Glasgow and South Chapple Falls

South Chapple Falls/Glasgow Falls Walk 

– Sunday 1 March 2015 – 1^st day of Autumn

Leader :- Kim Attard.   Walkers :- Rosemary Vince, Linda Carter, Odette Sheills, Helen Cuell, Joan McMahon, Margaret Lennox, Sarah Coll, Alan Dow, Jenny Gna, Chris Barr, Louise Kemp, Andrew Hackett,  Les Roe, Tim Cobb, Marion Bakker, Sue Mackay, Tilly Brynton, Cody Mills, Gile Behn.

The heavy rain the night before was no deterrent for 20 eager walkers who travelled from all directions (and countries – our 2 American’s) to arrive at Lavers Hill for a 9.30 start. The weather was looking threatening, but when isn’t it in the Otway’s?

After a briefing from Kim, we set off for our first destination – South Chapple Falls. We walked along a dirt track and then down into the forest on a slightly overgrown track which received some housekeeping by the one and only Allan followed by 19 pairs of feet to finish off the job.  We had plenty of time to take in the magnificent rain forest in all its glory and the smells of the fresh rain within.

Right on cue as we arrived at the falls – the rain too arrived. This did not impede on the beautiful view.  From here we re-traced our steps back up to the road and headed down Morris track for around 6 kilometers.

A bridge was our marker to enter, once again, into the forest heading to Glasgow Falls. We were not far in when a very apparent obstacle was to stop us in our tracks. There sunning itself on a tree which lay across the track - was a 1mtr tiger snake.  The snake was not too happy to see us and we were not too happy to see it, so with a little encouragement from our fearless leader it went on its merry way.

The tree ferns we saw in this part of the forest were so tall – “as big as they ever grow “, we were told.

The final decent down to the falls required some handy work on a rope which had been very skillfully tied to a network of trees. We mostly arrived at the bottom unscathed with a bit of slipping and sliding on the way down. The Glasgow Falls are magnificent – such beautiful scenery - huge boulders, rocks, ferns, moss and of course - the water fall. STUNNING!!!

For the not so faint-hearted and with a lot of help from Alan (thank you Alan we do hope your knee is still operating after providing it to us as a step) - we were treated to a stunning view as we sat (balancing precariously) on a ledge IN BEHIND the waterfall.  

After enjoying our lunch in this very special setting, we made our way out of the forest the same way we came in – onto the Road and after quite a long drudge we stopped at the Lavers Hill Swimming Pool for an afternoon snack.  Many years ago -this pool was used by the Lavers Hill School as their only swimming pool. We were told “it was very cold” – surprise, surprise…

We arrived back at Lavers Hill at 4pm to say our goodbyes.

Linda Carter

Wild Dog Falls Walk - 1st Feb 2015

Walk – Wild Dog Falls - Sunday the 1st of February, 2015.

Leader :- Alan Dow       Walkers :- Debra and Conrad White, Gretel Lamont, Kim Attard, Sue Twigg, Jo Forrest, Diane Drake, Rob Cannon.

A mid-summer hike in the Otways, what could go wrong?
It took all of 7 hours, so it seemed quite long.

We were slowed with the vegetation and its normal tangles,
The leeches were plentiful coming at us from all different angles.

We were already wet enough before it started to rain,
So there was plenty of adventure in that rugged terrain.

We were walking through history along old tramways that timbermen did make,

Then among majestic tree ferns at Teahouse Creek, a fitting spot for a break.

It was well worth the extra effort to descend into the gorge as what a sight;

The waterfall was just beautiful, so picturesque; definitely the highlight !

Although only nine, our small party was not lacking in endeavour;

It was just another great day walking in the Otway’s splendour.

…………………………………………………………………………………………..
Footnote:- Even with global warming, two things we learnt:-
The first is that it can still rain solidly in the middle of Summer in the Otways ! 

The second is that leeches are not an endangered species !!

........................  Below - Wild Dog Falls  ....................

    OTWAY RANGES WALKING TRACK ASSOCIATION INC.

                                    Otway Ranges Walking Track Ass. No. A 0034409H

                                 SUMMER NEWSLETTER 2015      

     Report from the President’s Perspective:-

Another year has well and truly started and I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a ‘Happy Australia Day’!! I think these days, time flies whether you’re having fun or not.  However, we prefer to have fun!  And for most of us, bushwalking is one way of having FUN!!  It just takes an effort to arrange this great pastime around our busy lives.

As I see it, there are two major reasons for ORWTA’s existence. The first is to continue to lobby the Government and persevere with various avenues that will result in the Trans Otway Waterfalls Walk coming to fruition.  However, for many reasons, there has been no progress on this of late.

The second reason is to foster the fun, social and healthy aspects of bushwalking in the Otways. The Otways is an amazingly diverse place with the cool temperate rainforest, tall eucalypt forests, the multitude of waterfalls, the coastal heathlands and the rugged but pristine coastline.  Whether you are new to walking in this region, a regular visitor or, like myself, who has lived here all of one’s life, it is a very rewarding area to explore. The social walks conducted monthly are still proving popular and necessary to continue to be able to keep our proposed route clear.

Over many years, ORWTA members have enjoyed so many walks both along the proposed Trans Otway Waterfall Walk and other locations in the Otways. Very few of our walks in that time have needed to be cancelled or rescheduled.  However, we have had trouble of late. Bushwalkers, whether regular walkers or not, are certainly keen to get out in the bush. I fully appreciate that, especially if it’s been a while since you’ve had a walk, or a favourite walk is on or you just want a break from your normal routine. However, sometimes things happen beyond our control with weather, trip leader unavailability and communication. As a club, we must be proactive and show that we are a responsible organisation and make tough decisions when needed.  Presently, some of our routes do need a tidy-up with clearing away fallen limbs. Some of us are able get into the bush regularly to help with carrying out this task. In saying that, we are a volunteer organisation and most of us still work so we can only do as much as we can do with the volunteers we have available as this needs to fit around with the rest of our lives.

Wild Dog Track is one track that we normally like to do every year. We were not able to do it when scheduled last February due to a Total Fire Ban Day.  In December, again this walk was rescheduled to be done, but a predicted widespread rain event led to an executive decision to call the walk off. So it will be a case of ‘take 3’ as it is down for May’s walk.

ORWTA are very thankful for all our trip leaders; most are our members and some are members of other clubs that assist from time to time. Through their knowledge (maybe of a particular area), passion and expertize, we are able to offer many diverse walks.

Having lost several key committee members over the last year which have been due to illness, work commitments, retirement and having left the area, our club is certainly going through a rebuilding stage. ORWTA membership continues to be steady which is extremely encouraging. Although, we do have a good member base, one of our problems is that our members come from a very wide area.  So ORWTA would appreciate any help that can be given; maybe on the day of the walk, leading a walk, help with a recce or clearing tracks, or your expertise may be communicating / liaising with various Government agencies.                Any help will be gratefully appreciated.

Let’s hope our Club has a successful 2015.        

        ~     Alan Dow  (President)    ~

Liaison between ORWTA and Geelong Bushwalking Club:-

So now is a good time to mention the efforts of Bernard Jordon who has been involved in ORWTA for a very long time. Like a few in our club, Bernard is a member of both ORWTA and the Geelong Bushwalking Clubs. He had a very important role of being the liaison between the two Clubs, making sure the correct walk info & trip report was submitted to GBC’s monthly magazine, being the Geelong contact to organise car-pooling, assisted in the reconnaissance of tracks and has lead so many of our walks. He is stepping down from his role with ORWTA to watch the ‘grass grow’ and will no doubt be spending more time at Sandy Point.

On behalf of the Committee and members of ORWTA, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Bernard for all his involvement over the many years with ORWTA. His willingness to lead walks has certainly been invaluable in our club. A job well done and much appreciated !!! Hopefully, you will join us on our walks from time to time.

Good and Bad news regarding tracks in Lorne area:-

We heard, from a couple of sources, that several tracks in the long-established network of paths in the Lorne area were to be closed permanently.  However, in December when this matter was raised, the Parks Vic Ranger for Lorne was adamant that no such closures were forthcoming. Let’s hope for all lovers of walking that these tracks stay open permanently.

NOTE- It was very sad to hear of young child recently who was critically injured after being hit by a fallen branch on one of the Lorne tracks near Erskine Falls. He was on an outing with his family when the tragedy happened. We all love walking in the Australian Bush, but these incidents, although very rare, do make us aware that it can be dangerous at times. 

Marriners Falls:-

And while we are on the subject of closures, Marriners Falls has been closed for many years now. It has been assessed as being ‘unsafe’. There is been a concentrated push in 2014 to re-open these Falls before they are ‘closed’ permanently. The track to the falls is certainly no more dangerous than many of the tracks through the Otway forests.

There is now a group known as "Friends of Marriners Falls". The ORWTA committee members wholeheartedly support this group, and we encourage all members to add to and support their Facebook page. This can be found by going to the Apollo Bay Chamber of Commerce & Tourism website, at; "www.abcct.com.au/friends" and clicking on the 'leave a comment' option just below the page title.  Also, if anyone has any photos or history of past visits to these Falls please feel free to share them with this group.

Marriners Falls is such an important asset to Apollo Bay.  It has a rich history dating back to early settlers visiting the Falls in the late 1800s. Unlike Lorne, which has many waterfalls and forest tracks of which to walk, Apollo Bay has only got the short track to Marriners Lookout, the start of the Great Ocean Walk and Marriners Falls. Marriners Falls have been a lovely cool place to visit with the family particularly on those hot days in the Summer holidays. 

New signage:-

There is new walk / cycle signage around Apollo Bay to help visitors get to places in the town.  On several of these signs, there is a photo that our Secretary took on the proposed ‘Highview Walk’ that we did last August which acknowledges our organisation. Great Les !

250 Victorian Waterfalls:-

The authors of ‘250 Victorian Waterfalls’ have decided on doing another book, but this time on Otway waterfalls.  So if anyone has any information regarding location, name or history of any known or ‘hidden’ waterfalls in the Otways then Ray and Ian would be happy to correspond with you. You can reach Ian via email at    i.wacey@jcbcea.com.au

We still have several copies of 250 Victorian Waterfalls, so if anyone would like a copy sent to them, contact Alan on 0400 404 046.

Social walks program:-

We have just released our 2015 Calendar of Walks.  I hope there is something in this for everyone and that you have free time available to do some of them.  Our social walks are normally held on the first Sunday of the each month.  However, sometimes we hold it on the 2^nd Sunday of the month to avoid such events as Father’s Day or Easter. We do ask for a gold coin donation from participants on the day of our walks.

·                Sunday 1^st February, 2015

- Day: Wild Dog Falls

- Evening: Dinner & ORWTA meeting at Forrest

(Venue to be arranged)

Trip Leader: Alan Dow 0400 404 046

·                Sunday 1^st March, 2015

- Day: Glasgow Falls

- Evening: (Dinner & Meeting to be arranged)

Trip Leader: Kim Attard: 0422 880 817

·                Sunday 12^th April, 2015

- Day: Sabine Falls Grand Circuit

- Evening: Dinner & ORWTA meeting at Forrest

  (Venue to be arranged)

Trip Leader: John Piesse: 9852 8924

To register or enquire more information regarding any of the walks; please contact the Trip Leader or the President Alan Dow –

0400 404 046.

Meetings of ORWTA:-

Monthly Meetings of ORWTA Inc. usually take place after the scheduled Social Walk. The venues for the Meetings are generally in the region of that month’s walk. Typically held at Apollo Bay, Forrest or Lorne, however, we have held them at Wye River, Deans Marsh and Beech Forest in the past. They involve a relaxed meeting often over dinner or a drink.

Our website is –

www.otwaywalks.com/front.html:-

If you Google ‘Otway Walks’ near the top of the page you will find the home of the Otway Ranges Walking Track Association Inc.  The ORWTA website is a wealth of information:-

·         Introduction to the Otways

·         ORWTA:- History, About this organization & the Club’s objectives

·         Walk Program

·         Contact ORWTA

·         Sales

·         Member resources:-

-          ORWTA Monthly Walk Report (Current & Archived)

-          ORWTA AGM Minutes (Current & Archived)

-          ORWTA Monthly Meeting Minutes (Current & Archived)

-          ORWTA Inc. Statement of Purposes

-          ORWTA Inc. Membership Form

For reports and pictures on our latest walks please look at our blog
http://otwaywalks.blogspot.com

We acknowledge the assistance given to us from the Bendigo Bank in sponsoring the yearly costs of our Website. 

Membership 2014 / 2015. 

New and return members are always welcome. We are asking all members to inform their family and friends as to what our organization does and so they may become ORWTA members or at least enjoy a walk with us.

Recent new members that have joined are Stephen Kerr and Andy Hewat. I hope you enjoy meeting the many other walkers and gain some great experiences while walking in the Otways.

The upcoming Social walk is to beautiful Wild Dog Falls on February 1^st  2015

Walk - Allambee Beek Falls - Sunday the 5^th of October

Leader :- Kim Attard       Walkers :- Colleen Bourke, Debra and Conrad White, Lorraine and Anne Molan, Alan Dow, Les Roe, Lachlan Richardson, Sarah Coll, Rosemary Vince, Jill Gall, Libby Smith, Liz and Pete Youman and Lisa Hunter.

The day started early as we lost an hour due to the clocks moving forward, but all were in good spirits when we met at Curtis track.  We commenced down the 2.5klm dirt track until we entered the pristine Otway forest.  Several working bees had been completed on the track, so progress was good.

 We then meandered mostly down chattering away enjoying the lush ferns and the rainforest smells until we reached Allambee Beek Falls, which were flowing well.  A steep climb and a little scramble on to staircase falls, there we all relaxed and enjoyed a long lunch.   After a rest we had a long steady ascent to get to the ridge where we reached a further track cleared section.  We made it out to Wye river road in record time so had plenty of time to reflect on the day eating cake and drinking coffee. 

Pictures – Top:  The group taking a break.                                          Centre left:  Staircase Falls                                            Centre right:  Conrad White or Pete Youman in front of an enormous Mountain Ash tree.       Bottom:  Allambee Beek Falls

Wild Dog Falls

Wild Dog Falls Walk Report; 

4th May 2014

Walkers; Bernard Jordan (leader), Patricia Dressel, Clare Cotton, Jenny Grice, Andrew Hackett, Louise Kemp, Garry Marr, Julie Mirtschin, Jennifer Morrow, Suresh Pathy,  Les Roe, Helen Shelley, Conrad and Debra White, members of GBC, ORWTA, Camperdown Bushwalking Club and visitors.

A few raindrops prompted Bernard to don a raincoat, which caused (?) a fine, even briefly  sunny day. We left cars (room for 5) at a clearing some 300m east of the start of the walk, which is 5km west of Haines Junction along Turton's Track. Some 300m south of the gate to Wild Dog Track, we turned left to the track / ribboned route to the falls. Soon we passed an old boiler - remains of Sharps No.3 Mill - then along an old logging track to a steep descent to lunch at the pretty, but loud, Wild Dog Falls. Then we detoured to the cascades above the falls before the uphill return. On the way we admired a bower made by a (male) bower bird. The walk took about 4 and a half hours including breaks. Everyone enjoyed the walk. Thanks for the good company!

 (Note: There is a longer, through route, from Haines Junction to the falls and exiting at Turton's Track).

This walk report provided by Bernard Jordan.

Four Falls- Jan 2014

Walk Report, Four Falls from TW Spur, Sunday 5/1/2014

Walkers: Jennifer Morrow, Barbara McCrae, Wendy Speer, Nick Speer, Patricia Dressel, Tim Dressel, Neil Mathison, Jenny Grice, Irene McGinnigle, Stephen Johnstone, Andrew Hackett, Scott Fowler, Jill Fowler, Sue Twigg, Nola Hardess, Craig Scales, Julie Scales.

The day was cool and showery but with lengthy fine periods and sunshine in the afternoon.

Seventeen walkers met at the corner of Mt. Sabine Road and TW Spur Track, whence they proceeded to Brunswick Falls, Galliebarinda Falls and Upper Cumberland Falls in

that order, beginning at 9:45.

There was much to see on this extensive walk. All falls were most attractive with strong flows of water despite the season. Bracket fungi in a variety of sizes and colours were prolific. Many birds were heard, including cockatoos, and some were also sighted.

Navigation proved to be somewhat difficult, owing to strong growth in the understorey which had obscured tracks and ribbons. Much fallen timber also lay across tracks, adding to difficulties and slowing progress, and the large number of walkers contributed to the delay at each obstacle.

It was 5:30 before the party reached the branching track to Yannathan Falls and unanimously decided to forego this part of the walk. Even so, the starting point was not regained till 7:00pm making it a long day.

Some track work and re-ribboning would shorten the time required (currently about 10 hours if all four falls are visited), but this rewarding walk is inevitably one of our longest and most demanding.

Thanks are due to Jennifer Morrow for her capable and energetic leadership.

Andrew Hackett

Next Walk

Wild Dog Track, Sunday 2nd February 2014

Leader: Alan Dow

Please call Alan on 0400404046 if planning to participate.

Walk Report Dec 2013 - Wye Canyon

Wye Falls and Canyon Walk  ~  Sunday December 1^st, 2013.

Walkers:- Richard Gilbert (leader), Alan Dow, Bernard Jordan, Kim Attard, Les Rowe, Patricia Dressel, Jenny Grice, Wendy Speer, Glen Stert, Digby Williamson, Andrea Lau, Philipp Ruiter.

Sunday the first was a fine sunny, perfect day for a change, and the falls were spectacular.

11 of us including 2 visitors from Germany, and representation from Camperdown and Geelong Bushwalking clubs, as well as ORWTA members set out from the Kennett Track starting point at about 10.30am.

I found the starting point first try, unlike the last attempt on April Fools day this year. The old bicycle near the start of the track is still there.

There was quite a lot of vegetation over the benched logging track on the descent to Wye River which slowed down progress.

The river was higher than I have experienced it after heavy Spring rains.

Growth of blackberry and nettle on the south side of the river made walking in the stream more attractive than pushing through it.

We lunched at the Falls, then retraced our steps downstream, to find the route out to where we left Alan’s car, at the intersection of Mud Rd and Wye Rd.

The climb out was just as steep as last time, marred by some idiots on trail bikes who had torn up the track causing water erosion on the steep slope.

Mud road was as its name suggests, and seems to be popular with trail bikers judging by the damage in evidence, some of it knee deep ruts.

We reached Alan’s car at 5pm which was pretty much on schedule.

Richard Gilbert

Leader

LES NOSEDA MEMORIAL WALK TO WILD DOG FALLS

 8^th September 2013

A lovely day brought nine people together to walk to the Wild Dog Falls in memory of our past president, Les Noseda.

Joining us were Andrew Noseda (Les’s son), and the co-authors of “250 Waterfalls of Victoria”, Ray Barber and Ian Wacey.  Their book contains a photo and description of Wild Dog Falls taken when Les guided Ray and Ian to the falls a few years ago. 

The track was generally in good condition, sections had been cleared and re-taped, we encountered some recently fallen trees and branches but everyone enjoyed the variety and beauty of this walk. 

We visited Sharpes No. 3 mill site on our way, had lunch on the rocks below the falls, climbed back up the steps and made a short detour to the ‘Jack Phillips Cascades’ above the falls.

 Wild Dog Creek was flowing strongly after the heavy rains over August which made the falls quite spectacular.

It was a pleasure to share memories and anecdotes of walking with Les – a man always striding ahead in gumboots; a true visionary and inspiration in developing and promoting the Trans Otway Waterfall Walk over many years. 

Walk started:  9.50am - Finished:  2.45pm

Nola Hardess

Falls behind Lorne,  

Sunday 4th August, 2013

Walkers:   Bernard Jordan ( Leader), Joan  McMahon, Viv Pascoe (GBC), Jack Antonas, Andrew Hackett (ORWTA), Chris Barr, Bev and Kevin Duffin, Jenny Grice, Murray Kelson (Camperdown).

 Despite the foul weather forecast , it was fine, briefly sunny(!), and then drizzle for the last hour. The rain beforehand ensued there was more water over the several falls than I had ever seen. We started from Allenvale Mill Site and walked  alongside the swollen Saint George River, then up to Phantom falls in full splendour. Then to the Canyon, always a treat for first timers, to Henderson falls, via the old tramway tracks to Lower and Upper Kalimna Falls ,(the former falls where one can get behind the water), then along Garvey Track to the track towards Castle Rock. The drizzle now discouraged us from going to the lookout, so we went down (Going Down !) to Sheoak Falls and ended nearby.  An honest day’s walk in good company. 

ORWTA Lorne Walk

Sunday 7^th of July 2013

Attendees:         Daphne Sands (leader),  Alicia Cognian, Alan Dow, Sue McKenzie, Jack Antonas, Peter Morgan, Geoff James, Lesley James, Maggie Bolton, Andrew Hackett, Michael Stitt, Patricia Dressel.

After a few days of wet and windy weather, a glorious sunny day greeted us in Lorne. Twelve walkers began at Teddy’s Lookout at about 9:45am, with spectacular vistas of the Great Ocean Road and Bass Strait. We proceeded down the hill to the picturesque St George’s River, where we observed many birds, including a great cormorant drying its wings.  After turning right up Cherry Tree Creek, we walked till we met the Allenvale Road and then headed up Green Break Track, where we had a banana break.

Next we turned left along Henderson Track, over the Cora Lynn Creek to the Allen Dam and on to Phantom Falls. The falls were working well due to the recent rain, so many photos were taken. We then walked alongside St George’s River again, passed through the orchard, and back across the Allenvale Road.

The lunch stop was at Allen Mill Camp Ground, where we found a sunny clearing with logs to sit on. After lunch we headed back down along the St George’s River to the Great Ocean Road observing more waterbirds.

Then we proceeded left along the route of the old tramway track above the Great Ocean Road with more spectacular views of the huge swell rolling in. When we reached Hind St, we turned left up the tarmac road, left into Queens Park Caravan Park, then right up the steps to Charles Street. We headed through the trees of Queens Park uphill arriving back to Teddy’s Lookout at 2:45pm, after a wonderful diverse walk which included views of the ocean, rivers, waterfalls, bush and a reservoir.

Thanks Daphne.

Report by Sue McKenzie.