GEMBROOK TO POWELLTOWN
22nd April 2015
We met at 9:30 am outside the Gembrook Bakery where several of the group members took the opportunity to partake of a coffee to help warm themselves up, whilst others took the opportunity to warm themselves up by stretching their legs walking to the toilets along the road. Group members were reintroduced to each other and visitors welcomed.
We drove through the village of Gembrook, turning left along Beenak Rd - one of many 'Beenaks' we were to come across throughout the trip. Our first stop was at Kurth Kiln where we took the time to look at and read about the kiln. The kiln was used during WW2 to make charcoal for gas producer units (several of which were on display) that were fitted to cars, trucks and machinery when supplies of petrol were restricted.
The kiln has been restored to its original condition and provided a very interesting display. Several people then took the opportunity to do the 30 minute walk along the creek before having morning tea.
Kurth Kiln
From Kurth Kiln Regional Park we climbed under the transmission lines towards the fire tower but were unable reach the tower as the access track was closed. What would normally have been spectacular views of the surrounding hills were marred by the mist, however the same mist added a special beauty to the tall eucalypts and treeferns we drove along the track. We continued along the Blue Range Road to the top of Andersons Track, passing Little Bunyip Track on the way. The original plan was to go down Andersons and come up Little Bunyip, both of which are classified as 'double black', however as the area had experienced a large amount of rain of late, and on the advice of the park ranger, it was decided both tracks were best avoided. The start of the Anderson Track did indeed appear extremely muddy with very deep ruts.
Lunch in the mist
We then retraced our steps along Blue Range Track, stopping for lunch beside the road before re-entering Kurth Kiln Regional Park via Hunters Track and continuing on to another part of Beenak Rd. A point of significant interest was the Beenak Post Office Tree, which was the Mailbox Tree where mail was collected and posted for the Beenak area from 1878 – 1951.
Beenak Post Office Tree
After photographing the tree we descended quite steeply down the 5th Dam Road and headed for Powelltown where we said our goodbyes before departing for home. Our thanks to Colin and Heather for leading yet another very interesting trip!