What’s special about this?

A strong group took on FOBIF’s walk to Middleton Creek yesterday, our first open  walk for many months. Middleton Creek is a marvellous waterway, characterised by interesting twists and turns and rocky cliffs. Unfortunately it’s currently overrun with gorse and other weeds, evidently spreading from nearby private land, which obscure the creek’s interesting features. Fortunately the surrounding bushland in the Park is pretty weed free, and features a variety of vegetation communities, including patches of park-like serenity, like the woodland pictured below. The dense green carpets of Matted Bush-pea are striking even now. In spring its flowers are a spectacular highlight of this end of the Park.

Amanda’s Track, Castlemaine Diggings National Heritage Park: a wooded parkland of Matted Bush-pea and tussock grass.

FOBIF’s walk took in the very southern fringe of the Diggings Park, before swinging over to the Goldfields Track through Brown’s Gully. It finished with a short traverse through the zone of DSE’s disastrous 2010 fuel ‘reduction’ burn, which managed to multiply the area’s fuel load dramatically.

Part of FOBIF walking group in Brown’s Gully. The Candlebark eucalypts are among the highlights of the Goldfields Track through this area.

Our thanks are due to walk leader Bernard Slattery for this excursion. Next month’s walk is in the Pilchers Bridge NCR: check the walks program for details.

Middleton Creek in a wet year (2010): note the gorse infestation to the left of the picture. The National Heritage Park is relatively weed free.

Photos below were taken by Liz Martin. Click to enlarge.