Terrain/Rating: Flat walk along dry river bed for a few hours.
Start / Finish Time: 10am / 12:30pm
Start / Finish Location: Lerderderg Gorge Picnic Ground carpark at the end of Lerderderg River/Gorge Road, funnily enough.
Trip Summary:
Nice leisurely stroll up the dry Lerderderg River amongst your typical native forest for a few hours. With Victoria in the grip of a major drought in 2004 the Lerderderg River had dried up completely apart from a few pools of water here and there.
Trip Details:
There are tracks along the banks of the river but with the lack of water, the easiest option was to walk along the river bed. The McKenzie's Flat carpark has good facilities including toilets, BBQ and sheltered picnic tables.
Head north up the river. When the river is full you need to cross over to the opposite bank for the walking track. There appears to be a track up along the cliff on the carpark side but it is a deadend due to cliff erosion. When the river is full this is a nice swimming location.
There were quite a few lizards on this trip and also noticed a group of wild goats up in the hills.
In the heat of summer you can expect to see a snake or two.
With the river being so dry someone had set up makeshift campsite in the riverbed with a table and seats made out of rocks and logs.
A little over 3 1/2 kms into the hike the river widens out and a rockbank has been placed across the river. This is known as Grahams Dam and when the river is full makes a nice little pond and crossover point. A nice place to have a break and a snack.
From here retrace your steps back to the carpark.
