Winter Hiking in the Olinda Forest

On Tuesday June 20 I went out to one of my favourite walking destinations - the Olinda Forest, in the Dandenong Ranges National Park.

It's only 40 mins drive time from my home here in Mont Albert to the Park, which has almost 300 km of walking tracks!

My target is to complete all those tracks - I have so far done about 280 km over the past 12 months.

I still have some tracks to explore in the Mt. Evelyn section of the Park, many of which are very steep and slippery!

So, yesterday's excursion was to the Olinda Section, which includes the amazing Arboretum, with its many hectares of beautiful trees, planted in the 1970s and1980s after the disastrous bushfires which destroyed most of the forest throughout the Park.

One unusual trail is known as the "Poplar Track". This passes through fern gullies and poplar trees. There is a shortcut to this track at a signpost on Mathias Track - the shortcut is a narrow foot-track, which is overgrown during summer, but in winter it mysteriously reappears!

The views from the nearby Woolrich Lookout are magnificent, with vast panoramas across the Olinda Forest to the Yarra Ranges on the horizon.

I have made up a Photo Album of this excursion, which is at http://www.worldisround.com/articles/302111/index.html

I have been exploring the Olinda Forest for many months, and there's always something new to be found out there!