Melbourne Walks

Little River Gorge, Day 2 of the Burchell Trail (Brisbane Ranges)

Friday was just glorious in Melbourne – once the ice had melted off the windscreen!  The rest of the day was crystal blue skies and not a breath of wind: perfect winter walking weather.  My erstwhile walking buddy, Deb, volunteered to brave a car shuttle with me so we could do Day 2 of the 3 day Burchell Trail, which runs north to south for 39km through the little-visited Brisbane Ranges, south-west of Melbourne.  This is a fantastic walk for those wanting to get away from it all – we didn’t see another soul for the entire walk.  On this section, which runs for 15km from Little River Gorge camping ground to the Old Mill walk-in camping ground, the orange flash trail markers are a little erratic, especially where they have been washed away along Little River in recent flash flooding, so it does require a level of confidence and sound map reading to keep on track. However, the paths themselves are quite clear – a mix of management vehicle tracks and fantastic ridge climbs with big views.  The unexpected bonus of the day was Little River Gorge – every bit as spectacular as nearby Anakie Gorge. Really looking forward to going back and walking the other two sections, which I will be writing up for the new Geelong, the Bellarine and Brisbane Ranges book.