Macedon Ranges

Walk overview

Length: 18.5km circuit
Time: 5.5 hours
Grade: Medium
Ascent: 550m
Maximum height: (to come)
Region: Macedon ranges
Map: Melway maps (to come)
(Description to come)

My comments

This was a great walk organised by Jane and Guy. We got the hardest part out of the way at the start: a very steep walk up the side of a hill that had most of us panting heavily. Jane seemed to bolt ahead with no problems (though Guy was carrying their pack at this stage).

The scenery was fabulous throughout the walk, but the promised wildlife was missing. I only heard one small bird call towards the end of the walk.

The steep descent towards the end of the walk freaked me out a little. There was nothing to hang on to, the track was right on the edge of the mountain with a sheer drop over the edge, and footing was a little dodgy. It was pretty hard on the knees too, however I'd been doing lots of stretching so felt OK.

We did a car shuffle to avoid having to walk the last 1.5km of the walk which would have been on bitumen and uphill - not a nice way to finish what was an otherwise fabulous walk.

My rating

Excellent. I'll definitely do this walk again.

Photos from this walk

For more see: Macedon Ranges photo slideshow

Ferntree Gully Forest

Walk overview

Length: 11.4km circuit Time: 4 hours Grade: Medium Ascent: 700m Maximum height: 500m Region: Dandenong Ranges National Park Map: Melway maps 65, 74 "The forest near Ferntree Gully has always been a popular destination for a brief escape from the nearby city. First reservedin 1882, it became a national park in 1927 and in 1987 was merged with nearby Sherbrooke and Doongalla Forests into the Dandenong Ranges National Park. A network of walking tracks and closed fire management tracks penetrate the forest providing pleasant year round walking." Source: Day Walks Victoria

My comments

This was the first training walk in the lead up to the trip to Nepal that my friend Chris and I have planned for October. Neither of us is horribly unfit, but we certainly need to get fitter than we are now. This walk was recommended by my team member, Guy, as a suitable first walk because we were unlikely to get lost. Guess what - we did! Not totally lost, and it didn't cost us any time as it simply meant that we'd walked the wrong way around the "Nature trail" at the start of the walk. And it was a bit more arduous than either of us was ready for. I think it should probably have been graded medium to hard. The "Thousand steps" section--a set of 1000 slippery, uneven stone steps--had me stopping frequently to rest very weary muscles and catch my breath, occasionally feeling like my lungs were going to explode. It was very pretty, though, with lots of ferns and greenery. The back section of the walk on access roads was less appealing and I remember grumbling quite a bit about having to walk up some long steady uphill sections. My first outing in my new trekking boots went reasonably well. I had a couple of sore spots, but no blisters.

My rating

Good. I'll need to be fitter before doing it again!

Photos from this walk

For more see: Ferntree Gully Forest photo slideshow