Exploring the newly opened Werribee River Regional Park

These pix show the scenery, environment, and flora in the recently opened Werribee River Park, 35 km southwest of central Melbourne.

It is one of three new urban parks opened under the management of Parks Victoria, on land previously managed by Melbourne Water.

This 260 hectare park is located on the west bank of the Werribee River and runs south of the Princes Freeway (Maltby Bypass) through to the mouth of the river at Port Phillip Bay. Stage 1 of the park is now open, as a 3 km sealed bike/walking track from the Maltby Bypass south to the river cliffs.

Beyond the cliffs, the trail is unsealed, and continues to the mouth of the river, a further 3km to the south.

The Park is adjacent to the historic Werribee Park, the Werribee Open Range Zoo and the Werribee Golf Club.

The park area was once part of the grazing enterprise of the Chirnside Family who owned Werribee Mansion. It was later transformed into part of the Western Treatment Plant.

Flora and fauna

The river and wetlands provide habitat for a diversity of waterbirds. The park is part of a Ramsar site that aims to protect and enhance habitat for migratory birds. Swamp Harrier, Whistling Kite, Musk Duck and Latham’s Snipe birds may be seen, along with more common species such as parrots and lorikeets. The threatened Growling Grass Frog has been recorded within the park.

Majestic River Red Gum trees provide shelter and line the upstream section of the river. Large areas of Common Reed occur adjacent to the river, while patches of colourful saltmarsh are present in low lying areas.

The area above the escarpment has formerly been used as grazing land and will be revegetated over time.

I visited the Park on January 25, 2012, on a 4 km circuit hike starting at the small car park off Farm Rd.

This took me along the trail, down the long steel/timber access ramp above the reeds, and across the new metal bridge along the Golf Course.

From the bridge, I then continued along the lower level trail, adjacent to the river, reaching the cliffs. I then returned to the carpark along the upper level Escarpment Track, which is next to former farmland.

The new park offers opportunities to enjoy the river environment and scenery, previously prohibited access members of the public.

The River Park can also be reached from the Werribee Mansion Historical Precinct.

See all of the Photos of my visit, and check out my YouTube video!



For further details, see Parks Victoria:

http://parkweb.vic.gov.au/explore/parks/werribee-regional-park

East Warburton River Trail

The Yarra River is adjacent to the small settlement of East Warburton, about 70 km east of Melbourne.

There is a pleasant walking track of about 1 km from a car park on the Wood's Point Rd, at the Riverside Drive junction.

The large cleared space opposite the car park, now used for grazing cattle, was once part of the Warburton Steam Railway, which hauled logs from Big Pat's Creek in the early 1900s to the Warburton rail head.

My visit was on March 16, 2009.

See the Photos of my visit

Spadoni's Nature Trail - Yering

Spadoni's Nature Reserve is in the semi-rural district of Yering, 35 km east of the Melbourne CBD.

Next to the Yarra River, it features a circuit walking track, a billabong, wetlands, footbridges, and views to the Christmas Hills. It is managed by the Yarra Ranges Shire, and is at the end of Victoria Rd, which starts at Maroondah Highway, Lilydale.

Adjacent to it is the flying area for radio controlled model aircraft. the Lilydale regional airport, and the Melbourne Gun Club.

I explored the 3 km circuit track on January 31, 2009, on a very hot day with the temperature around 37 degrees!

See the full set of Photos of my trip

Hidden Lagoon - Warrandyte State Park

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At the northern end of the Warrandyte State Park is a seldom visited, remote area, on the Yarra River, opposite the Bend of Islands Environmental Living Zone.

There is an interesting water body nearby, which I have named "The Hidden Lagoon", not easily seen from the rough access track!

The track is adjacent to a fence line, marking a section of the Park which has been set aside for revegetation by Parks Victoria and local community Landcare groups.

Access to the River and Lagoon is via a 5 km (return) route, starting at the Clifford Scout Activity Centre at Clifford Drive in Wonga Park, from the closed gate next to the Warrandyte State Park sign.

There is a change of altitude from 135m to 59m.

This is the former Market Garden Track, dating back to the time when this section of the Park was still privately owned farmland, part of the Yarra Brae property. The Track follows the ridge line, passing a high point, with good views across the surrounding farms and across to the Ranges.

The track continues steeply downhill, reaching the Hidden Lagoon side track. This is followed past a fenced "no access" revegetation area, with the Lagoon off to the left. This rough track continues downhill to the Yarra, and ends in bushland. Directly opposite the river is the Bend of Islands Living Zone, with a few houses visible.

The revegetation area is adjacent to the river, but appears to have been neglected, most of it overgrown with weeds, scrubby trees, prickly bushes and long grass. Eastern Grey Kangaroos are nearby.

It is not known why this area was selected for revegetation, as it is in one of the remotest sections of the Park. At this point, the Yarra runs in a narrow gorge, almost in a straight line, in a north-south direction.

My visit was on November 25, 2008, on a hot day. This section of the Park is always much hotter and drier than the surrounding areas, and the going is tough in hot weather.

Market Garden Track continues downhill to the Bend of Isles Peninsula, where there is a large flat cleared open area, which was originally the market garden and orchard, part of the Yarra Brae farm. It continues westerly as a circuit known as the Lucerne Paddock Track, with good views of the river.

Market Garden and Lucern Paddock Tracks are signed as the "Bridle Track", and are popular with horseriders.

See the full set of Photos of my expedition!

The Top End, Northern Territory - a journey into Time

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From November 10 to 15, 2008, I visited the Top End of the Northern Territory, doing three comprehensive bus tours with AAT Kings - Nitmiluk National park (one day), Kakadu National park (two days), and Litchfield National Park (one day). Total distance covered was about 2200 km!

My trip started in Melbourne, via a Jetstar A320 Airbus, taking 3 hrs 45 mins for the non-stop journey to Darwin.
This was in the pre-monsoon season, with shade temperatures around 40 degrees on each day!

For the Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday nights I stayed at the "Value Inn", in Mitchell St - this was a "cheapie" multi-story motel/hotel, with basic facilities, and the room was very small. No storage space to hang clothes. The TV didn't work, and the "hot" water was tepid! This place is promoted as the "only self-service motel in Darwin"! No breakfasts - across the road was a nice cafe which opens at 5.30 am.

Directly opposite was the Transit Centre - this was the coach terminal, the main stopping point for the Airport Shuttle Bus and the tour buses.

Tuesday 11 November 2008
My first tour started at 6.15 am, which took a group of 12 people 350 km south to Katherine, the gateway to the Nitmiluk National Park, along the Stuart Highway. About 100 km from Darwin we stopped at the Adelaide River War Cemetery. Then on to the small settlement of Pine Creek, some 100 km further south, once the centre of a gold rush in the 1870s. Sections of the old narrow gauge railway line remain in the town, with relics of the gold days.

Our first big stop was at the impressive Edith Falls and the vast swimming pool at the base of the Falls.

From there, we moved on to the Katherine Gorge Visitor Centre for a nice lunch, then to our waiting boat for a cruise in the First Gorge. There are 13 Gorges in all. At the end of the First Gorge, we had to get out and do a 500 m walk over the rocks to get to the Second Gorge, where we boarded another boat.

When we reached our turnaround point on Gorge Two, the steering mechanism on our boat failed - the steering cable snapped. This left us drifting aimlessly for some time - we managed to get back to the jetty about 1 km away safely, but very slowly, after improvising repairs.

This meant shutting down one of the two outboard motors and using the remaining motor for emergency manual steering. Some of us then grabbed brooms and poles to push our boat away from the cliffs.

The scenery in and around the Gorges was magnificent!

Wednesday 12 November 2008
This was Day One of the Kakadu National Park tour. This took us across the Marrakai Plains to the Anbangbang area, to inspect the marvellous Aboriginal Art rock paintings, estimated to be at least over 2000 years old. Some of us continued up a steep trail to the Gunwarrdehwwarrdeh Lookout, which yielded superb views across the Kakadu Escarpment and the Floodplains.

Then, we joined the Yellow Water Billabong Cruise, with thousands of birds and almost as many saltwater crocodiles! We visited the Warradjan Aboriginal Cultural Centre, then continued to our overnight stop at the luxurious Kakadu Aurora Resort, near the South Alligator River. This is a large complex, offering camp sites, cabins, and excellently appointed air-conditioned bungalows. Guests may use the covered outdoor pool. Several walking tracks start here, and lead into the jungle.

Thursday 13 November 2008
Our first stop was at Ubirr, to inspect Aboriginal Rock Art, some of which was high up on the cliffs! Then we climbed a 250 m peak at the top of the rocks, for a wonderful 360 degree view of the Kakadu Escarpment and surrounding plains. This was hard going, in 40 degree heat!

Lunch was at the quaint Border Store Roadhouse.

Our next stop was the Guluyambi Cruise, on the east Alligator River, which is the border with Arnhem Land. White people (Balanda) must have permits to enter Arnhem Land. Our cruise took us to Cahill's Crossing and to a beach on the Arnhem Land side, where our Aboriginal guide demonstrated the art of making spears, clubs, knives, and other weapons and tools.

Many crocodiles were watching us from the water or from the banks!

We then went to the Bowaii Visitor Centre and on to the Mamulaka Wetlands.

After that, it was a long drive back to Darwin, stopping for dinner at the Adelaide River roadhouse, arriving in town at 9pm. An interesting DVD was put on in the bus, about the Kakadi National park and how the Bininj/Mungguy people recognize six different seasons throughout the year.

This knowledge of nature is fundamental to the culture of kakadu and its people, who have lived with the changing landscape for tens of thousands of years, adapting and using the land for shelter, food and general well-being.

The Kakadu NP covers nearly 20,000 square km, and is recognized in its listing as a World Heritage Area.
It is home to more than 68 mammals, 120 reptiles, 26 frogs, 300 tidal and freshwater fish species, 2000 plants, 10,000 insect species, and 290 bird species.

Kakadu's traditional owners have leased their land to the Director of National Parks, to be jointly managed as a national park. Joint management is about Bininj and Balanda people working together, solving problems, sharing decision making and exchanging knowkledge, skills and information. Overall direction is provided by the Kakadu Board of Management which has an Aboriginal majority representing the traditional owners.

Friday 14 November 2008
The tour on this day was to the Litchfield National Park, 130 km SW of Darwin. My group of 11 inspected the unusual Magnetic Termite Mounds near the town of Batchelor, then visits to the Tolmer Falls, Florence Falls, the Wangi Falls, and the Buley Rockhole Cascades. Some of us cooled off by swimming or paddling in the pools at the base of the Florence Falls and Wangi Falls, mindful that it was 40 degrees in the shade! Three of us did the 2 km circuit climb along the Shady Creek Track through the rainforest to the top of the Wangi Falls.

It was then back to Darwin, arriving around 7 pm.

Saturday 15 November 2008
An early start - I had bought some breakfast things the night before at the 24-hr Coles Supermarket opposite my Inn.
I was at the bus terminal just across the street from the "Value Innn", at 5.30 am, for the shuttle bus out to the airport, for the 8.15 am Jetstar flight to Melbourne, which took three hours and 30 minutes!

Conclusion
This trip was extremely tiring, due to the long distances travelled, the fierce heat and extreme humidity. Despite those limitations, it was a marvellous experience, with an enormous range of sights and sounds to enjoy.

I will long remember the Aboriginal Rock Paintings, the rocky lookouts, the superb views, the rugged Escarpment, the wetlands, the Gorges, the rivers, the savannah woodlands, the monsoon forests, the waterfalls, the billabongs, the chit-chat with other people in my groups, and of course the crocodiles!

I will remember the plastic bottles of chilled water from the tanks on the buses, which became warm water after only a few minutes!

I close with this quotation, from Jacob Nayinggul, Manlakarr Clan, acknowledged to the Kakadu National Park Visitor Guide:

"Our land has a big story. Sometimes we tell a little bit at a time. Come and hear our stories, see our land. A little bit might stay in your hearts. If you want more, you can come back".

I hope that this account of my trip will have been of interest to anyone reading this. See the Photos from my trip.

The photographs are representative of features and attractions which are of importance to me.

Boh Boh (Goodbye in Aboriginal)

The Old Goldmines of Warrandyte

On November 1, 2008, I visited the Warrandyte State Park, 20 km east of the Melbourne CBD.

From a starting point at the car park on the Whipstick Gully Rd, I completed the 2 km Bruce Bence Track circuit, which passes through the historical goldmine region.

There are many old shafts and the remains of diggings along the Track.

Near the car park, there are interpretative signs and an audio presentation describing early mining activity in the region.

The Yarra River is nearby, with ducks and dogs!

See the full set of Photos of my trip

Jumping Creek Hike, Warrandyte SP

There are some good walking tracks starting at the Jumping Creek Picnic Ground, Warrandyte State park, 20 km east of the Melhourne CBD, following the winding Yarra River.

An interesting shorter walk of about 2 km follows the Pound Bend Track, then on to the Nature Trail, and back along the gated management road.

This offers good views of the Yarra from the clifftop, and passes through regrowth bushland.

The Picnic Ground has barbecue facilities, toilets, and an information board. A map in a plastic cover of the Pound Bend Track can be borrowed from the box at the start of the track. The Map should be returned!

There are numbered markers along the track, with the features described on the map.

My trip was on October 30, 2008.

See the full set of Photos of my journey

Canoes and Rapids at Warrandyte State Park

On October 22, 2008, I visited the Warrandyte State Park, 20 km east of the Melbourne CBD.

I did a 3 km return walk from Norman's Reserve, opposite the Pound Bend Tunnel, following the Yarra River to the rapids, through bushland.

Kookaburras watched me!

Young people waved to me from their brightly colored canoes, as they paddled upstream as far as the rapids!

Opposite the rapids is the site of the former orchards, now part of Parks Victoria, and off-limits to walkers.

Seer the full set of Photos of my trip

Exploring Mt Lofty, Warrandyte State Park

On October 2, 2008, I visited the Mt Lofty Section of the Warrandyte State Park, 30 km east of the Melbourne CBD.

My starting point for a 3 km circuit walk was the canoe launching ramp at the end of Reserve Rd, opposite the Croydon Golf Course and Country Club.

I climbed to the summit of Mt Lofty, offering marvellous views over the Yarra River across the Park to the Dandenong Ranges and the Yarra Ranges.

The Summit is 114m above sea level.

I returned via the River Walk. The park was ablaze with spring wildflowers!

Full set of Photos

Scenic Yarra Brae,Warrandyte State Park

On September 23 2008 I visited the remote Yarra Brae Section of the Warrandyte State Park, 20 km east of the Melbourne CBD.

I completed a 5 km hike along the Market Garden Track, starting and finishing at the Clifford Activity Centre, reached from Clifford Drive.

This is one of the best walks in the Park, with excellent views towards the Yarra Ranges and across neighbouring farms, grazing properties, and equestrian centres.

The Track ends at the Yarra River, at a location known as the Bend of Isles. Immediately opposite the river is the small municipality "Bend of Islands", an Environmental Living Zone.

Yarra Brae was one of the original grazing properties, acquired by the Hon. L. Clifford in 1940. After being a war-time army training area, Clifford made it available for Australia's first Pan Pacific Scout Jamboree in 1948.

Clifford Park, now owned and managed by Scouting Victoria, also hosted jamborees during the 1950s and is available for conferences, meetings, conventions, school groups, education and activity-based camps.

In 1972 Yarra Brae was the site of a proposed lower Yarra River reservoir, but residents of Bend of Isles persuaded the Victorian Government to abandon the proposal. The allied Sugarloaf Reservoir at Christmas Hills went ahead.

Yarra Brae was incorporated into the Park in 1977.

The Track is shared with walkers and horseriders, and is steep and rocky in parts. During summer, it can be fiercely hot and dry, and caution is advised.

See my Album of the Photos, which includes an image taken in 1942 showing he Yarra Brae homestead and buildings as they existed at the time, now part of the Activity Centre.

Hiking in Witton's Reserve,Warrandyte Stste Park

Witton's Reserve is in the Warrandyte State Park, adjacent to the Yarra River, 20 km east of the Melbourne CBD.

It is reached from Jumping Creek Rd, then along Reserve Rd, to a picnic ground and car park.

A 2 km foot-track follows the River westerly, steep in parts, then loops back to a jeep track, ending at Reserve Rd at the gate.

I explored this interesting bushland reserve on September 18, 2008.

The Photo Album shows the scenery, two gentlemen fishing, and other features, with nice views from Reserve Rd across the Yarra Valley towards the Yarra Ranges.

Yes, there are alpacas there, in a nearby property!

Black Flat Goldfields,Warrandyte State Park

Black Flat Reserve is in the Warrandyte Sate Park, 20 km east of the Melbourne CBD.

It is the site of alluvial gold mining of the 1880s - the only relics are the overgrown diggings.

The Black Flat Circuit Track is a 4 km loop, taking the visitor through the former diggings, along the Nature Trail, and passing the Yarra River. Part of the Track follows the Jumping Creek to Black Flat Walking Track.

It is reached from a small car park off Tills Rd.

I walked the Black Flat Track on September 9, 2008.

Full set of Photos

Stane Brae, Warrandyte State Park

Stane Brae is a large section of the Warrandyte State Park, 25 km east of Melbourne.

It was originally a large grazing and farming property, prior to its purchase by the Victorian Government for incorporation into the Park. River frontages were also acquired.

The stables and outbuildings of the former homestead have been converted into a rest and picnic area, with basic free overnight accommodation facilities offered for walkers, Parks Victoria personnel, and canoeists.

Some of the original plantings remain, and extensive revegetation activities are continuing.

There are excellent views of the surrounding hills, the adjacent Yarra River, with rapids and a small beach, suitable for swimming, canoe launching/landing.

Access is by canoe or on foot, from Jumping Creek carpark. The walk is about 6 km return, following fire access tracks. Watch out for the mobs of Eastern Grey Kangaroos who inhabit this section of the Park!

This was a review trip on September 1, 2008 - see the Photos

Pound Bend Hike - Warrandyte State Park

On August 27, 2008, I visited the Warrandyte State Park, 20 km east of the Melbourne CBD.

I completed a 4 km return hike to Pound Bend, starting at the main picnic ground near the end of Everard Rd.

The route passed through bushland, adjacent to the fast-flowing Yarra River!

See the full set of Photos