Pavitt Lane Walking Trail - Doongalla Forest

Pavitt Lane Walking Trail is in the Doongalla Forest, western section of the Dandenong Ranges National Park, 35 km east of Melbourne.

The Trail is a fire management track, shared with walkers, cyclists and horseriders. Public vehicle access is not permitted.

It links Sheffield Rd with Doongalla Rd, and is an extension of the public road which runs from Liverpool Rd.

The photo album is at

http://worldisround.com/articles/332539/index.html

I hiked this 3 km (return) trail on July 16 2007, passing through interesting native forest. There were nice views across adjacent open farmland to One Tree Hill.

Mt Dandenong Tracks

On July 3 and 5 2007, I did a 4 km return hike along the Kyeema Track (northern section), through the Doongalla Forest, from Kalorama to the Mt. Dandenong Arboretum.

This offered some excellent views to the west and east.

The photo album is at

http://worldisround.com/articles/400105/index.html

Ferndale Walking Track - Sassafras

The Ferndale Walking Track is in the Sassafras district of the Dandenong Ranges National park, 40 km east of Melbourne.

It is a shared track, used for fire access, closed to public vehicles, and links the Mountain Highway with the Basin-Olinda Rd.

It is in a Roadside Conservation Area, passing fern gullies and the Doongalla Forest.

The photo album is at

http://worldisround.com/articles/400105/index.html

I hiked this muddy 4 km track on July 8, 2007, on a cold and wet day!

Bradley's Track - Doongalla Forest

Bradley's Track is a scenic 2 km shared walking track on the western flank of the Dandenong Ranges National Park, 40 km east of Melbourne.

It links Range Rd with the Basin-Olinda Rd, and is located in the Doongalla Section of the Park, and was once a logging track. It is now used for horseriding, walking and park management purposes.

The photos are at

http://worldisround.com/articles/332164/index.html

Part of it is immensely steep, and muddy!

I did this walk on July 10, 2007.

Dodd's Track - Dandenong Ranges National Park

Dodd's Track links the Basin-Olinda Rd with the Doongalla Rd, in the Dandenong Ranges National Park, 40 km east of Melbourne.

It is extremely steep and rocky, about 4 km return, with a change in altitude of about 150m!

It was once a timber logging track, now shared with walkers, horseriders and Park management, and passes through the Doongalla Forest.

The photo album is at

http://worldisround.com/articles/332341/index.html

I did this hike on July 12 2007.

It was overcast and very dark in the forest in mid-afternoon!

Alpine Track Hike - Dandenong Ranges National Park

The Alpine Track is in the Ferny Creek section of the Dandenong Ranges National Park, 35 km east of Melbourne.

It links with the Mountain Highway, passing through beautiful fern gullies and tall forest.

It's a fire management track, and walkers are allowed on it - locked gates are at each end.

The Track is part of the long 15 km Western Slopes Track, which stretches from Ferntree Gully Picnic Ground to the Mt Dandenong summit.

See all of the images in the photo album at http://worldisround.com/articles/332483/index.html

Sadly, the area was devastated in the terrible bushfires of January 1997, which resulted in several lives and many houses being lost in the rural zone bordering the Park.

I hiked the Alpine Track on July 14, 2007, about 5 km.

Banksia Track - Doongalla Forest

The Banksia Track is a 2 km route in the Doongalla Forest, Dandenong Ranges National Park, 35 km east of Melbourne.

It runs between the Olinda-Basin unsealed road and the Doongalla Rd, skirting farms for part of the way, and passing through tall forest and fern gullies, with some nice views across the valley.

I did this 4 km return hike on July 2, 2007, as one of a series of exploratory walks in this magnificient forest.

There are two very steep pinches to negotiate, through stones, mud, fallen branches, and bark, and providing excellent training for Himalayan Trekking!

You can see the photo album at

http://worldisround.com/articles/331796/index.html

Channel Ten Walking Track - Doongalla Forest

The very steep Channel Ten Walking Track is in the Doongalla Forest, Dandenong Ranges National Park, 40 km east of Melbourne.

The photo album is at

http://worldisround.com/articles/331487/index.html

The track links the Doongalla Historical Homestead site with the Dandenong Creek Walking Track, with a change of elevation of about 150 km. It then continues up to the Network Ten Television transmitter installation at the summit of Mt Dandenong via the Zig Zag Track.

It passes through beautiful Mountain Ash forest and tall tree ferns.

I walked this Track on June 26 2007, about 4 km return.

Dandenong Creek Walking Track

The Dandenong Creek Walking Track is in the Doongalla Forest Section of the Dandenong Ranges National Park, 40 km east of Melbourne.

It passes through magnificent tall timber and huge tree ferns and is a popular destination for casual walkers.

I walked the southern sector of this Track, 4km return, on June 23 2007, (mid-winter!), starting and finishing at the Olinda-Basin Rd.

The photo album is at

http://worldisround.com/articles/331468/index.html