Mt Lofty Circuit Walk, Warrandyte State Park

I went out to the Warrandyte State Park, 20 km east of the Melbourne CBD, on October 6, 2008.

I did an interesting 3 km circuit walk to Mt Lofty, starting at the Canoe Launching Ramp at the car park at the end of Reserve Rd.

The route followed the Yarra River for a short distance, then went steeply uphill on Wayne Rd.

This followed the ridgeline, on the western end of Mt Lofty, with grand views of the Park, and across to the Dandenong Ranges and Yarra Ranges. Along the ridgeline there is a water-point marker sign next to a rough jeep track. This is followed steeply down hill to a nice picnic area adjacent to the Yarra.

The Yarra at this point flows over rocks and rapids, and there is a small beach which gives excellent views.

The main low level Mt Lofty Track is then followed back to the car park.

This route provides an appreciation of the Mt Lofty Section of the Park, and even though it is steep in places, the views from the top are worth the effort!

The various "roads" in this section of the Park are not named on maps - they are shown on Google Earth, and date back to the period when the region was farmland. Their names derive from the landowners of the era. A few relics survive, mainly the remains of fences and gate-posts.

The Mt Lofty Section was completely stripped of timber during the goldrush era of the late 1800s, then became open farmland prior to its incorporation into the Park in 1997.

See all of the Photos of this walk

The Yarra Wetlands Trail - Chirnside Park

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On August 24, 2008, I visited the Yarra Wetlands, in the outer suburban area of Chirnside Park, 30 km east of the Melbourne CBD.

The 3 km return trail follows the Yarra River, starting at the Canoe Launching Ramp at the end of Lower Homestead Rd.

It passes through bushland, next to the large wetlands and lake in the grounds of the nearby Heritage Golf and Country Club.

The lake and wetlands is the habitat of many bird species, including pelicans, black swans, and ducks. A bird hide is located at the edge of the lake, just off the track.

See the full set of Photos

Sweenys Flats - River Trail

Sweenys Flats is a relatively large preserved woodland park, on the north bank of the Yarra River, Eltham, about 30 km NE of Melbourne.

Members of the Wurundjeri tribe of Aboriginals originally inhabited the area. The area remains significant to descendants of the Wurundjeri. During the 1840s, the land around Sweeneys Flats was purchased by Thomas Sweeney, a former convict who established an extensive property built by hard work and initiative. The Hawthorn hedge that remains is still a small part of what was once a system of many hedgerows separating the paddocks of the property from one another.

Directly opposite, on the south bank of the river, is the Tikalara Park, Candlebark Park, and Main Yarra Trail.

The pictures were taken on March 24, 2007, showing the views, river scenes, and flora along the interesting 4 km (return) walking trail.

The full photo album is at:

http://worldisround.com/articles/394387/index.html