Trip Leader: Daniel
Participants: Colin A, Brian, Uwe, Colin & Heather
We met at Powelltown at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday 8th March and were surprised to find that though our leader was present, his vehicle wasn’t. It was having a check-up with a mechanic. So Daniel set a new trend by being chauffeured by Colin A. This could catch on with trip leaders wishing to reduce their stress levels.
We headed over to Noojee where a quick stop at the Little Red Duck Café saw us supplied with ample morning tea which we took with us along Toorongo Falls Road to the camping area. The clouds were down on the mountains and we drove through intermittent drizzle. We didn’t take the walk to the falls, just munched our morning tea then headed back to Noojee. From there we headed north on Loch Valley Road to Toorongo Road. We continued climbing on Nine Mile Road past Thompson Valley Road. This area really is a watershed with the Thompson flowing south east and the Yarra west then north.
We climbed to 1200 metres and stopped for lunch in the mist.
We found several potential sources for the Yarra. Maybe they all are. We chose this one because we didn’t have to climb fences or gates to see it.
After lunch we continued north on Nine Mile Road. Our map said “See dolls house on top of tree stump” so we did.
Then it was on to the Warburton Woods Point Road. The drizzle turned to rain and the road had plenty of corrugations. Then it was back to drizzle and dust, an odd combination but it didn’t last long. Our plan was to visit Upper Yarra Dam but it was closed, so Daniel led us to a Redwood Forest at Cement Creek. It was planted by the Board of Works around 1930 as part of a hydrology experiment. There are 1450 trees in the forest.
We bid farewell to Uwe who had a longer drive home, while the rest of us headed up the Mt Donna Buang Road to the Rain Forest Gallery. This is a platform built out into the forest and gives you the opportunity to get up close with rain forest giants and tree ferns, as well as many other ferns growing on the trees. A beautiful spot. We headed back to Warburton where the trip finished around 4:30 p.m.
Our thanks to Daniel and his chauffeur for a very enjoyable day.
Text & photos: Heather