple Juice and listened to the birds singing in the nearby bushland.

The return was along the same route.

This was a terribly hot day, temperature was about 37 degrees!

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Coolart Homestead Woodlands hike

These photos were taken on December 29, 2010, in the Coolart Homestead Woodlands, 80 km south of Melbourne, in the Somers and Balnarring districts.

My 4 km hike started at the car park at Balnarring Beach, then continued in the Foreshore Reserve, past the Yacht Club and camping area, then along Tulum Beach.

I then took the unsigned track to the footbridge over the Merricks Creek Estuary, entering the Coolart Homestead Woodlands.

I proceeded along signed Loops 2 and 3, passing the Lagoon, crossing Home Creek, and then along the beach, and back to the car park.

There was plenty of action on the beach, with several kiteboards, as the wind was strong and coming across Westernport Bay from the south.

There are four signed Loop Tracks in the Woodlands, 1 to 4, and all offer interesting hiking through coastal bushland.

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Olinda Forest - circuit hike along Olinda Creek

These photos were taken on Monday December 27, 2010, in the Olinda Forest, 40 km east of central Melbourne.

My 3 km circuit hike started at the junction of the Olinda Creek Rd and Management Road 13, then along the Olinda Creek Track to the creek, then the creek crossing on timber planks, reaching the Olinda Creek Rd. Then back along the road to the car.

Nice forest and the creek was flowing strongly.

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Nowa Nowa scenes - Boggy Creek Gorge and Wairewa Trestle Bridge

These pictures were taken on Christmas Day, Dec 25, 2010.

They show the scenery at the spectacular Boggy Creek Gorge and the nearby historical Trestle Bridge at Wairewa, near Nowa Nowa, about 300 km east of Melbourne.

Boggy Creek starts at Mt Johnston, in the foothills of the Alps, and drops 519 m over 62 km, flowing into Lake Tyers.

The Lookut is reached by a 1 km walking track, starting at a small car park off the Nowa Nowa Rd. The view across the Gorge is amazing, with the creek far below!

Wairewa, location of the historical curved trestle bridge, is a small settlement north of the Princes Highway.

The bridge is on the former Bairnsdale to Orbost railway line, closed in 1987, now the East Gippsland Shared Rail Trail.

Public access on the bridge is prohibited, but it can be viewed from the adjacent Rail Trail.

The railway operated from 1916 until 1987. Surveying began in 1906, and construction began in 1912. It stopped just short of Orbost, on the other side of the Snowy River.

Plans to continue the line through to NSW via Bombala never materialized.

Several timber bridges were built, to cross major rivers including the Nicholson and Tambo, along with the deep Boggy Creek George at Nowa Nowa. The huge (270m long, 19 m high) Stony Creek Bridge east of Nowa Nowa can be reached from the Lakes Entrance Rd.

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A Visit to the Bogong Power Station, Kiewa Scheme

On December 19, 2010, a bitterly cold and wet day, we visited the AGL Bogong hydroelectric power station, at Bogong, part of the Kiewa scheme, 300 km NE of Melbourne.

The scheme diverts and harnesses water from the Rocky Valley and Pretty Valley Branches of the east Kiewa River, which rises on the Bogong High Plains, and the West Kiewa River, which rises near Mt Hotham,

This recently completed station diverts water normally discharged into the Pretty Valley Creek from the McKay Creek Power Station.

The four power stations in the scheme are:

McKay Creek - 160 MW

Clover - 29 MW

West Kiewa 62 MW

Bogong 140 MW

The McKay Creek station is fed from the Rocky Valley Reservoir and a diversion dam from Pretty Valley.

The scheme uses water from about 310 square km of the Kiewa River catchment, supported by 32 km of transfer via aqueducts in the Mt Cope area from adjacent catchments. Much of the water comes from the snow which covers the area for up to five months of the year.

The water from the Bogong station discharges directly into Lake Guy, which then flows through a rock and steel-lined pressure tunnel to the Clover Power Station, where there are two 14.5 MW generators. After use, it then discharges into the Clover Dam, which forms the head storage of the last power station in the chain, West Kiewa, built 140m underground.

The power generated at the Bogong station is 220,000 volts from two units and supplies about 140 MW to the Victorian grid.

The Bogong Power Statioin is the lagrest hydroelectric station to be built on mainland Australia in over 25 years.

An Information Centre is located within the station, which has interesting and informative audio/visual displays and a six-minute video of the planning, evolution, development, construction and operation of the scheme in general, and the station in particular.

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Scenes around Bright, NE Victoria

These pictures show the scenery at Bright, a town 350 km NE of Melhourne, at the hase of the Victorian Alps.

Some public-domain archival historical images have been included, as well some vintage photos taken by myself in the years 1960 to 1976!

Notes of interest:

The Bright Railway opeated from 1890 until 1992. The alignment is now a Rail-Trail. The Heritage listed station and Reserve is now a Museum, managed by the Bright and District Historical Society.

Huggins Lookout – south - walking track starts at end of Deacon Ave, or from the town up the forestry road from Baker's Gully Rd. It is at 790 m above sea level.

Tower Hill Lookout – track starts at turn off on Gt Alpine Rd approximately 2 km from Bright centre on the Porepunkah side

Clearspot Lookout – a track leads to this lookout from Baker's Gully Road

Apex Hill is north of the town, reached from Quinn's Gap up Mt Porepunkah Rd, and the summit is the site of the communications towers and a good lookout.

The Alpine Hotel was built in the late 1880s, and still looks much the same today! The stopping point for V-Line and other coaches is outside the hotel.

The memorial clock tower was unveiled in 1929. It is located in the town centre in Mafeking Square which was named in memory of the Boer war siege of 1899 - 1900.

Pine plantations began soon after WW1.

Tobacco growing was phased out in 2006.

The area was first settled in 1824.

Gold was discovered in the 1850s.

A racing car circuit existed in the late 1950s until the early 1960s, now hidden under pine plantations just east of the town area off the Great Alpine Rd - its legacy survives as Racecourse Rd.

Several interesting walking tracks may be explored - details available from the Information Centre


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For comprehensive information about Bright and district, please visit

http://www.brightvictoria.com.au/?id=history

The Waterfalls at Falls Creek

On December 19, 2010, from our home base in Bright, we travelled to the Falls Creek Village, high up in the Victorian Alps, 375 km NE of Melbourne, through Mt Beauty.

The day was extremely cold and raining, and thick fog was blanketing the region.

At the Falls Creek Village, visibility was down to about 50 m, and it had been snowing, with the air temperature at noon about 2 degrees!

Through the fog, We found the Falls Walking Track, near the entrance to the Village, and followed this to the Falls, about 15 minutes each way. Snow was lying on the Track.

The Falls were magnificent, dropping about 50 m over rocks and down into the valley, creating huge spray and mist.

A new series of boardwalks had recently been constructed near the Falls, which will be explored on a future trip!

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Mt Beauty Pondage circuit walk

These photos were taken on December 18 and 19, 2010, in the Mt Beauty region, 380 km NE of Melbourne.

They show the Mt Beauty Pondage, viewed from a nice circuit walking track,known as the Pondage Walk, of about 2 km, which starts near the Mt Beauty main shopping centre.

The Pondage is part of the Kiewa Hydroelectric Scheme.

Other images were taken from the Kiewa Valley Highway, north of Mt Beauty, and from Sullivan's Lookout, Tawonga Gap Rd, looking towards the cloud-covered Bogong Massif and adjacent peaks.

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Flinders Coastal Hike - Westernport Bay

These pictures were taken on Tuesday December 14, 2010, on a 3 km coastal hike from Flinders, Westernport Bay, 80 km south of Melbourne.

The tide was far out, exposing a vast array of interesting rock-pools.

My route took me from the Flinders Jetty (currently being refurbished), north towards Shoreham.

The archival photo of the Jetty is one which I took on January 12 1952 on a coastal hike with the YMCA - we walked from our camp at Shoreham to Flinders, and were taken back to camp by bus.

I still have my Box Brownie camera which I used on the 1952 walk and it is in good working condition!

Very few houses then!

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Exploring the Olinda Forest - Lyrebird Creek Gully

These photos were taken on Saturday December 11, 2010, on a hike in the Olinda Forest, 45 km east of central Melbourne.

My 3 km circuit route started at the Eagle Nest picnic ground, along Eagle Nest Track, then along George's Tk, and in to Hermon Tk and back to base.

The route followed the Lyrebird Creek gully, through beautiful tall timber and tree ferns.

The creek was crossed twice!

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Mt Corhanwarrabul - Mt Dandenong

Channel 7 tower

Melbourne from Burke's Lookout

Channel 10 tower

On Friday afternoon December 10, 2010, I visited Mt Corhanwarrabul, better known as Mt Dandenong, 628 m above sea level, 35 km east of central Melbourne.

From the car park just off Ridge Rd, at Eyre Rd, I followed the Kyeema Track to Burke's Lookout, then to the Mt Corhanwarrabul Reserve next to the TV towers.

Hang Gliders were preparing for their flights at the Lookout.

The views are superb!

Channel 2 Tower

There are four TV towers at Mt Dandenong:

GTV9 tower

The small 69 m tower built 1955/56 for the Nine Network. The transmitter was relocated to the taller Channel 10 tower in 1996. The Channel 9 tower is now known as the TXA Observatory Rd tower, and is used only for FM radio. It is located about 1 km from the Ch 2/7/10 tower cluster.

ABV2 tower

138 m, located just to the north of Burke's Lookout, built 1955/56. Now known as the Broadcast Australia Eyre Rd tower, it has transmitted Channel 2 signals across Melbourne for more than 50 years. It also carries SBS and Channel 31 services, several FM stations such as ABC FM and JJJ, digital radio services, and hosting the emergency services signals.

It was originally built to a height of 100m, and has been extended several times since, including an extension in 1979 for the opening of FM and in 2001 for digital TV.

HSV7 tower

This is 130 m high, adjacent to the ABV tower, and was built for the Seven Network in 1955/56. It's height was increased in 1996 and again in 2001 for digital TV. It's now known in the industry as the TXA Eyre Rd tower and is used as a backup for all three commercial networks.

ATV10 tower

This is the giant of the hills and is sited on the south side of Burkes Lookout, and originally built to a height of 180 m. It was extended in 2001 and now is at 190 m. Construction started in 1963 and was completed in 1964, for the opening of Melbourne's third TV station Channel 0. It changed in 1980 to Channel Ten and is now known as the TXA Ornate Rd tower, used for carrying all three commercial networks, several FM stations, digital radio, and is available as a backup for ABC and SBS.

In 1996, the commercial stations amalgamated their interests and handed over control to TXA (Transmitters of Australia).

The GTV9, ABV2, and HSV7 towers were built in a hurry for the November 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games.

The towers don't like very tall as seen from Melbourne's eastern suburbs, but standing below them one gains a much better understanding of their height! They are absolutely huge! The summit of Mt Dandenong lies at 628 m.

For comparison purposes, the tallest building in Melbourne is the Eureka Tower, at 300 m, and St Patrick's Cathedral is 105 m. Others are Telstra Tower 193 m, Rialto Tower 251 m and 120 Collins St Tower 220 m.

As seen from the west, a very noticeable scar is visible on the front face of Mt Dandenong. It was made in the late 1950s to accommodate power lines and caused controversy at the time. The power lines have since been removed but the gap still serves as a fire control line. Soil erosion has cut deep gouges out of the track, making vehicle access impossible. It now serves as a very challenging hike, starting at Glasgow Rd and ending at the Kyeema Memorial Cairn, on Kyeema Track, near Burke's Lookout.

I have never done that hike, but those who aspire to climb Mt Everest may be seen on it most weekends on training sessions!

The Kyeema ANA DC2 air disaster occurred in 1938 on the west face of Mt Dandenong, near what is now Burke's Lookout, with the loss of 18 lives. The Memorial Cairn and Crash Site Marker are adjacent to the TV towers.

A graphic account of the crash disaster was published in Flight Safety magazine, which may be viewed at

http://casa.gov.au/fsa/1998/nov/kyeema.pdf

See also "Disaster in the Dandenongs", by Macarthur Job, OAM, from Sierra Publications Australia, at

http://www.sierraaustralia.com/books.html

The Hang Gliding launch ramp is at Burke's Lookout - the landing target site is at Kilsyth.

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Henderson Hill ascent, Healesville

These pix were taken on Sunday afternoon December 5, 2010.

They show the scenery, environment, and flora on a 4 km (return) hike to the summit of Henderson Hill, which overlooks the Maroondah Reservoir.

My route was from the Henderson picnic ground at the base of the Reservoir, following the Donnelley's Weir Track.

There was an increase in altitude from 120m to 250m - the track is steep and stony in sections, and there is a seat at the summit!

There are nice views towards the Yarra Ranges through tall timber, much of which was destroyed in the February 2009 fires, but now regenerating.

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Hamer Forest Arboretum, Olinda

These pix were taken on Saturday afternoon December 5, 2010, in the Hamer Forest Arboretum, Olinda.

My 3 km hike started at the Valley Picnic Ground, then along Yallambee Way and the Gingko Track.

Summer wildflowers were in full bloom!

This section of the large Arboretum is devoted to plantings made in the mid-1970s of trees indigenous to China.

The tracks are named after the tree species through which they pass.

Native to China, the gingko tree (Gingko biloba species) has lived on earth for approximately 270 million years.

Also known as the fossil tree, the gingko species has no existing relatives and is essentially the only tree left of its kind. A dioecious tree, the gingko species has both male and female trees. Only the female gingko produces fruit. However, the leaves of both trees contain medicinal properties that help treat memory loss.

Gingko trees complement a back yard, with their 65-foot trunks and 20-foot spread. The gingko will also light up the landscape with its brilliant gold leaves that develop in the fall.

Gingko can have a long life span, 1,000 years or older. In China the oldest Gingko is about 3,500 years old!

The majority of Gingkos live as a hardy ornamental tree and, being nearly cosmopolitan, specimens are planted around the globe in almost any temperate and subtropical areas. The tree is farmed extensively (esp. for its medicinal use as a herb) in Europe, Japan, Korea and the USA.

In China Gingko trees of more than 100 years old are listed as second class protected plants of the state. Roads and buildings should give way in order to protect them well.

Some people think there's a good opportunity to plant a Gingko tree on special occasions like the death of a beloved one, the birth of a child, an anniversary, moving house etc.

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Lyrebird Creek Gully hike, Olinda Forest

These pictures were taken on Thursday afternoon Dec 2, 2010, in the Lyrebird Creek Gully, Olinda Forest, 45 km east of central Melbourne.

My 3 km return hike started at the the gate on the unsealed Silvan Rd, then along Price's Track, Bridge Track, ending at the footbridge over the Lyrebird Creek.

The route passed through beautiful forest and tree ferns, a former logging area.

Bridge Track is not signed, and is overgrown in places, but is shown in Melways and Parks Vic Track Notes.

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