Our final walk for the year was a 15km circuit through Canadian, Ballarat East and the newly created Woowookarung Regional Park. Woowookarung is a Wadawurrung word meaning “place of plenty”.
We started at Andrew’s house in Canadian, followed the Canadian Creek track and Warrenheip gully until we entered Woowookarung Park via York Street. We passed through sections with mature stringybarks, then regenerating gums, and in another section, hundreds of grass trees. There were very few wildflowers to be seen, so Andrew didn’t have to get the whip out to keep us moving.
Surprising finds along the way included a small private vineyard in Warrenheip gully, and high points in the Park, with outlooks over Ballarat to the distant Waubra windfarms. At times we had no idea where we were, then suddenly we would find ourselves in a familiar place that we had walked before.
The walk finished at Andrew’s house, where we enjoyed coffee followed by a BBQ lunch. All walkers would like to express their thanks to Andrew for his planning and leadership of the Hiking group over the year, to Gordon for also leading many walks and to Ingrid for her hospitality and preparation for the BBQ.