Author Archives: stephengdavies908-wa

Halls Gap Holiday Park – Boronia Trail – Fyans Creek – Mt Ida – Fyans Creek Loop – Brambuk National Parks and Cultural Centre – Fyans Creek Loop – Tandara Road – Grampians Road

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Sunday 15/10/2023   Halls Gap Holiday Park – Boronia Trail – Fyans Creek – Mt Ida – Fyans Creek Loop – Brambuk National Parks and Cultural Centre – Fyans Creek Loop – Tandara Road – Grampians Road

                                        Grampians National Park, VICTORIA

                                        Gariwerd Country                                  

Participants: Stephen Davies (Photos, Report), Sue Davies 

Greeted by a fairly cold, breezy, heavily overcast morning with passing showers we didn’t get out until 11:20am (except for Sue who snuck in an early morning run). With the low cloud cover blanketing the tops of all the surrounding hilltops we opted to stay low and take a minimum of gear. Heading out from the NRMA campground, Halls Gap Holiday Park, we turned left just before the Fyans Creek Bridge onto Boronia Trail which follows Fyans Creek to the south along its eastern bank. At first, the trail had wet overhanging ferns across the trail but beyond a couple of hundred metres the track was clear. At least the depth of the colours of everything was enhanced by all the moisture on them.

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Halls Gap Sports Reserve – Chautauqua Peak Walk – Clematis Falls – Chautauqua Peak – Barneys Creek – Bullace’s Glen Walk – Stony Creek

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Saturday 14/10/2023   Halls Gap Sports Reserve – Chautauqua Peak Walk – Clematis Falls – Chautauqua Peak – Barneys Creek – Bullace’s Glen Walk – Stony Creek

                                          Grampians National Park, VICTORIA

                                          Gariwerd Country                                    

Participants: Stephen Davies (Photos, Report), Sue Davies 

We departed after lunch for this short walk, having stayed in Ararat overnight in order to take part in their parkrun at 8:00am this morning. With clouds still hanging around the higher peaks and the occasional shower passing through we decided on this walk straight out of Halls Gap. Being breezy and only just above 10C was to make for pleasant walking conditions. Initially, we followed the road to Halls Gap Sports Reserve where the trail begins. Our first destination was Clematis Falls which is a short detour off the Chautauqua Peak Walk track.

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Sundial Lookout Carpark – Sundial Lookout

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Tuesday 17/10/2023   Sundial Lookout Carpark – Sundial Lookout

                                         Grampians National Park, VICTORIA

                                         Gariwerd Country                                   

Participants: Stephen Davies (Photos, Report), Sue Davies 

On our way back from our morning walk to Mount Rosea we pulled into Sundial Lookout Carpark, set to complete our day with the 2km walk out to Sundial Lookout (also known as Lakeview Lookout). A glorious blue sky day with an occasional very light breeze saw us leave the carpark around 2:00pm. A hundred metres in, Sue sighted a very dark Singleback lizard basking in the sun trackside. After briefly observing it we moved on. Continue reading →

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Rosea Carpark – Mt Rosea Track – Gate of the East Wind – Mount Rosea

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Tuesday 17/10/2023   Rosea Carpark – Mt Rosea Track – Gate of the East Wind – Mount Rosea (1009m)

                                         Grampians National Park, VICTORIA

                                         Gariwerd Country                                  

Participants: Stephen Davies (Photos, Report), Sue Davies 

We were very pleased this very chilly morning to see nothing but blue sky, after five days of cold, heavily overcast and windy weather this was a pleasant change. Our first target today was Mount Rosea, starting with a twenty-minute drive from Halls Gap. We were at the Roses Carpark and walking by 9:30am with no one else or any other vehicles in sight. The first couple of kilometres of this gravel track is relatively level, wide and easy walking through a forest with a heath understory. It then gradually changes into a rougher track with plenty of rocks and slabs as it begins its climb to the ridge above. It was along this section I spied three small yellow canary worms on the track.

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Golton Gorge Carpark – Colton Creek – Golton Gorge         

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Friday 20/10/2023   Golton Gorge Carpark – Colton Creek – Golton Gorge                                                                                                                         

                                     Grampians National Park, VICTORIA

                                     Gariwerd Country                                  

Participants: Stephen Davies (Photos, Report), Sue Davies 

Starting from Golton Gorge Carpark at 9:10am, it was a short walk along Colton Creek with a gentle climb to the gorge. First through trees before becoming rockier underfoot. As the track reached the creek-side just below Golton Gorge the walk was completely on the bedrock of the creek. Today with very low water flow it was an easy and sure-footed climb up into the gorge. We proceeded as far as the first large waterhole.

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Mount Abrupt Carpark – Mount Abrupt Walking Track – Signal Peak Walking Track – Signal Peak – Mount Abrupt – Mud-Dadjug Hike-in Campground

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Wednesday 11/10/2023   Mount Abrupt Carpark – Mount Abrupt Walking Track – Signal Peak Walking Track – Signal Peak – Mount Abrupt (825m) – Mud-Dadjug Hike-in Campground – C216

                                                Grampians National Park, VICTORIA

                                                Gariwerd Country 

Participants: Stephen Davies (Photos, Report), Sue Davies 

We departed the carpark at 9:00am, keen for the earlier start as a day reaching the high twenties was forecast. This walk commences climbing immediately from the trailhead and as we found yesterday, passes through a lot of different ecosystems in one day. These often came and went over short distances but the changes were much more noticeable than in many other places we have hiked. The tracks today were not new as they were for The Piccaninny and Mount Sturgeon sections yesterday but these are still high-quality tracks with many sections of steps formed from large flat boulders which have been positioned to make staircases on steeper sections. 

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Bainggug Carpark – The Piccaninny Walk – The Piccaninny – Mount Sturgeon Track – Wurgarri (Mount Sturgeon) – Grampians Peaks Trail – Wannon River – Dunkeld

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Tuesday 10/10/2023   Bainggug (The Piccaninny) Carpark – The Piccaninny Walk – The Piccaninny (448m) – Mount Sturgeon Track – Wurgarri (Mount Sturgeon) (580m) – Grampians Peaks Trail – Wannon River – Dunkeld

                                        Grampians National Park, VICTORIA

                                        Gariwerd Country

Participants: Stephen Davies (Photos, Report), Sue Davies, Trish Law, Dave Whitelaw

As we drove heading north from Dunkeld there was a shroud of low cloud concealing the summit of Mount Abrupt. After parking at Bainggug (The Piccaninny) Carpark we headed off along The Piccaninny Walk towards The Piccaninny. The morning was cool enough to require a warm layer until near midday. We found all the tracks to be in excellent condition, it is apparent that there had been a lot of recent work done on them. Signage appeared new and there were several numbered emergency poles to let emergency services know exactly where you were. Traversing sections have stone walls on their lower side building them up to the horizontal, most having had sandy gravel added as the walking surface. There are cut sandstone block steps on several steeper sections and steel steps and a bridge to the southern side of Mount Sturgeon, all combining to make it easy underfoot.

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Sligachan Hotel – Glen Sligachan – River Sligachan – Allt nam Fraoch-choire – Loch na Creitheach

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Tuesday 23/05/2023   Sligachan Hotel – Glen Sligachan – River Sligachan – Allt nam Fraoch-choire – Loch na Creitheach

                                         Isle of Skye, SCOTLAND

                                    

Participants: Caroline Davies, Peter Davies, Sophie Davies, Stephen Davies and Sue Davies

We headed off as a party of five from Sligachan. To access the track we crossed a lovely stone bridge, dodging the gauntlet of tourists grabbing their Instagram shot before returning to the Sligachan Hotel or their cars. Then we passed a statue of two old white men before leaving behind the vast majority of people.

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Holyrood Park – Arthurs Seat – Edinburgh

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Monday 15/05/2023   Holyrood Park – Arthurs Seat

                                        Edinburgh, SCOTLAND

Participants: Stephen Davies (Photos, Report), Sue Davies 

Back in Edinburgh, we would venture up to Arthur’s Seat regularly for our runs and walks. Arthur’s Seat is an extinct volcano that last erupted 350 million years ago and is now a grassy hill in Holyrood Park at the end of the Royal Mile. 

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Teddington – Bushy Park

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Thursday 11/05/2023   Teddington – Bushy Park

                                           London, ENGLAND

                                    

Participants: Stephen Davies (Photos), Sue Davies (Report)

It was our first day in London after arriving on a long-haul flight from Sydney the previous night. We were keen to get out for some fresh air and a bit of sunlight to assist with readjusting our body clocks. 

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Clachan Trail – Allean Forest

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Wednesday 19/05/2023   Clachan Trail – Allean Forest

                                               Loch Tummel, SCOTLAND

                                    

Participants: Caroline Davies, Paul Davies, Peter Davies, Sophie Davies, Stephen Davies, Sue Davies

This was an exciting day as it was the first time in seven years since our last trip to Scotland that we had the chance to walk with my brother and his family. Although a very short, easy walk on wide open tracks today it offered pleasant, cool walking conditions through the forest. 

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The Prison – The Needle – The Table – Quiraing 

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Wednesday 24/05/2023   The Prison – The Needle – The Table – Quiraing 

                                               Trotternish Ridge, Isle of Skye, SCOTLAND

                                    

Participants: Caroline Davies, Paul Davies, Peter Davies, Sophie Davies, Stephen Davies (Report, Photos), Sue Davies

Today’s walk began with very cold windy conditions. The first challenge of the day for many people was to chase their parking receipt the parking meters were spitting out directly into the breeze before most people could get a hand on it! We watched half a dozen people running along the road as their tickets blew away. I wonder how many people needed to buy a second ticket because of a poorly designed ticket machine.

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