Reid's Tramway Walking Track, Powelltown

On Wednesday April 21 2009 I revisited Reid's Tramway Walking Track.

This is a 4 km return route, which starts at the settlement of Powelltown, deep in the Yarra Forest, some 65 km east of Melbourne.

he Track follows the path of an earlier Tramway, to the site of Reid's Timber Mill. That closed down decades ago, and all that is left is a rusting old bogey, and mill machinery. The Mill building itself disappeared decades ago, and there is a huge pile of decaying sawdust on the site, almost buried in the thick forest.

Care is needed on the Track - it is very slippery and covered in bark, branches, leaf litter, and fallen trees, with little recent maintenance. Caution is needed on the old wooden footbridges, which are starting to deteriorate.

This is the "short route" - a loop track continues over the Blackwood Creek Bridge, linking with the Big Bertha Track, ultimately ending at the Powelltown Picnic Ground.

I had walked the Big Bertha Track route on a previous visit.

See the full set of Photos of my visit!

Seven Acre Rock - Yarra State Forest

Seven Acre Rock is a large rocky outcrop, 600 m altitude, which provides superb views of the Yarra State Forest, the Bunyip River Valley, and the Bunyip State Park.

It is located in the Yarra State Forest, deep in the logging area south of the town of Powelltown, about 80 km east of Melbourne.

The walking track to the Rock is a 2 km return route, starting at the Rock car park/picnic ground on the Learmonth Creek Rd, reached from the Yarra Junction-Noojee Rd, about 1 km west of Powelltown.

The Rock itself is granite.

See the full set of Photos, taken on January 3, 2009, showing the Track, other walkers, the big panoramas, the Forest, the Rocks, and some views across the logged areas on Leamonth Creek Rd.

Walk into History - Big Pat's Creek Sector

The Walk into History is a 38 km trail extending from Big Pats Creek to Powelltown.

The small settlement of Big Pat's Creek is about 80 km east of Melbourne, not far from the town of Warburton.

The trail is considered by a number of forest planners to be one of the best scenic forest walks in Victoria.

The two day walk follows old tramway tracks passing through Mountain Ash forests, via old mills and past old logging equipment. The walk can be undertaken in small sections from several access points.

The timber tramway, known as the Federal Mill Tramway, linking Big Pat's Creek and Starling Gap, ceased to operate in 1950, but a few relics remain. Big bushfires in 1983 destroyed most of the remaining infrastructure.

I hiked the northern route of the Federal Mill trail on August 26 2008, as a late-winter review of track conditions, about 4 km return. The trail starts at the junction of Big Pat's Creek Rd and Smythe Creek Rd, at the old bridge, and follows Big Pat's Creek, crossing it at several points.

A small picnic ground, with facilities, suitable for camping, is located about 1 km from the start of the walk.

My objective is to complete the entire trail in stages - I have already done the 11 km southern sector from Powelltown to the High Lead carpark on the Noojee Rd.

Very little evidence remains of the former tramway infrastructure along this section of the walk, apart from some iron rails at the side of the track, near Big Pat's Creek Rd.

See the full set of Photos