1000 Steps & Stony Rise Tracks
Posted: Fri 19 Nov, 2010 11:04 amI'm currently in Melbourne for my brother in law's wedding which is tomorrow. We're staying at the bride to be's father's house. At breakfast time this morning, I discovered that there was a national park just over the back fence.
Huh! And I'd thought I might have to spend the morning in a shopping mall.
So my wife and I got a lift to the beginning of the 1000 Steps (Kokoda memorial walk) about 4 minutes drive away and set off in completely unsuitable attire and footware (I wore my work shoes and socks).
The track is wide and steep but well made. It is also very crowded with a lot of people obviously using it as part of their fitness routine.
The forest is really nice though. Lots of dogwood and large manferns, as well as eucalypts in the drier parts further on. It was a lot like the bush back home in Tassie.
When we got to the top of the track, we had a short rest. I had a quick sneak peak further up the next track and found there was another entire suburb just on the other side of the gum trees. So I came back down to the main track ready to set off back to the car park.
Then we looked at the map I'd cached on the phone and found that we were actually closer to the house we were staying at than to the car park, and that there was a comprehensive network of tracks thoughout the park, and which would take us back to the house easily.
So we set off toward the Stony Rise Track.
I was very grateful for the map and GPS on the phone, because there were a lot of tracks joining up at one point, and the Stony Rise Track was the most obscure looking of any of them, and he only one that was not sign posted at all.
We didn't see a single person at all on this track. It was moderately rough with a lot of tennis ball sized loose rocks and quite steep, but not difficult. The forest was more open and more eucalyptus and grass. Views through the trees were good (for a near suburban non-wilderness walk), but were just of the rest of the hills, forest, suburbs, and the city of Melbourne in the distance.
About half way down the Stony Rise track, we phoned our ride and asked them not to pick us up, because we were walking back instead, and that we'd be home in about half an hour.
Well we were wrong. We were home in about 5 minutes.
What a fabulous start to the day, when a morning of shopping malls is what had been anticipated.
Huh! And I'd thought I might have to spend the morning in a shopping mall.
So my wife and I got a lift to the beginning of the 1000 Steps (Kokoda memorial walk) about 4 minutes drive away and set off in completely unsuitable attire and footware (I wore my work shoes and socks).
The track is wide and steep but well made. It is also very crowded with a lot of people obviously using it as part of their fitness routine.
The forest is really nice though. Lots of dogwood and large manferns, as well as eucalypts in the drier parts further on. It was a lot like the bush back home in Tassie.
When we got to the top of the track, we had a short rest. I had a quick sneak peak further up the next track and found there was another entire suburb just on the other side of the gum trees. So I came back down to the main track ready to set off back to the car park.
Then we looked at the map I'd cached on the phone and found that we were actually closer to the house we were staying at than to the car park, and that there was a comprehensive network of tracks thoughout the park, and which would take us back to the house easily.
So we set off toward the Stony Rise Track.
I was very grateful for the map and GPS on the phone, because there were a lot of tracks joining up at one point, and the Stony Rise Track was the most obscure looking of any of them, and he only one that was not sign posted at all.
We didn't see a single person at all on this track. It was moderately rough with a lot of tennis ball sized loose rocks and quite steep, but not difficult. The forest was more open and more eucalyptus and grass. Views through the trees were good (for a near suburban non-wilderness walk), but were just of the rest of the hills, forest, suburbs, and the city of Melbourne in the distance.
About half way down the Stony Rise track, we phoned our ride and asked them not to pick us up, because we were walking back instead, and that we'd be home in about half an hour.
Well we were wrong. We were home in about 5 minutes.
What a fabulous start to the day, when a morning of shopping malls is what had been anticipated.
It's always a pleasure to discover minor gems like that when you're travelling (and be saved from the shopping malls...). I've heard of those tracks but never been there. I think I've read somewhere that the 1000 steps is defintely used as a fitness training venue, including people training for the Kokoda track itself.