Monday, January 26, 2015

Bald Hill - Luptons View Loop, Bunyip State Park

I went back to Bunyip State Park today for another loop walk. This isn't amazing walking terrain with sweeping vistas and interesting tracks, but, there is plenty of opportunity for solitude (the roads/tracks are all gated so only the self or horse-propelled can access them, which automatically rules out almost 99% of the population), the forest is beautiful and it is very close to where we are house-sitting. 

This time I did a loop (about 13 km/400 m gain) on the south side of Tonimbuk Road (one of the major east-west roads through the park) and saw no-one for the almost three hours I was out except for a family group of three on horses - it's surprisingly easy to walk as fast as horses. 

I parked at Mortimer Picnic Area again which seems like a good place to leave a car off the road (noted the half-empty soft-drink cans I would take home to dispose of, cursed "sugar burners"), and wandered off to the south along the Yarra Bubba Track. At a saddle, I intersected the Sandpit Ridge track which took me along a couple of low ridges to the park boundary at Pooley Road. I did have to suck up almost a kilometre of road walking (gravel and quiet) to complete this loop, but, at the junction with Tynon North Road I got off on Avards Track which ambles up a spur ridge to 300 metres and a junction with Lupton Track. Along Lupton Track heading west there is a viewpoint looking north over Diamond Creek valley before the track descends to cross Tynon North Road again. A short stretch on Cannibal Creek Track leads to Dawson Track and a nice forested walk out to the Tonimbuk Road. Although not shown on the Victoria Parks map, a track leads back to Mortimer Picnic area so you don't have to close this last section of the loop on the road. 

 Luptons View

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