Category Archives: Bushwalking

Horseshoe Bend Campground – Horseshoe Bend Road – Pomponderoo Hill Road – Pomponderoo Hill  

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Thursday 26/10/2023   Horseshoe Bend Campground – Horseshoe Bend Road – Pomponderoo Hill Road – Pomponderoo Hill    

                                           Little Desert National Park, VICTORIA

                                           Wotjobaluk, Jaadwa, Jadawadjali, Wergaia and Jupagulk Country                                  

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

Having kept relatively close to the Wimmera River during our morning walk we headed away from it in the afternoon. Although you can drive to the start of the Pomponderoo Hill walk along Pomponderoo Hill Road, we chose to walk from the Horse Shoe Bend Campsite. As we were walking along Pomponderoo Hill Road a fox made a quick crossing not far in front of us. We arrived at the Pomponderoo Hill Carpark, just as another couple were preparing to start.

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Horseshoe Bend Campground – Wimmera River – Desert Discovery Walk

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Thursday 26/10/2023   Horseshoe Bend Campground – Wimmera River – Desert Discovery Walk

                                           Little Desert National Park, VICTORIA

                                           Wotjobaluk, Jaadwa, Jadawadjali, Wergaia and Jupagulk Country                                  

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

Nestled amongst the River Red Gums at Horseshoe Bend Campground we had been joined last night and this morning by masses of bird life. A pair of Kookaburras called in for a visit many times, along with sightings of black cockatoos, mallards, parrots, blue wrens and numerous species of other small, heath-loving birds.

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Kiata Campground – Campground Track – Salt Lake Track – Desert Discovery Track – Albrechts’ Mill & Water Bore

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Friday 27/10/2023   Kiata Campground – Campground Track – Salt Lake Track – Desert Discovery Track – Albrechts’ Mill & Water Bore

                                     Little Desert National Park, VICTORIA

                                     Wotjobaluk, Jaadwa, Jadawadjali, Wergaia and Jupagulk Country                                 

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

Keen to walk in a different section of Little Desert National Park we drove further west to Kiata Campground, having spent the early hours of the day looking for wildlife around Horse Shoe Bend Campground. Yesterday’s cold change and 1C overnight minimum temperature were replaced by calm, blue sky conditions with the temperature already reaching the mid-twenties by our 11:00am start.

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The Pines-Centenary Park Campground – Central Gully Track – Bluff Lookout Road – Bluff Lookout – Mount Grapples Summit Road – Summit Picnic Area – Pharos Gully Track – Gully Loop Walk

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Tuesday 23/10/2023   The Pines-Centenary Park Campground – Central Gully Track – Bluff Lookout Road – Bluff Lookout – Mount Grapples Summit Road – Summit Picnic Area – Pharos Gully Track – Gully Loop Walk

                                         Mount Arapiles – Tooan State Park, VICTORIA

                                         Wotjobaluk Country                                   

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

Mount Arapiles is a world-famous rock climbing destination. We found plenty of groups of people in the campground who looked to be settled in and ready to try out some of the routes on offer. Fortunately for non-climbers such as us, there is also plenty to see in the compact area around Mount Arapiles. 

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Pink Lake

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Wednesday 25/10/2023   Pink Lake

                                               Dimboola Area, VICTORIA

                                               Wotjobaluk, Jaadwa, Jadawadjali, Wergaia and Jupagulk Country                                  

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

A short drive west of Dimboola you can find Pink Lake. Although not a walk it proved to be a remarkably interesting stop. Today it was cold and very windy. There were plenty of small waves that had formed on the lake as a result, all heading straight towards us. With a crusty white shoreline of crystalline salt, rows of waves almost parallel to the horizon and clouds with lots of character against a deep blue sky with dramatic clouds, this was a very special treat.

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Mount Arapiles – Tooan State Park

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Tuesday 22/10/2023   Three Short Walks

                                         Mount Arapiles – Tooan State Park, VICTORIA

                                         Wotjobaluk Country                                   

Participants: Stephen Davies (Photos, Report)

Tuesday 22/10/2023   Nature Walk off Mount Arapiles Summit Road

We completed this short nature walk and were left unimpressed. Although it is a  very easy walk and there were plenty of spring wildflowers the track itself has fallen into a state of disrepair. In sections, you can’t see where it is supposed to go and the numbered signposts have no explanatory information available to go with them, as the entry box at the entrance was empty. I also think a lot of the things the signs were meant to be placed near have probably long gone from the landscape as it is today.

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Mitre Rock

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Tuesday 24/10/2023   Mitre Rock 

                                         Mount Arapiles – Tooan State Park, VICTORIA

                                         Wotjobaluk Country                                  

Participants: Stephen Davies (Photos, Report)

Our last, very short hike in Mount Arapiles – Tooan State Park was to Mitre Rock. We had earlier seen Mitre Rock from a couple of different viewpoints and were inquisitive as to how the views back to Mount Arapiles might appear from this perspective.

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Teddington Road – Stuart Mill Road – Centre Road – Fisherman Hut Track – Teddington Road – Teddington Hut – Upper Teddington Reservoir

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Tuesday 30/10/2023   Teddington Reservoir Campground – Upper Teddington Reservoir

                                         Kara Kara National Park, VICTORIA

                                         Dja Aja Wurrung and Barengi Gadjin Country                                  

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

In a nearly deserted Teddington Reservoir Campground we found the local wildlife to be our only company. Flocks of screeching corellas flying overhead or chatting in surrounding treetops left us in no doubt as to who ruled here. There were also plenty of other birds such as rosellas, Sulphur Crested Cockatoos and willy wagtails who made visits.

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Balconies Road Carpark – Reed Lookout – The Balconies Lookout

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Monday 30/10/2023   Balconies Road Carpark – Reed Lookout – The Balconies Lookout                                                                            

                                        Grampians National Park, VICTORIA

                                        Gariwerd Country                               

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

This is a very short tourist walk. Just off the carpark at Reed Lookout, there are excellent views of much of the Grampians Ranges. Moving further along the track there is one nice pedestal-style rock formation and nearby a notable section of mossy ground interspersed with some small flowering shrubs, which looks a little Arctic in nature. 

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Mackenzie Falls Carpark – Mackenzie Falls Lookout – Broken Falls Lookout – Cranages Lookout – Mackenzie Falls – Mackenzie River – Mackenzie River – Fish Falls

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Monday 30/10/2023   Mackenzie Falls Carpark – Mackenzie Falls Lookout – Broken Falls Lookout – Cranages Lookout – Mackenzie Falls – Mackenzie River – Mackenzie River – Fish Falls                                                                                                                        

                                        Grampians National Park, VICTORIA

                                        Gariwerd Country                                    

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

We had left camp before 7:30am in an attempt to check out this area and The Balconies before meeting friends in Dunkeld at 1:00pm. Having such an early start to the drive ensured we saw lots of wallabies near the road and luckily for several of them we were driving very slowly. After some overnight rain, it was still heavily overcast when we arrived at the carpark and also quite cool.

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Mount Zero Picnic Area – Mt Zero Walk – Mount Zero

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Saturday 28/10/2023   Mount Zero Picnic Area – Mt Zero Walk – Mount Zero

                                          Grampians National Park, VICTORIA

                                          Gariwerd Country                                

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

This was our second attempt at this walk, on the 20th we had driven to the start after lunch but decided against it as it was already 32C, calm and cloudless, a little too hot for our liking. At least for this 3:00pm departure, it was only 25C and breezy. 

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Stapylton Campground – Mount Stapylton Loop Walk (Upper) – Grampians Peak Trail – Mount Stapylton – Taipan Wall – Mount Zero Picnic Area – Mount Stapylton Loop Walk

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Sunday 29/10/2023   Stapylton Campground – Mount Stapylton Loop Walk (Upper) – Grampians Peak Trail – Mount Stapylton (Gunigalg) (518m) – Taipan Wall – Mount Zero Picnic Area – Mount Stapylton Loop Walk (Lower)

                                       Grampians National Park, VICTORIA

                                       Gariwerd Country                                       

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

After being disappointed last week on the Hollow Mountain walk when we couldn’t find the cave, as per the photograph captioned “Hollow Mountain” in the Parks Victoria Grampians brochure, we thought we might further explore the area in a determined attempt to find it. Inquiries at a National Parks office during the week didn’t throw any further light on where to look. However, having been atop Hollow Mountain last Friday and observing the cliff of Taipan Wall from above I speculated that the cave in the photo may be somewhere along that wall. So off we went on our quest, departing from Stapylton Campground in the cool morning air at 8:40am.

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