Sunny day yesterday so went off to the Dandenongs to tackle the 1000 Steps walk again, including the ‘round the back’ extra bits. Total walk is about 11 km and you should allocate 3 to 4 hours.   This walk is not even an hour from my place.

It’s broken up into 4 main bits

1. The 1000 Steps walk itself, aka Kokoda Memorial aka Tree Fern Gully. Quite steep. Up to the top of One Tree Hill (red, below, click on image to see larger versions at gallery)
2. From the Hill it’s down then level along the ‘back’ of the mountains (blue)
3. Up again – sustained up hill on a path – to the top of Chandlers Hill (blue)
4. Back down and around to the ‘front’, being the start of the walk in the 1000 Steps car park (magenta)

And here’s just a few of the Steps themselves:

A few more photos are available, best to view as a slideshow. 

This is a really good walk particularly on a sunny day. Full details are Walk 22 (Ferntree Gully Forest) in the Day Walks Victoria book. Some tracks have been renamed or merged since this edition was published; but nothing too complicated.

All tracks are in the Melways, starting on Map 74 H4.

About 2 hours NE of Melbourne are the rugged Cathedral Ranges. They are between Marysville and Alexandra.  And boy do they offer some great, challenging walks.

I remember being told, as a kid, that some people actually walked up to the very top. I was gob smacked, but believed it when told that they “had to start early in the morning”.  Now that I’ve done it 3 times, I acknowledge it certainly isn’t easy. But not so sure about the early morning start.

It’d suggest it’s a 90 minute minimum ascent. Note ascent, coz it’s almost up hill all the way. It’s my Work-Reward type of walk;  puff, puff, puff (work) then wow! as the stunning views of your rewards kick in. 

More photos available including sweet captions. As usual, best viewed as slide show.

Truth be told this was my 2nd time on this route and I found it slightly more difficult. I’d think part of that was a slight complacency, which you just can’t afford to be on rocky, steep, uneven tracks. Twice I did the old semi-slip-slide. And twice I thought I had pulled a muscle; once in the arm and once in the back. A sit down and rest quickly got rid of the throbbing pain, but not before the heart was ticking that little bit faster.

It may have been the recent rain loosened the surface just that bit more too. 

Great walk, starting only about an hour from my place! Spectacular views over the steep Werribee Gorge. The river, of the same name, has cut a massive slice through the country over the millennia.   A relatively easy walk takes you from the car park, along a creek valley and some spurs to the Lookout.

More Pictures: At my PicasaWeb album of this walk.

Listed in: The Parks Victoria free PDF Werribee Gorge State Park – Visitor Guide plus a number of bushwalking books, including Walk 24 in Daywalks Around Melbourne as covered here.

Location: About 15 minutes from Bacchus Marsh (see map below).

Advice:  Books say to wear hiking boots (not runners) and take a walking pole. I agree as the walk, whilst under an hour each way, has parts that are a bit steep and with loose stones. I think it would be slippery after rain too.

Map:  created from my GPS logs and converted to Google Maps format. Note the link to view it in a larger map at the end. From that larger map, you can then view the route in glorious 3D in Google Earth; highly recommended.
View Falcons Lookout walk in a larger map

I’m slowly updating this list. I’m trying to find a way to automate it, but for now it’s done by hand. So therefore it’s not quite up to date.

This is a great walk. It’s part of a much longer one, but I think this is by far the best part. In summary, you start up the top of Mt Dandenong, walk along a summit track, see wonderful views of Melbourne and the suburbs, then descend down to the (site of) Doongalla Homestead. This is now a picnic ground with BBQs and toilets, all in the middle of the bush.   Take water and food.

It’s all on the standard Melways, map 66.  Go and get it now. Seriously!

Start. Park the car near the Kyeema Memorial. This little road at 66-E1 isn’t named, but some versions show it with the text "substation".

Head Left on Kyeema Track (south-west).

Great views at Burkes Lookout (66-D2). There’s a large metallic frame here, which we call the Metal Bed. No idea what it is.

Keep going on Kyeema Track and you’ll see the large Channel 10 TV tower. Just before the tower itself, there’s an obvious track off to your Right.  This is un-named; i.e. there is no sign. Take this track.  It skirts around the base of the tower’s fence then starts to zig-zag down the mountain.  On the maps this is shown as “Channel 10 Track” (66-D3)

Pretty soon it ‘stops’ at a T-Intersection.  Just to confuse you,  the sign clearly says you have just descended “Zig Zag Track”. Ah well, must be an older name.  Off to the Left, at the T-intersection , is “Channel 10 Track” (signed).  Take this.  Dalcite Track is off to the Right (ignore this)

The bush now changes quite quickly in a few minutes. It goes from dry forest to almost rain forest!  Hello ferns. Pretty soon you hit a multi-track intersection. (66-E4). Just keep going down hill, that is, turn Right.  Sadly the signs have been broken here. 

Descend this track, still called Channel 10 track, and it’s not long before you see water tanks, then a car park (right) and toilets (left) and you are at Doongalla. The Track becomes a road, does a turn and there’s the lovely Doongalla Homestead Site, with it’s BBQs and tables (66-D5).  From the stone steps, near the umbrella-shaped tree, you can see the Ch 10 tower way up there, through the trees.

Some of my photos of this whole area etc are at http://www.flickr.com/photos/artwill/sets/72157622345260203/

Explore here, then down the hill to the 2nd Picnic area, Stables Site (66-C5)

To get back to the car you have at least 3 fun options:

1. Return same way: Simply turn around and go back the way you came
2. Easy extra bit: Stables area  –> Stables Track –> right into Bills Track –> right into Camelia Track –> Doongalla (then as per 1.)
3. Bit of a climb, but worth it:  start the same as 2. but at end of Bills Track, turn left along Camelia Track –> right into Rankin Track (66-C2). Rankin Tk is a bit of a climb. But not too bad. It stops at Dalcite Track, turn right into Dalcite Tk and soon you are back at the T-intersection, with the sign pointing to Zig-Zag Track. Up Zig-Zag tk and retrace your original descent. 

Car to Doongalla should be under an hour, with photo-stops.  Bit longer to return as it’s up hill.

Am fine and home now. But yesterday (Thursday November 5th) was a day of adventure.  A quick summary:

Forecast for Thurs and Fri was for lovely weather, so decided a quick trip to the Northern Grampians was the go. 280km each way, so should try and stay 2 nights at least.

Plan was to try Briggs Bluff again, a year after my ill-fated first attempt.  So decided on

• Two nights at Mt Zero Log Cabins (MZLC)
• Thurs: warm-up walk. Re-do Hollow Mountain, in preparation for…
• Friday: big walk: Briggs Bluff

But I didn’t get a chance to even start Briggs Bluff this time. (last time I got, err, umm, lost during the attempt).  So anyway:

• About halfway up Hollow Mountain I caught my leg on a tree or sharp rock. Didn’t hurt that much…
• … But a few mins later there’s red-stuff running down my leg.
• Cut was below the knee on the back of the leg
• I carry a small first-aid kit in the pack, so bandaged it up
• It wasn’t hurting, so I continued and got to the top
• Some photos now up at my Flickr page. Warning: some red-stuff shown, but not too bad.
• Got back down again and even did a bit of tourist things etc
• Back to MZLC about 4:30pm

Angela (the owner/manager there) was then kindly preparing some band-aids, new bandages and antiseptics, whilst I went off and washed my leg off.

When we both saw the cut we said “mmm, that’s gunna need stitches”.  Was ~3cm long and when I moved my leg it looked like a fishes mouth opening and closing!

How lucky is this: Angela said there was a major hospital at Horsham, only about 25 mins away. So I went off there and they put in 4 stitches plus gave me a tetanus shot, some antibiotics and strong pain-killers etc.  Back to MZLC about 9pm and very hungry!

No pain, slept okay. Didn’t touch pain-killers.  However doctor had said no more walks for at least a week, so decided to abandon the trip and come home today; barely 24 hours after leaving.

Stitches out in a week.   And I still haven’t got to Briggs Bluff.

Update:  a very warm Saturday 7th November.  I finally got to have a shower today.  And see my first ever stitches (sutures, they called them)  Please send congratulatory cards and telegrams  to me c/- ….

The Mt Macedon Loop walk is a great one to do, but it can be a bit daunting for those who may not like 16+ km, including the climb(s) and descent(s).  So I’ve been planning a hybrid walk, involving a 2-car-shuffle. It’s not that complicated; basically one car ‘up the top’ (on the summit)  and the 2nd ‘down the bottom’ (Mt Macedon village)

After putting the cars in their right places:

Car 1 near Memorial Cross 

Car 2 in main st of Mt Macedon village, near Douglas Rd

Then off we go, walking unless noted:

• Douglas Road (Mt Macedon village) climbing up to the Memorial Cross
• (Drive, Car 1)  Cross to Camels Hump Picnic Ground (PG)
• Explore Camels Hump
• (Drive, Car 1) Camels Hump to Sanatorium Lake  PG Car Park
• Explore Sanatorium Lake area
• Sanatorium Lake PG to Zig Zag Track
• Zig Zag to Hempills Track, then down the great Mount Towrong Track to Mt Macedon village (and Car 2)

This is a good compromise. The Car 1 bits are – to be honest – a bit of a drag if done by foot. Pretty much an hour+ of walking on level ground. 

Did it today and it works very well.  As I only had one car, I got a lift to simulate Car 1 (thank you to the bloke who helped me, if you somehow are reading this!).  Walkers really need good boots and a pole or stick to help with the steep, rocky descent of Mt Towrong. But apart from that, I’d vote it a Yes.

Used some maps and planned a new, shorter version of the earlier Mt Dandenong walk.  Basically the best bits and hence the name.  Today was the day to walk it to see how it goes.

Had a great time.  However, it became pretty clear that my ‘shortcut’ back to the car (Glasgow Track – see below) was so steep that it really wouldn’t have been enjoyable had others been with me.   Here’s a Google Earth image, showing the walk. Note the height exaggerated by 2 for impact:

A) Car is here near Kyeema cairn (Melways 66 E-1)

(pink line)  Along the top and then a zig zag down to

B) Doongalla site (66 D-5), lunch/break then explore this great area and then along…

(aqua line) almost level along the front of the mountain until…

C) The Climb (red line). Straight up the front of Mt Dandenong on Glasgow Track. Wow. I’m told this is used by those preparing for Kokoda. (update: and here’s some further info on this)  Rocky, dirt, mud in places. No polite zig zags to ease the gradient.

To give you some idea, these are direct from the GPS and not exaggerated by 2:

Pink line 2.3 km long and descends 280 metres

Red line  0.5 km (500 m) long and ascends 200 metres.

If you look you can see that Glasgow Tk continues down the mountain; seems to merge with Glasgow Road. And yes, I missed it whilst on the aqua line bit. It has no signs and is only about 1 metre wide or less.  I had a map and was able to loop back and pick it up at point C.

Mmm. Need to think more about how to get back from Doongalla to the car. Maybe just double back.

Anyway here’s the Google Earth file to explore in 3D.

<Oct 4th 2009>

There’s just something about this walk – and location – that trips me up every time. Not literally, but I have tried twice now and failed to finish it both times. It’s in the Little Peninsula and Big Peninsula tunnels area.

First time was late Jan 2008 and it was hot. Climbed up and down the roller-coaster hills near the Little Peninsular tunnel. Only to find the track closed from there on.  Worked out the way back to the car, without doing the roller-coaster again. But a bit later on, found I’d lost the map. Reached for the spare…and discovered it was back at home.

Remained calm and retraced my steps…finding the map on the side of the road. Just as a HUGE log truck came roaring toward it, threatening to hurl it into the creek. Just grabbed it in time.

Not quite out of trouble yet. Discovered room I was staying in had no fridge, a/c nor fly spray. So nowhere to store milk etc I’d brought for breakfast!  They let me put it in their fridge downstairs. But a hot night spent with buzzing mosquitoes ensured.

Found out later that the walk was officially closed due to logging, but someone hadn’t updated the Parks Vic web site.

This time it was the roller-coaster hills being dangerously slippery. After gingerly finishing them, I decided it was too risky to push on  with the exact route  (as it returned via these hills again).  This time, however, I used the map and worked out I could do most of the route and then ‘veer off’ down a road (c/f a track) and head back out the same way as during the Summer. Worked a treat.

Again the accommodation – but a different place – caused me grief. But partially my own fault. The room was BYO bedding.   What a time to discover my 15 year old, K-Mart special sleeping bag doesn’t work when it’s really chilly.   Woke up so cold it hurt.   Now, some places provide a spare blanket just in case, but not this one.  I had looked at a blanket just before leaving home and thought “nah, if I need one, they’ll have one…”

Got fully dressed and back in the bag. No real difference. Woke up about 10 more times, numbingly cold.  Found out it had been 0c down at Coldstream that night, so I reckon it was below freezing in that room.   There was an old, very  noisy heater; it sounded like a 747 taking off and even I couldn’t sleep through that.

So Take 3 looms, probably this summer. I wonder what will happen this time.

<August 18th 2009>

Ended up being a great walk today. Didn’t start out the best – think the instructions and/or map were quite old. But recovered to be just excellent.  Images – including 3D Google Earth view and Google Map links at end.

In summary:

• Start at Kalorama village, leave car
• Walk along ‘front’ of Mt Dandenong, but on tracks. Heading about S-W
• Visit the main Mt Dandenong summit area, including the cafe if you want
• Along the ‘front’ further to visit the cairn at the site of the 1938 “Kyeema” plane crash.
• Zig-zag down a track as the bush closes in and becomes more rain-forest in nature
• Pop out at the lovely Doongala homestead site (now a small park area with BBQs etc).  Even though you are close to suburbia, the view from here implies you are in the middle of the bush. See photo (link below)
• Make your way back along the ‘front’ but now the other way (N-E) towards Kalorama and lower down on the mountain.
• A final climb (bit of puff puff here) and you literally pop back out right near the car

About 18-20 km of walking, from memory.

Here’s a Google Map of the approximate route.

And a few photos up there at Flickr.

<July 24th 2009>