Newsletter of the ESSENDON BUSHWALKING CLUB INC. A5559B

The committee is currently evaluating a draft risk management plan. This plan is not simply a paper exercise. It formally summarises the philosophy that leaders in this club have been pursuing implicitly for many years. We are now investigating how we can retain this philosophy in our way of doing things by making it explicit through a systematic and co-ordinated approach.

Risk management is a formal discipline that has grown out of the insurance and occupational health and safety businesses. It recognises a wide range of factors, including conservation and the environment, and all the various groups with which we interact. In a practical sense it involves all participants connected with a club activity. It is therefore timely to remind members how they can contribute to their own safety and the safety of the group.

A big issue here is communication with your leader. This starts when you are placing your name on a booking sheet. For some time we have been urging you to write your name and phone number so that they are legible (we can’t reprimand the members with illegible hand writing because we can’t read their names). We also ask that you provide an emergency contact phone number on the booking sheet. Very few people are currently providing this vital information.

We also insist that if there is anything related to your health, fitness, recovery from or proneness to injury, that could influence your ability to complete an activity, you must discuss this with the leader. The ideal time to do this is when you phone up to confirm your attendance three days prior to the activity. I cannot overemphasise that this does not mean you will be automatically cut from the activity. What it certainly does mean is that with all the unpredictable things that can happen on a walk and given that we are performing a physical activity, sometimes in a remote location, the leader will be able to make the best decisions for the safety of both individuals and the group.

Another issue that has safety implications is the presence of racehorses and individualists within a group. Racehorses like to forge ahead at the front of the group while individualists like to occasionally go their own way. We are a diverse bunch of people in this club and we happily accommodate the racehorses and individualists, as well as all other types of walker. However, we do insist that you check with the leader before separating from the group. It may very well be that there is no problem, but it is often the case that safety dictates the group stays together. Again, please check with the leader. If you deliberately or inadvertently find yourself way out in front, or wherever, you may cause an unforeseen problem for the group, or for yourself.

Finally, thank you to all the members who came out on the Clean Up Australia day activity. We even received some favourable coverage in the local press. Coming up in the new program there will be another track clearing and maintenance day at a location to be determined, possibly on the Great Dividing Trail. Later in the year we are also planning a base camp at Bright to assist with repair of bush fire damage to walking tracks. While we remain a bushwalking club, these activities make it possible for us to contribute something to the maintenance and conservation of areas we enjoy using. They're also great fun activities.

Trust me, I’m a leader.

This edition of the club newsletter is published in the aftermath of fires, which have devastated huge areas of the parks we so often visit, not only in Victoria but also across the border in NSW. The impact will be felt for some time, not only in restrictions on where we can walk (due to track closures etc), but also the visual appeal.

Also, spare a thought for the wildlife which we rarely see on our forays but whose habitat upon which they survive has been so severely disrupted.

This issue contains a reference to a map on the CFA website, which gives a broad picture of the area affected.

Finally, many thanks to the contributors, both regular and new. Without your help we wouldn't have a newsletter.

Articles can be sent to Chris Jarvis, E-mail: cjjarvis@labyrinth.net.au

Photographs, including scanned or digital photos, are most welcome. Chris Jarvis

Editor

Last November's Great Divide Marathon with Bill Casey can only be described as a great success. This was the ninth annual long distance day walk in the Central Victorian ranges. Forty eight people rolled up at Vaughan Springs to begin the walk. Any tourists coming to see Vaughan Springs that day would have had to park outside.

The walk followed parts of the Leanganook and Dry Diggings Tracks of the Great Dividing Trail via the old gold-mining areas of Chewton, Spring Gully and Fryerstown to the finishing point at Vaughan Springs. To begin the walk a bus carried us to the peak of Mt Alexander, just off the Calder Highway near Harcourt, at around 8.30am. Some of us were very pleased about this because it cut out the first hill. We dropped downhill through scenic bush and craggy rock. During the first part of the walk we had the pleasure to be accompanied by Richard Piesse, the Projects Officer of the Great Dividing Trail Association, who had lots of interesting things to say about the trail. Richard gave us our first challenge - getting 48 people to scale a barbed wire fence in the koala sanctuary, and then left us at Expedition Pass Reservoir.

Even though we had so many people we kept up a good pace. Frequent breaks were provided, the walk being divided into seven sections of 5 - 8kms long with dedicated people, manning support vehicles, meeting us along the way with our food and extra drinks. The day was extremely hot, and unfortunately even some experienced walkers were overcome by heat exposure in the section before lunch at Kalimna and had to pull out.

A section or two after lunch we followed an aqueduct, the flowing water a wonderful psychological relief from the powerful heat. Some of us took the opportunity to fill hats and douse ourselves and (with permission) our friends with water. At the end of this section, just before we ascended 'The Monk' hill, Ian was overcome by excruciating cramps (we knew they were painful by the volume of his shouting). Ian had to be taken back to the hotel were he was given a leg massage by Florence Nightingale, wearing paint splattered overalls, cunningly left open to reveal a purple g-string. (Could the cramps have been a ruse?)

After a long hot day of walking we eventually arrived back at Vaughan Springs to achieve our goal of 42.6kms (over approx. 12.5hrs). Of course, experiencing the rush at the end of doing something well worthwhile, we ran for the big long slippery slide and, other Essendon members, awaiting our arrival at the bottom of the cliff, were alarmed to hear screams, and as they looked up through the descending dusk they saw bushwalker after bushwalker come hurtling over the cliff.

Then, by around 9pm, we were off to the local pub. At least 90% stayed on for the pub dinner - at The Gilford Family Hotel, which was very welcome. Certificates were presented to those walkers who had achieved at least 5 marathons and Bill gave a speech. After dinner some of us stayed on, camping in the beer garden. During the evening while Leo was in the pub having one more beer with the publican, a territorial claim was asserted by the hotel's dogs. One of them claiming Bill's friend, Mike, as his own, by lifting his leg and marking Mike's trousers. We chuckled about this until we drifted into a well-earned sleep at the end of a wonderful but tiring day.

Twenty nine walkers completed the marathon that day - 60% of the 48 walkers that started. Not as high as previous years, but the heat, in the mid-thirties with the long exposed section before lunch, certainly took its toll.

Thank you, Bill, for another great marathon. Thanks also to all the people who put in a big effort to man the support vehicles, and organise the provision of water and transport for walkers over the walk's seven sections.

‘French Flies with that, madam?"

Being on an island for a weekend does have a special appeal, but as we set off on the Sandy Point ferry, I wondered how the prisoners must have felt, knowing that sharks were their captors. After disembarking we walked to the Pinnacles where an old bushwalker leapt out with a joke about George Bush. Then a relaxing afternoon by the beach at Fairhaven, a very pretty campsite. In the evening we were treated to a striking fireworks display across the water; evidently it was Hastings Day. On Sunday a walk back along the beach, with its myriads of tiny crabs and the sad ruins of mangrove swamps, to spend the rest of the day with Lois Airs, one of the two local tour operators, who drove us round the island in a vast rattlling bus and sprayed us with a windex bottle of water to cool us down.

The prison was particularly interesting - and attractive. Lois was a fund of local knowledge, and it was refreshing to meet someone so unscathed by any sense of conformity. We ended the tour with scones in a chicory kiln on her property, surrounded by engineering bric-a-brac, all enthusiastically scavenged by Lois. I thought of the other operator, with his air-conditioned bus and the gourmet lunch at the prison, and wouldn’t have swapped Lois for anything! It was an easy and pleasant weekend, and one full of interest that went way beyond mere bushwalking.

Thanks Greg and Janine.

For the third time since early 2000, we used the Lake Burrumbeet Caravan Park as the base for some interesting walking. Eleven of us took up residence in cabins there on the Friday night.

On Saturday, nine of the eleven drove to the picturesque Richards Camping Ground at the base of Mount Cole, where another two members joined us for the day.

Since we last walked from here two years ago, a new two-day 21km walking track called the Beeripmo Walk, has been constructed, and we set out with the intention of walking some of it before cutting cross-country back to the start.

We started out from Richards at 10-15am, and the first couple of kilometres to Raglan Falls was an uphill grind through some scenic rocky terrain and lovely rain forest. Morning tea was taken on a ledge overlooking the track we had followed, giving us an appreciation of the hard slog we had done.

The grade eased for a while before we climbed Cave Hill. We ate lunch on the south side of the hill with a panoramic view to the south and west.

Moving on, we found the going quite easy until we encountered Sugarloaf. This was a real climb and by the time we reached the top I was hoping we had finished with "uphills" for the day as some of the walkers were beginning to show the strain.

But it was not to be. After descending the western slope of Sugarloaf and passing the excellent new facilities at Beeripmo Camping Ground, we entered some truly magnificent eucalypt forest which we had hardly begun to appreciate when what should appear in front of us but the steep eastern face of Mugwamp Hill!

We made it to the top along the well-graded track, took a breather, and continued on past Mugwamp Camping Ground, and then began a very long downhill stretch which took us back to our cars where we arrived at 4-45pm. In six and a half hours we had completed the whole "two-day" walk with the exception of a short out-and-back track to the Mt Buangor lookout.

Back to our cabins, a quick clean-up and we were off to tea at the Burrumbeet Hotel.

On Sunday seven of us walked all the way around Lake Burrumbeet, a distance of about 25km. It is the driest the lake has been since 1944 when it completely dried up. The eastern shoreline was littered with thousands of dead carp. The lake is home to many pelicans and seagulls, and two eagles were seen early in the walk.

We walked in sand, over rocks, in mud and on grass at various times during the day. Although the walk was almost completely flat, we found it very tiring and were glad to finish after being out for seven and a half hours.

Another quick clean-up and another excellent meal at the Burrumbeet Hotel followed.

On Monday morning some of us walked part of the Yarrowee Trail in Ballarat. It had been officially opened the previous weekend, and we chose the section from the city to the Gong Gong Reservoir, about 8km.

All in all we walked some50km (some of it very hilly) in two and a half days, and so were pretty satisfied with our weekend.

Thirteen members from the Essendon Bushwalking Club (EBWC) participated in the annual Clean Up Australia Day (CUAD) event. The Club coordinated the clean-up at Woodland Park in Essendon and Boeing Reserve in Strathmore. Twenty-eight bags of rubbish and recyclables and some large items were collected between the two sites. In both parks the main items of rubbish were cans, plastic and glass bottles, plastic coated drink cartons, and plastic shopping bags. Smaller items included cigarette butts, cigarette packets, confectionary wrappers, plastic drinking straws, and plastic bottle tops.

A number of larger items were retrieved from the Woodland Park pond, which included one shopping trolley, a burnt out wheelie bin, a mounting pole for a parking sign, and a steel drum. The eastern end of the pond’s surface was raked and rotten wood and debris and numerous bottles and cans, and rotted plastic shopping bags were retrieved. Further items to be collected included empty bottles, pizza boxes and streamers at a picnic shelter that was surrounded by three bins, all in a five-metre radius.

At Boeing Reserve amongst the items collected were a bundle of approximately 50 catalogues that were dumped in a package at the water’s edge beside the Moonee Ponds Creek, a shopping trolley was retrieved from the Creek, and numerous plastic corrugated sheeting and other building refuse.

EBWC’s efforts were featured in the Moonee Valley Leader Newspaper on 10 March 2003 "Garbage gets the Flick" (p. 15). The event was a huge success not only on the day but the relations that have been built up between the Club and the Moonee Valley City Council environmental coordinator. Suggestions were taken from Club members participating on the CUAD to the Council who are taking up our suggestions for improvement in managing the local environment.

A big thank you to all who took part on the day and for those of you who missed out this time, keep the first Sunday in March free to get down, don the gloves, have a bit of fun and clean up Australia. If you are worried that you will not get enough exercise rest assured you may find some muscles that you never knew existed.

The Kokoda Trail-1000 Steps

Sunday May 4

20 km Medium

Ian McLean

A walk of ferny nooks and glades. Starting in Ferntree Gully. We ascend the 1000 steps / Kokoda Trail Memorial Walking Track to One Tree Hill for morning tea. We proceed off One Tree Hill and make our way through forest to Doongalla Homestead. From there on to Bourkes lookout, the Kyeema memorial aircraft crash site (October 25 1938) and then the Mt.Dandenong Observatory for lunch before retracing our steps back to One Tree Hill via the Dandenong Creek track to descend back via the Lyrebird Track.

Sunday June 1

15km Easy

Darren McClelland

Another walking tour for the foodies, we’ll enjoy lunch and afternoon tea at the Malmsbury bakery between pleasant country village walks at Taradale and Malmsbury. Some Taradale residents have long established a variety of trails for a stroll along, and we’ll follow a couple. Then after lunch we’ll take a loop around Malmsbury. Tell your friends about the exercise, but keep the calories as our little secret.

June 21-22

5km Medium

Darren McClelland

A little walked part of the Victorian coast but so close to home! We’ll walk from Cape Liptrap to Venus Bay, a desolate piece of Victorian coast that has so far escaped beachfront development. You can expect to see towering cliffs, rock stacks and secluded shingle stoves. Don’t expect to see a milk bar or your Aunty. Take the opportunity to see this coast while it lasts in an "untouched" state, and bring the camera.

Saturday July 5

15km Easy/Medium

Bill Casey

Many of us will remember Vaughan Springs as the finishing point of the 2002 Great Divide Marathon – the place with the Big Slide that Rodney could not stay away from.

This will be the starting point for a medium grade walk through the heavily mined area to the south. For much of the way we will be on the Great Divide Trail, but we will leave the track from time to time to study relics of times long gone.

We will see remains of stone huts, puddling machines, sluiced gullies, adits and shafts. At times there will be a short, steep climb to the top of a ridge, but nothing that a reasonably fit walker cannot manage.

So why not come along and visit the past in real Australian bushland.

(Warrandyte State Park)

Sunday July 6

12km Easy/Medium

Ian & Sylvia McLean

This area close to Wonga Park was added to the State Park in 1997 and is well worth a first visit by EBC. The Bend of Isles section is a fairly remote yet attractive loop in the Yarra River containing several small islands. The tranquillity of the area is only broken by the sound of tumbling water over a number of nearby rapids. An odd canoeist adds to light entertainment. The area around Mt. Lofty was former farmland and affords high, continuous ridge top walking with magnificent uninterrupted views including Mt. St. Leonard (and well beyond), the Dandenong Ranges, Mt. Macedon, the surrounding fringe of suburbia and the twisting, tortuous path of the Yarra as it flows below.

This walk in on tracks, however there is a tiny section (400 meters) of light scrub to negotiate in order to avoid private property. Adjacent to farmlands, it traverses wooded slopes and undulates from the lush riverside tall gums below to the drier hilly wooded country above, until arriving at the Mt. Lofty section where the grassy slopes afford outstanding views and high ridge top walking. A good walk with lots of variety. Afternoon tea is planned in Warrandyte on the way home. Hope to see you there, this walk is highly recommended.

July 14-17

55km Medium

Darren McClelland

Have you ever wanted to visit this World Heritage area but never quite gotten around to doing it? Well here's your chance if you are up to a gentle four-day pack walk in this idyllic location, while escaping the depths of our winter. The Forest Lakes Trail will take us past crystal clear lakes, sub-tropical wildflowers at the peak of their season, lots of sand that this island is famous for and maybe a dingo or two. The leader comes complete with dingo taming techniques!

Book early

Saturday July 26

38km Easy-Medium

Darren McClelland

Ever wanted to touch the green green grass of the Toomuc Valley (where? - you ask) but were to afraid to ask? Well here’s your chance as we cruise from Belgrave station to Pakenham station (after disembarking from a silver bullet). The uphill slopes of the Blue Dandenongs will dissipate after you’ve warmed up and give way as we head towards Cardinia Reservoir then enjoy rich farmland views. Bring your brightest bike clothing for a colourful day.

July 26 - 27

Bill Casey

Till now, all Bay To Border walks have been day walks, although quite a few walkers have made a weekend of it.

We are now well past Lorne, and the travel time from Melbourne has reached the limit of what can be comfortably driven in both directions in a day, particularly after having walked up to 15km along the coast.

Together with my team of Mary Atkins, Beth Elkins and Ray Scilley, I have investigated accommodation for the next two stages, and we found excellent facilities at the Wye River Valley Camping Ground, which is directly over the Great Ocean Road from the beach.

We were very impressed with the park like setting, with the Wye River (complete with ducks) cutting right through the area. The large community kitchen/lounge is completely enclosed and spotlessly clean, and the other amenities are of the same high standard. The cabins are modern, and each contains a double bed and four bunks, although we will be placing only four people in each cabin.

The combined cost for the two nights (Friday and Saturday) will be a total of $40-$45 per person. The local hotel is about 200 metres away – we will have the option of eating there on Saturday night.

On the Saturday we will be walking from Mt Defiance to Kennett River, about 13km, some on rock and some on sand. The scenic features are magnificent. The Sunday walk is about 10km from Kennett River to Wongarra. This latter section has still to be pre-walked.

This will leave us with an easy base camp in early September for Bay To Border 10/11 when we should have no trouble in reaching Apollo Bay and possibly Marengo.

Even if you have no ambitions to walk to South Australia, or don’t intend to walk on both days, I’m sure you will find this will be a very enjoyable weekend.

At tonight’s meeting (April) you will need to confirm for this trip and pay a deposit of $10, as we must book sufficient cabins at this popular site ASAP. The balance will be payable when you arrive at Wye River.

12 Saturday August

30 km Medium

Ian McLean

Lying northeast of Yarra Glen, and south of Toolangi is the little known Paul Range. This walk starts at the base of the range, gradually sideling up to the main ridge. The walk along the ridge then involves ten knolls up and down, affording extensive views of Mt. St. Leonard, the Kinglake Hills and the expanse of vineyards surrounding the range. Then the walk continues down off the ridge to flatten and circumnavigate the remaining range back to the cars. Early wattles and heath should be the main floral features. Afternoon tea in Dixon's Creek post walk.

September 20-21

Easy

Darren McClelland

Our visit to this little known, young National Park might be a first for the club. Terrick is situated near Mitiamo, about an hour’s drive North of Bendigo. The Park has unique stands of Murray Pine cypress woodlands, gentle hills with granite outcrops, surprising vistas and open woodlands for easy cross country walking. Spring holds good prospect for wildflowers and bird sightings. BYO tent, food and good humour.

October 21-26 or October 11-16 Medium

Darren McClelland

Darren is seeking expressions of interest ASAP from people to either spend a week in Hobart doing day walks in its vicinity, or to do a three day pack walk in Freycinet along with a two day pack walk at Maria Island. Please contact Darren by 30 June if you are interested.

For 2003 is:

President: Rob Hughes

Vice President: Keith Hart

Secretary: Nicole Lowe

Treasurer: John Atkinson

Committee: Ron Bell, Neil Campbell, Carmel Roads, Ian Tovey & Michael Howes

Don’t forget that members can obtain a discount at Bogong Equipment, 374 Little Bourke Street. They offer a 10% discount on all non-sale items.

(Snail) Mail: The Secretary, Essendon Bushwalking Club Inc., P.O. Box 32, Moonee Ponds, 3039

E-mail: trekker@netspace.net.au

Are released three times each year, at the April, August and December club meetings.

One copy of the program is included within the club newsletter, Old Man Emu.

Additional copies are available from the Secretary or Treasurer for 20¢ each.

Are held on the second Wednesday of each month, at Hall 3, St. Thomas Church (behind the church), Mt. Alexander Road, Moonee Ponds Junction (corner of Mt. Alexander and Pascoe Vale Roads). Meetings start at 7.30 pm.

Contact the club secretary for more details

Tent $10 $20

Backpack $6 $10

Sleeping Bag $5 $5

Japara $5 $5

Stove $5 $5

Sleeping Mat $1 $2

Maximum hire rate $25 each week. Each additional week a further $25 fee will apply.

Annual Membership $ 25

Visitors Fee (per event) $ 5

Annual Membership fees apply from June 1 to May 31. Membership fees not paid two months after the June AGM render the member unfinancial. There are no pro-rata membership fees as the club is required to pay an annual Federation / Insurance premium

An unfinancial member is required to pay the visitors fee for every event they attend until they have paid their full membership fee. As an unfinancial member, the Club's Personal Accident and Public Liability Insurance on any club activity does not cover you unless a visitor's fee is paid.

Unfinancial members and visitors attending more than three events in a club year are required to pay the full membership fee.

New members must pay the annual membership fee within 28 days of their membership application being approved by the committee.

Collated from Leaders Booking Sheets by Sylvia McLean

Statistics for January 2003

Total number of leaders for Jan 03, 15 including 5 new leaders making their debut. Congratulations and may you all continue to lead many more successful and enjoyable walks,

I am unable to inform you about bike ride and social activity numbers as these sheets have not been returned as yet. December returns were very poor. Remember that from an insurance point of view it is your own and club interest that documentation is securely filed and correctly completed.

I have been collecting and collating the walks sheets since 1996 and finally I have enough returned in one month to give some reasonable feedback!

I hope to be able to continue to provide stats for your interest in OME each issue, PROVIDING I get ALL the walks sheets returned and FILLED OUT CORRECTLY. Even if events are cancelled please return the sheets with cancellation reasons in the comments section.

Thank you.

The fires of January, February and March in the north east of this state have devastated over 1.1 million hectares, mostly state forest and national parks. In their path have lain numerous huts visited by bushwalkers. Many of these huts have been lost, but miraculously, many more have been saved. The following list of some selected huts has been extracted from http://vichuts.ski.com.au/hutstatus.html and from other sources, including the Parks Victoria website. As access to these areas remains restricted, the accuracy of this information cannot be assured.

SAVED (Subject to confirmation)

Blairs; Cope; Cope Saddle; Diamantina; Dibbins; Edmonsons; Fitzgerald's; Johnstones; MUMC (damaged); Rover Scout Chalet (ski tow destroyed); Ryders; Weston's; Wallaces; Wilkinson's

LOST (Subject to confirmaton)

Pretty Valley; Cairn Creek; Derrick; Cleve Cole; Michell; Tawonga Huts; Youngs.

Only a few of these reports can be confirmed, and until more general access is gained then this information will remain somewhat fluid few a few more weeks.

The losses in the Kosciusko National Park have been on a similar scale. Huts reported lost include Orange / Diane, Brookes, Pretty Plain, Geehi, Boobee and O'Keefes.

Access to burnt areas will remain restricted for some time, due to damage to tracks, fallen timber etc. If in doubt, call Parks Victoria or visit their website at www.parks.vic.gov.au.

A map of the area burnt can be viewed on the CFA website at http://cfaonline.cfa.vic.gov.au. The map shows the area burnt during the January to February period, including the southern section of the Kosciusko National Park. For more information contact the CFA or visit their website.