Wombat Wanderings - Blackwood to Daylesford and back.
Description: The Wombat State Forest is a beautiful area, north west of Melbourne with a rich historic history of gold mining and timber milling. The trip follows a network of, at times, challenging 4WD tracks through the Wombat State Forest, west of Blackwood.
The trip from Blackwood to Daylesford is classified as a difficult standard, mainly in the first half of this outbound leg where we climb to the ridge of the Great Dividing Range, being the highest point in the forest at some 878m, encountering some steep narrow tracks, bog holes, mud ruts which can be slippery in wet conditions.
The rundown to Daylesford is easier along relatively flat forest tracks although there still may well be soft spots. The return leg back to Blackwood is classified as easy and travels mainly along the Wombat Forest Drive that more or less follows the Lerderderg River valley downstream, providing a very scenic forest drive, finishing at the enchanting Garden of St Erth for coffee and scones.
Blackwood is reached from Melbourne via the western Freeway , turning off the C318 exit to Greendale and then 17 km to Blackwood. Blackwood is 90 km from Melbourne and should take an hour. Alternatively, to that of travelling up in the morning, there is a caravan park in Blackwood on the Lerderderg River or various B&B's and cottages around Blackwood, for those that may wish to make a weekend of the trip.
Take lunch and morning tea and appropriate clothing to suit the weather on the day.
Weather: Victorian winter, potentially cold and wet. Bring appropriate clothing and footwear.
Equipment: Vehicles need to have low range 4WD capability with good all-terrain tyres and UHF radio equipped ( or one borrowed from the club). Usual recovery gear should be carried.
Trip Standard: Medium
Fuel: a full tank ex fuel ex- Melbourne as Blackwood is a sleepy hollow on a Sunday morning.
Distance: Approximately 75km
Duration: 1 day
Convoy limit: 10 vehicles
Meeting Arrangements: We will meet at the Blackwood General Store, in the middle of Blackwood (it's only a little town) for a 09:00 departure.
Trip Leader: Graeme Allen. Please don't hesitate to contact Graeme on 0477 488 434 or graeme.allen86@gmail.com if you have any queries or require any further information.
