Thursday 10th August 2023
Leaders: David H / JP W
Participants: Angela and Ignatius L, Felicity and Mark S, JP and Trish W, Roger B, Uwe K, Ruthi and Wayne C.
Route for the day:
This trip was classified as "easy", and it was part of David H’s Trip Leader Training, with JP as Mentor. There were 7 cars in the convoy. We met by 8 am for an 8.30 am start at the Garfield Pavilion. The trip was from Garfield to Yarra Junction, passing through Bunyip State Park and Kurth Kiln Regional Park, with stops for photos, points of interest, and morning tea.
We initially turned left at the traffic lights and crossed over the M1 Highway (Princes Highway) from Bunyip Road, where we regrouped and travelled along Tonimbuk road, enjoying the beautiful wattle which was out, and passing through farming country with sheep, cattle, and horses grazing peacefully. The countryside was a luscious green. We turned right at Jolley Road, which was our first dirt road, then left onto Towt Road, and further down the road became a black gravel road. We then veered left onto Black Snake Creek Road, where JP pointed out sightings of Pink Heath, Victoria’s Floral Emblem.
Our first stop for morning tea was at Dyers Camping & Picnic Area in the Bunyip State Park, at 9.30 am. We left the picnic area just before 10am, and turned left onto Link Road, then right onto Gembrook -Tonimbuk Road, a sealed bitumen road. We then turned right into Gembrook-Launching Place road and then a dirt road. We pulled over to see adorable Scottish Highland Cattle in a paddock, and we all took many photos of them.
At 10.40am we reached our second major point of interest, which was the Kurth Kiln. We parked our cars in two different car parks nearby, and inspected the Kiln and the surrounding buildings and huts, and there was a very interesting discussion amongst us all about power generation in general, leading onto discussions about nuclear power, its waste storage difficulties, and dangers.
At 11.20am we drove onto Soldiers Road, and turned left to Gembrook-Launching Place Road and then turned left to Ship Rock Falls Road, where we stopped at the Ship Rock Picnic Ground to walk down to a track to see the actual Falls, and take photos. The Ship Rock itself consisted mainly of a few huge rocks, and some smaller ones, which we admired and photographed.
At 11.40am we again turned into Gembrook-Launching Place road, to head off to our final destination, the Cunninghams Hotel in Yarra Junction. We turned left onto Yarra Junction-Noojee road, then left to the Warburton Highway. We arrived at the hotel at 12 noon after an interesting and enjoyable trip through places that we had not previously known.
Text by: Angela and Ignatius L
Photos: Mark S