Great Dividing Trail – Wallaby Track (88km)

Summary

The Great Dividing Trail concept, as originally envisaged in 1992, involved three Stages, all of which are now complete. The Great Dividing Trail Association later added the Lerderderg Track between Daylesford and Bacchus Marsh.

This multi-day hike traverses all sections of this track, from Mount Buninyong to Daylesford. This is a challenging hike due to the distance covered, steepness of some sections of the trail and the limited water procurement opportunities. There are multiple entry points to this trail if you wish to divide it into shorter sections.

Entry points for the Wallaby Track are located at:

• Mount Buninyong
• Buninyong (De SozaPark)
• Ballarat Railway Station, Lydiard St between Platform 1 and the Bus Terminal
• Creswick Tourist Information Centre
• Creswick Rail Station
• Wombat Station – at the rotunda on the former rail station site deep in the Wombat State Forest
• Sailors Falls Picnic Area
• Lake Daylesford

The Great Dividing Trail – Wallaby Track includes the following sections as it passes through Mount Buninyong, Buninyong, Ballarat, Creswick, Dean, Mollongghip, Sailors Falls and Daylesford.

Mt Buninyong Walk – Mt Buninyong to Whitehorse Bridge 13 km

The highest part of the volcano called Mount Buninyong dates from around 10,000 years ago with the crater being much older. Koalas, wallabies and kangaroos might be seen in the reserve. The drystone walls further down the track were built by skilled workers in the latter half of the 19th century. Buninyong village was established in 1841 and is Victoria’s oldest inland post-contact settlement, pre-dating the gold rush by a decade. After climbing out of Buninyong the track passes through the Ballarat suburbs of Mount Helen and Mount Clear, passing the Mount Helen Campus of Federation University.

The Mt Buninyong walk finishes at a pedestrian bridge over the Yarrowee River.

Most supplies can be purchased from shops at Buninyong and Mt Clear.

Whitehorse Walk – Whitehorse Bridge to Ballarat Station 7.5km

The Whitehorse Walk follows the Yarrowee River upstream into the centre of Ballarat, with a spur linking it to Ballarat Railway Station.

Features along the way are the Redan Wetlands and the former Sunnyside Woollen Mill.

Creswick Miners Walk – Ballarat Station to Creswick Station 25.5 km

This section of the Track allows you to follow in the Creswick miners’ footsteps. The walk begins at the Ballarat Railway Station and winds through Creswick Regional Park and Creswick State Forest.

From Ballarat it follows the Yarrowee Creek Valley to the outskirts of Ballarat, and then heads into the forest past Nuggety Dam and White Swan Reservoir. It goes over the Great Dividing Range through the forest to Slaty Creek (camping available).

The Track passes the mining dams at Blue Waters and St Georges Lake (swimming and fishing available at St Georges Lake).

Continue on towards Daylesford or go into the township of Creswick, past the visitor information centre to Creswick railway station.

W. G. Spence Walk – Creswick Station to Mollongghip 22.5 km

This walk commemorates one of the significant contributors to Australia’s Federation. W. G. Spence was brought up in a slab bark hut in Jackass Gully near Creswick.

The walk begins at the Creswick Railway Station and ends at Mollongghip, some 740 metres above sea level. It includes a variety of forest and open country walking to the top of the Great Dividing Range.

Anderson’s Tramway Walk – Mollongghip to Wombat Station 7.5 km

Part of this 7.5 km section of the Track, near Mollongghip follows an historic timber tramway, built in 1866. Following the contours of the top of the Great Dividing Range, this originally wooden tramway was wide enough for two horses abreast. At its peak the timber tramway ran for 23 km, from Dean to Musk Vale. This walk passes through terrain that was extensively mined – so please keep to the track.

In wet years Mullens Dam has sometimes been a source of water but do not rely on the quality or quantity of water that might be available here.

Wombat Forest Walk – Wombat Station to Lake Daylesford 19 km

Thanks to the riches brought by gold, by the end of the 1880s Victoria had an extensive network of railways. Wombat Station is one example of many once-busy stations and sidings on the Ballarat to Daylesford railway line, which was built in 1887 and finally closed in the 1950s.

The track goes from the former station over a huge embankment (check out the brick tunnel underneath) and goes into a huge and deep railway cutting, now in the middle of the Wombat State Forest!

As you walk you are walking over the main fibre-optic cable, through which this website is coming!

The walk goes through the White Point Diggings and right past the beautiful Sailors Falls and mineral spring before following the creek valleys to Daylesford via Lake Daylesford.

 

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