Olinda Creek Walking Track - Mt Evelyn Section

These Pix were taken on September 23, 2013.
 

They show the scenery and environment on a 2.5 km (return) section of the Olinda Creek Walking Track, starting at Tramway Rd, Mt Evelyn.
 

This track terminates at the Silvan Reservoir Park, some 5 km to the south. It was created in 1932 along the alignment of the Overhead Tramway, which transported construction materials in buckets from a siding at Mt Evelyn Railway Station to the Reservoir site.


 

This Section of the Track goes up a steep hill, across an open fire-break paddock after leaving Tramway Rd, and a stile and fence are crossed at the top, next to the junction of Hols Track. Here, signs give directions to Silvan, and Pipeline Track should be followed (also known as Management Road 10).   

The 3D Flyover Movie (below) shows my route!

Olinda Creek Walking Track in Winter

I was in the Olinda Forest on Tuesday afternoon July 14, 2009, reviewing walking track conditions and searching for Fungi.

Located in the Dandenong Ranges National Park,about 30 km east of the Melbourne CBD iy 4 km exploration started from the small car park at the junction of Olinda Creek Rd and gated Track 18, at the confluence of Stonyford and Olinda Creeks.

This took me along Track 18, beside the Olinda Creek, on to Track 13, over the old bridge, along the Olinda Creek Walking Track, on to Olinda Creek Rd and back to the car.

Up until the early 1950s, this was a timber cutting area, and has been subject to bushfire devastation on several occasions since.

A disused concrete weir over the creek is about 500 m from the car park, built in 1931 when the nearby Silvan Reservoir was commissioned. The Reservoir was built on the Stonyford Creek.

See the full set of Photos, which includes an historical image taken in 1909 of the Stonyford Creek Bridge, which may be compared with an image of the same place taken on my visit almost exactly 100 years later!

Olinda Creek Walking Track

The seldom visited Olinda Creek Walking Track is a 3 km circuit in the Olinda Forest, Dandenong Ranges National park, 30 km east of the Melbourne CBD.

It is reached from gated Management Road 13, off the Olinda Creek Rd, and follows the Olinda Creek Gully to a beautiful fern glade on the banks of the Creek. The return route is via the link track to Olinda Creek Rd, then on a foot-track beside the road back to the car.

Remains of former logging activity of the 1940s era may be seen along the track, which passes through regrowth forest and fern gullies. The area was ravaged by bushfires between 1948 and 1955, and again in 1962.

At the Creek there is a depth measurement gauge.

I explored this interesting Track on Monday afternoon June 1, 2009, the first day of winter - there were many colorful fungi along the route.

See the full set of Photos of my visit!