Bushwalk Australia

On Sunday just past, my 5 year old and I ventured out into the hills of Toolangi State Forest, to walk the Myrtle Gully Circuit (Myrtle Gully Loop/Myrtle Gully Track) as a pack-carry walk in preparation for our first overnight hike together.

We arrived at the Wirrawilla carpark around 10:20 and were setting off by 10:30 with packs set up for an overnight hike - even if we were only intending to go for a short while. The start of the walk was a little difficult to identify, as the signage at the top is vague. To go o the Myrtle Gully walk, you need to start down the boardwalk for the Wirrawilla Rainforest Walk - it's only once you go past the first boardwalk for the Wirrawilla Rainforest Walk that you can clearly see the signs for the Myrtle Gully Circuit.

The start of the walk wasn't promising, but it was a sure sign of things to come - soggy, waterlogged ground. At least it meant that it would be a good test of dedication for the young one, so off we went, clockwise around the loop. The soggy ground continued, and when we saw the creek crossing I was a little concerned. Was I going to end up with a drenched kid, needing to be carried home? In the end I crossed first, placed my bag and hiking poles down safely, then went back over the (loose) stepping stones to carry my second load across. This one was a bit more wriggly, but still OK. Venturing further on we saw a significant number of downed trees. The ferns on either side of the path were intrusive but manageable, but the number of trees that we had to clamber over and around made me very grateful that I hadn't brought my 18 month old in the carrier. This was further confirmed when I happened to spot a red belly black snake sunning itself on the side of the path - fortunately after the young one had already walked past.

We continued to the junction leading to the Tanglefoot carpark, at some points having to step from stone to stone in an attempt to keep our feet dry as the path became a watercourse. This was preferable to the areas where the path had just as much water, but was rather more lacking in stones, resulting in a muddy quagmire through the centre. We made sure to take some time to stop and admire the massive trees as we walked - but we were also ever mindful of the time and looking forward to lunch. After all, chocolates work as an incentive every couple of kilometres, but it's not quite the same as a proper feed.

We turned right at the junction and headed back towards the car park, looking forward to a well earned descent. Unfortunately for us, there were still a few more pinchy ups in our path, especially in the section just prior to the junction with the Tanglefoot Track proper, where such a significant mass of trees and branches had come down that an alternate high path had been cut by previous walkers. Passing this, we found the junction and despite me eager guide almost taking us onto the Tanglefoot Track for another 10 kms, we headed down to the boardwalk and back up to the carpark. By 1:30 we were in the car and headed into Healesville for a well earned lunch - and, despite the time just spent trudging through the forest, a play at the rather well equipped park beside the Beechworth Bakery in Healesville.

I don't have any decent pictures of my own to share, but this report does a fair job including a couple that show the track in a similar condition as we found it: https://www.greentrails.com.au/hiking/m ... y-circuit/

Nice report.
How did the five year old handle a 10k (I think?) walk?
I've yet to check out Toolangi, though it's relatively close to my part of Melbourne.
I never seem to get past Mason's Falls/Running creek circuit for a walk.

Baeng72 wrote:Nice report.
How did the five year old handle a 10k (I think?) walk?
I've yet to check out Toolangi, though it's relatively close to my part of Melbourne.
I never seem to get past Mason's Falls/Running creek circuit for a walk.

I was pleasantly surprised! We had 4 slips due to poor selection of footing, but a judicious application of chocolates as incentives saw enthusiasm levels kept up, and the walk was completed without and questions of how long until we would be finished or requests to relinquish the backpack.

nezumi wrote:I was pleasantly surprised! We had 4 slips due to poor selection of footing, but a judicious application of chocolates as incentives saw enthusiasm levels kept up, and the walk was completed without and questions of how long until we would be finished or requests to relinquish the backpack.

Excellent work. Skilled at the dark arts of bribery.

You were lucky not to pick up any leaches and the subsequent trauma. They were all over the ground cover there when I was there on a dry summer day. Put your pack down and they were on the bottom ready to go for your waist. 10km sounds like a long way for a 5 year old.

Avatar wrote:You were lucky not to pick up any leaches and the subsequent trauma. They were all over the ground cover there when I was there on a dry summer day. Put your pack down and they were on the bottom ready to go for your waist. 10km sounds like a long way for a 5 year old.

I was being hyper-vigilant for leeches - he was wearing long socks, leggings and a hoody jacket. We also had DEET spray-on sunscreen. We were lucky, but it wasn't the only factor.

My GPS track put the total distance at 7kms. That doesn't account for the walk down from the carpark or back up, but it's not going to make 10kms. That being said, once we got into Healesville he had boundless energy to play on the playground after we ate lunch. I was monitoring him pretty carefully, the whole point of the walk was to see how he went, but we have been building up to this progressively.