Anakie Gorge Walk (Staughton Vale)

The 7 km return (3 hour) Anakie Gorge Walk follows Stony Creek through the Anakie gorge in the Brisbane Ranges National Park between the Lower Stony Creek Reservoir and picnic area at Anakie Gorge along a relatively flat gradient. Signs along the track explain interesting features.

The walk starts and finishes at the Anakie Gorge Picnic Area and passes through the Stony Creek Picnic Area.

The picnic grounds at Stony Creek and Anakie Gorge have wood barbecues (BYO wood), toilets, tables and seats. Bring your own water.



There are two other walks in the area.

1. Ted Errey Nature Circuit - 8km, 3 hours return - Leaving Stony Creek Picnic Area, this walk climbs steadily, then descends to cross a broad watercourse and climbs again to join Outlook Track. A short walk to the east reveals a lookout with views over much of the Stony Creek Water Catchment. Following Outlook Track to the west, the walk meanders to Switch Road, Aqueduct and Nelson Tracks, passing two excellent lookouts along the way. The walk descends to join the Anakie Gorge Walk allowing access the Anakie Gorge or Stony Creek Picnic Areas.

The Ted Errey Nature Circuit intersects the Anakie Gorge Walk 2km (40 minutes) from Stony Creek Picnic Area and 1km (20 minutes) from Anakie Gorge Picnic Area.

2. Wadawurrung Walk - 2.5km, 1 hour return - This walk offers excellent views of Anakie Gorge over the Stony Creek Water Catchment. Starting from the Stony Creek Picnic Area, the walk heads towards Lower Stony Creek Reservoir before climbing sharply north toward Switch Road. Turn right and follow Switch Road back to Stony Creek Picnic Area. Along the way there are great views of the You Yangs and Anakie Gorge.

Keep an eye out for Eastern grey kangaroos, wallabies, echidnas, possums and Sugar gliders. Koalas were released in the park from Phillip and French Islands in 1957 and 1977 and the Friends of the Brisbane Ranges regularly monitor their numbers. They thrive on the Manna Gums here. With more than 180 species of native bird recorded in the park, the area is a great place for sightings. An outstanding feature of the park is its rich native flora. More than 619 native plant species (about one-fifth of Victoria's total) can be found in the park. Many are either rare or remote from their normal localities. In spring there is a magnificent display of colour from daisies, wattles, hakeas, bush peas and a variety of orchids. A plant list and illustrated guide to wildflowers of the park is available on the Friends of Brisbane Ranges website or from the Bacchus Marsh Parks Victoria office.

The best time for wildflowers is August to November.

Opening Hours:

24/7 access

Access for Dogs:

Dogs are not permitted in the park.

Review:

A lovely walk which follows Stony Creek. The walk starts and finishes at the Anakie Gorge Picnic Area and passes through the Stony Creek Picnic Area on the way to the return point at Lower Stony Creek Reservoir. There are spectacular escarpments but the walk has a gentle slope.

At the Anakie Gorge Picnic Area which is accessed from Gorge Road (off Staughton Vale Road) there are toilets, wood and gas BBQs, lots of picnic tables, an information board and one shelter with two tables and a seat. Visitors should bring their own drinking water. There is tank water in some areas, but it is not suitable to drink even if treated. Also, all rubbish should be taken way since there are no bins.

A path leads up the gorge from the Picnic Area and roughly follows beside the creek which was not flowing and almost dry when we visited in March. The path crosses a number of rock bridges along the way and there are occasional seats to rest on.

Lookout for the weir and tunnel which dates from the 1870s when a pipeline was constructed to carry water from Lower Stony Creek Reservoir (at the head of Anakie Gorge) to Geelong. Crews of miners, blacksmiths, joiners and labourers, living in rough bush camps, worked in shifts around the clock. They built weirs and retaining walls, and mined tunnels through solid rock. Pipes were carted by horse teams to the top of a spur before being taken into the gorge by bullock drays... with trees lashed behind them to act as a brake.



After 1 km there is a branch from the trail to the Ted Errey Nature Circuit.

After about 3km the trail crosses Switch Road (which comes off the Geelong - Ballan Road) where the Stony Creek Picnic Area is located. This area has toilets and tables.

The trail continues onto Lower Stony Creek Reservoir. A short distance along the path there is a boot fungus station. Cinnamon fungus, Phytophthora cinnamomi, is an introduced plant killing water mould that lives in wet soil and attacks and destroys plant root systems causing plants to die through lack of water and nutrients. Patches of dead or dying vegetation can indicate the presence of this silent killer. The disease is spread through infected plants and the movement of contaminated soil and gravel. There is no known practical cure for the disease. You can limit the spread of the disease by preventing the movement of infected soil and using the foot hygiene station along the walk.

Along the way there is a branch to the Burchell Trail and Old Mill (10 km).

After about half a kilometre you reach the imposing face of the reservoir wall. The Lower Stony Creek Reservoir, built in the 1870s, supplied water to Geelong and district via a timber pipeline through Anakie Gorge. The wall was the first concrete dam wall built in the southern hemisphere and the reservoir was decommissioned in 2001. This 1200ha of Barwon Water land was added to the Brisbane Ranges National Park in August 2010. The tracts of land, largely untouched for 125 years, are made up of native woodland, open forest and wetlands and are home to the threatened Powerful Owl.

There is a track on the right hand side leading to the top of the reservoir wall where you can catch a glimpse of the water in the reservoir. There was a hole in the fence at the top of the dam wall but hopefully no-one is stupid enough to go out onto the wall.

Location

Gorge Road,  Staughton Vale 3340 Map

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Web Links

→ Brisbane Ranges National Park (Parks Victoria)

→ Brisbane Ranges National Park - Visitor Guide

→ Anakie Gorge Walk (Walking Maps)

→ Friends of Brisbane Ranges on Facebook

→ Friends of Brisbane Ranges


Anakie Gorge Walk (Staughton Vale)Gorge Road,, Staughton Vale, Victoria, 3340