Victoria Goldfields Camp 15 – 24 March 2025 Courtesy Walk Leaders, Gay and Tom.
Photos courtesy Gay, Erika, Philip, Mary, James, Peter, Lenore, Tony, Max, Helen, Karen, Barry K, and Kaye.
The Goldfields Track from Ballarat to Bendigo is 210kms in length, made up of four interlinked tracks – Eureka, Wallaby, Dry Diggings and Leanganook Track. 20 members joined Leaders Gay and Tom for the 9 day camp – based in Creswick for the first 4 days, and relocated to Castlemaine for the remaining 5 days.
The program was made possible with the help of Track Maintenance Volunteer, Bill, who is based in Ballarat. Bill was always ready to advise on track closures, using his network of contacts in the region and provide guidance on the best program (and most interesting) walks for our group. Our appreciation was shown with a small gift of local produce from the Eurobodalla Shire.
Day1, Creswick Heritage Loop – Sunday 16 March
Due to predicted rain, the program was changed slightly and 18 walkers completed the 8.5km Creswick Heritage Loop. The showers cooled the temperature significantly from the previous 30 degree days, and despite having to wear full rain gear, everyone was happy to get walking. This loop starts with a wander through the grounds of the old Forestry School, now University of Melbourne’s Creswick campus. The trail links with a landcare trail which has tiles with environmental messages made by students. The group took shelter in some relocated 19th century stables for a morning tea break and continued on to the 2km La Gerche trail winding through a wide diversity of conifers and an extensive oak gully, established over 140 years ago. Emerging out of the gully it was an uphill walk to Brackenbury Hill Lookout with views across the surrounding countryside. Downhill brought us back to St Georges Lake and what we thought was another group of bushwalkers, ended up being a group with remote controlled cars completing a circuit around the Lake. We pushed on in front, as they were rather slow and headed back into Creswick to complete the loop.
Day 2, Wombat Forest Walk (Wallaby Track) – Monday 17 March
Two groups headed out to complete today’s walks. Nine walkers completed 17.5kms taking in the Andersons Tramway walk which criss-crosses a 19th century tramway system used to carry logs felled in the Wombat Forest to a sawmill in Barkstead. After an uphill section reclaiming old logging roads with new plants, walkers emerged into a clearing in the forest with a gold sluicing dam containing very little water due to lack of rain over the past few months.
The Medium walkers continued onto the rotunda built on the grassy platform of a long gone railway station, which is where the 10 Easy/Medium walkers started and walked through to Sailors Falls about 11.5 kms.
The feature from the Rotunda is the railway cutting with walls on either side rising to well over 20metres at points. The cutting is about 1km through 500 million year old bedrock. It was impressive. At Sailors Falls everyone tasted the mineral springs water from a purpose built tap. Tasted just like sparkling mineral water!
Day 3, Miners Walk (Eureka Track) -Tuesday 18 March
Today’s walk started off with great expectations with Barry B expecting to find gold with his trusty tool (!). But after a miserable performance, and with mutterings from the rest about being cold, we headed off up the hill to warm up. But the Leader wasn’t satisfied the group was warm enough and made them back track up a hill for a short distance to double check a marker. Stopping for morning tea at a clearing off the track, it wasn’t long before a cry was heard, and lo and behold, James had found gold… a $1 coin! Philip found an old plant pot but decided wisely not to carry it out. With all walkers now getting into the swing of it, a very pleasant couple of hours were enjoyed following tracks through remnants of diggings, narrow water races and sluicing dams. The Leader, Gay, had one heart stopping moment as all walkers wandered off track to view an old dam to feed sluicing downstream only to realise there were a lot of mine shafts in the area. Once spotted everyone was super careful and got back to the track safely and tended to stay on track!
Lunch was held in Slaty Creek campground with amenities and picnic tables before tackling the track up to Humburg Hill. No views but clear evidence of mining on an industrial scale. Blue Waters was the last feature on the walk, and we were a little disappointed. The water was green! It was a large gravel pit, that was dredged to gain access to gold buried deep under the basalt lava flow. Only a couple of hundred meters brought the group back to St Georges Lake where cars were parked for the car shuffle necessary on this walk. Six keen members walked another couple of kilometres back into Creswick to complete 16kms.
This was the last walk in the Creswick area, with perfect weather, the entire group together and no-one fell down a shaft. To celebrate we all enjoyed a dinner at the Farmers Arms Hotel in Creswick.
Day 4 – Wednesday 19 March
We farewelled six of the group and the rest of us packed up and moved 50 odd kms up the road to Castlemaine.
Day 5, Coliban Water Walk (Leanganook Track) – Thursday 20 March
Again rain was threatening, so the program was adjusted accordingly. The group drove up to Mt Alexander and spent 30 minutes wandering around Langs Lookout before joining up with Gay and Tony who had dropped a vehicle at the track’s end. The Coliban water walk follows an ingenious system of gravity-fed channels and aqueducts built in 1870 to provide water to Bendigo. We were all suitably impressed by the 10kms of the water course which we walked. We had to go over two tunnels – Wirths (623m long) and Brennans (450m long) complete with air vents, thus a couple of hills for some cardio exercise. All agreed the most impressive feature along our walk was the Womans Gully waterfall and Cuneens Gully waterfall. The water rushes down a steep chute to a semi-circular structure that dissipates the force of the water. Indeed very ingenious!
It was mentioned more than once that li-lo’s or rubber rings would have been a nice way to experience the water channel, but no one had a solution for getting out of the channel before the falls and dissipators. And just for something different two members were buying and selling houses on the walk – aren’t we a flexible lot. We managed to dodge most of the rain, and just made it to the end and a large shelter before the main downpour.
Day 6, Golden Mountain Walk (Dry Diggings Track)– Friday 21 March
After a very heavy downpour in Castlemaine the night before, the day dawned fresh and partly cloudy. Fourteen walkers headed off on the 12km walk starting from Porcupine Ridge Road heading north towards Vaughan Springs. This section of the goldfields track traverses narrow, high-walled gullies pockmarked with mine shafts and stone ruins. The trail meandered through Browns, Stones and Sailors Gullies offering an insight into a century and a half of old mining, slowly decaying and the abandoned landscape is returning to bush. Tail End Charlie was kept on her toes on this walk trying to keep all the walkers on track and not falling down a mine shaft, while the Leader, Tom, walked on oblivious to the goings on behind him. Several old chimneys were spotted and inspected on the walk and a few walkers tested out the depths of shafts with rocks.
The final walk into Vaughan Springs picnic area was picturesque along a bridle path and following old drystone walling along the Lodden River.
While four went off to get the cars, the remaining walkers amused themselves by making use of the big slide. Some were more skilled than others with a couple, who shall remain nameless, getting rather muddy bums, because they didn’t stop in time. A fun way to finish an excellent day of walking.
Day 7, Heritage Park Walk (Leanganook Track) – Saturday 22 March
Today’s walk started at the grand foundations of the Garfield Water Wheel. The wheel revolved in accordance with the force of water supplied, one turn in each 45 seconds drove the fifteen head battery at a rate of 70 to 86 falls per minute. However, the walkers seemed to be more interested in the free packs of cards and jigsaws on the wheel steps rather than the historical artefact. Go figure!
The whole group was out walking today for the 5km loop up to the Nimrod Mine Reef and Welsh St Village. A few hills got everyone warmed up very quickly on this picture perfect autumn morning and once we arrived at the Welsh St village, all were happy to wander around the ruins of the old huts while partaking of some light morning refreshment. Back along the trails to the car park only to find it packed with a large group of orienteers. Also spotted on the trails were the CFA and SES completing some training and doing a spot of abseiling in the slate quarry. The rest of the day was free for everyone to explore Castlemaine or wile the afternoon in a relaxing stupor.
Day 8, Cry Joe Walk (Dry Diggings Track) – Sunday 23 March
The final walk of the camp had thirteen walkers head out to Fryerstown, the beginning of the Cry Joe Walk. Why “Cry Joe”? Well apparently, from 1851, mining gold without a licence was illegal. When troopers or licence inspectors were on the goldfields, the diggers’ warned of their approach by the rowdy cry of “Joe, Joe, Joe!” or “Charlie Joe”. The Spring Gully mine is on the walk and is one of the most famous mines in the Castlemaine District. Interpretative boards guided us through the three sections of the Spring Gully Mines dating from 1898 to 1939. The high stone loading ramp from which quartz was fed into a stamping battery for crushing at the Company Mine was very impressive.
Walkers followed the deeply eroded Cobblers Gully for a good kilometre before heading uphill to Dingo Park fence where we were greeted with many dingoes howling at the Jirrahlinga Dingo Conservation & Wildlife Education Centre and we were pleased they were behind a big fence. Upward to an old-stone wall which was part of a paddock used to keep the mine horses.
Walkers wound their way around the base of The Monk and 10 decided to go the last 250 metres up to the summit. Great views from the top and lots of flying bull ants so we kept our distance. At the bottom of The Monk, it was time for a spot of lunch altogether at the 8kms mark, before the Medium walkers headed south following the Poverty Gully water race and walked 8 kilometres into Castlemaine. The easy/medium walkers headed north for a few kilometres back into Chewton and completed the car shuffle.
Final few words
A very successful and enjoyable camp – didn’t lose anyone down a mine shaft, not a single snake spotted and lots of chatter and laughs. Thanks to Bill from Ballarat for his assistance and our trusty reference book always in Gay’s hand – “Goldfields Track, Walk or Ride Guide”. Thanks to everyone for being such a great group and your patience with the car shuffles!
Gay and Tom