Koornong Bushland Hike, Warrandyte State Park

The Koonong Section of the Warrandyte State Park is a 10 ha area of preserved bushland, adjacent to the Yarra River, in a former logging region, about 25 km east of the Melbourne CBD.

A special free school operated in the area between 1939 and 1948, and the land was originally owned by the Frencham Family.

I visited Koorong on Tuesday afternoon October 4, 2011, for a 4 km hike.

My walk started at a gated fire management track off a small car park at Koornong Crescent - there is a swimming area here and a canoe launching beach.

I followed the fire track along the cliff top, overlooking the gorge, until it made a sharp left hand turn. At this point, an unsigned foot-track was followed for about 100 m to a view point overlooking the river, at the confluence of the Pigeon Bank Creek.

Directly opposite is Blue Tongue Point - the Yarra here is known as Blue Tongue Bend, as it makes a big sweeping turn.

There were excellent views of the Yarra from the cliff top - on the opposite bank could be seen the main walking track leading to Blue Tongue Point, which starts at the Jumping Creek Reserve.

See all of the Photos of my visit!

Koornong Hike, Warrandyte State Park

A relatively unknown 3 km (return) walk in an obscure section of the Warrandyte State Park is in the Koornung Bushland Reserve, 25 km east of the Melbourne CBD.

This section of the Park borders the Yarra River on its west, and is opposite Blue Tongue Bend.

The walk starts at a small car park and Park gate at the junction of Hamilton Rd and Koornung Crescent, North Warrandyte, reached from the the Kangaroo Ground-Warrandyte Rd via Osborne Rd.

The route follows an old logging track, now used for fire management, parallel to the river on the cliff top. It reaches another gate at the junction with unsealed Yarra River Court.

Follow a narrow access track to the right for about 100 metres, to a further junction, and continue downhill through forest to a high level viewpoint on a rock platform overlooking the Yarra at Blue Tongue Bend.

The Koornong Reserve is about 10 hectares, and is also known as "Frencham Land", named after early land-owners in the district.

My visit was on Monday afternoon, October 4, 2010.

See all of the Photos of my visit, which include some taken from the newly constructed "100 Steps Lookout", on the Warrandyte-Kangaroo Ground Rd, which offers excellent panoramas over the Yarra and the State Park. Note the nice lounge chair at the Lookout!

Koornong Gorge Hike, Warrandyte State Park

The Koornong Section of the Warrandyte State Park is a 10 ha area of preserved bushland, adjacent to the Yarra River, in a former logging region, about 25 km east of the Melbourne CBD.

A special free school operated in the area between 1939 and 1948, and the land was originally owned by the Frencham Family.

I visited Koornong on Friday afternoon June 12, 2009, for a 4 km hike.

My walk started at a gated fire management track off a small car park at Koornong Crescent - there is a swimming area here and a canoe launching beach.

I followed the fire track along the cliff top, overlooking the gorge, until it made a sharp left hand turn. At this point, an unsigned foot-track was followed for about 100 m to a view point overlooking the river, at the confluence of the Pigeon Bank Creek.

Directly opposite is Blue Tongue Point - the Yarra here is known as Blue Tongue Bend, as it makes a big sweeping turn.

Returning uphill to the point where the fire track made its turn, I followed the unsigned Pigeon Bank Creek Track down through bushland. The track divided a short way along, the right hand branch descended over steps to the remains of the old weir over the Creek, then over a rickety footbridge. This track follows the eastern flank of the Gully and ultimately reaches sealed Menzies Rd.

I back-tracked to the junction and continued along the left branch, which is on the western flank of the Gully, eventually reaching a boardwalk and Pigeon Bank Rd.

This was my turnaround point.

There were excellent views of the Yarra from the cliff top - on the opposite bank could be seen the main walking track leading to Blue Tongue Point, which starts at the Jumping Creek Reserve.

See the full set of Photos of my visit!

Koornong Bushland Yarra River Walk - Warrandyte State Park

A relatively unknown 3 km (return) walk in an obscure section of the Warrandyte State Park is in the Koornong Bushland Reserve, 25 km east of the Melbourne CBD.

This section of the Park borders the Yarra River on its west, and is opposite Blue Tongue Bend.

The walk starts at a small car park and Park gate at the junction of Hamilton Rd and Koornong Crescent, North Warrandyte, reached from the the Kangaroo Ground-Warrandyte Rd via Osborne Rd.

The route follows an old logging track, now used for fire management, parallel to the river on the cliff top. It reaches another gate at the junction with unsealed Yarra River Court.

Follow a narrow access track to the right for about 100 metres, to a further junction, and continue downhill through forest to a high level viewpoint on a rock platform overlooking the Yarra at Blue Tongue Bend.

After viewing the river, return to the junction and turn right, following the formed track through bushland adjacent to the course of the Pigeon Bank Creek (dry at the time of my visit!)

A Boardwalk will be reached, and shortly after that the Track ends at the sealed Menzies Rd.

This walk is about 3 km and provides nice views of the Yarra from vantage points on its western border.

The Koornong Reserve is about 10 hectares, and is also known as "Frencham Land".

My visit was on Sunday November 16, 2008

See the full set of Photos