1000 Steps & Stony Rise Tracks

[Son of a Beach]

I'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.

[johnw]

Well done Nik! 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.

[Son of a Beach]

There were three collingwood players (2 with arms in slings) up there.

Did another route through this afternoon. View track and Chandler track.

[crockle]

It's not a bad little patch in there is it? It's easy to catch a train to Upper Ferntree Gully ( a suburban station) and walk around the corner to that bit of Dandenong Ranges National Park.

Going up the '1000 Steps, did you stop at each Kokoda battle information point?
I've found a thoughtful and measured (though newly discovered) interest in military history very useful on the way up, in disguising how short of breath and generally in need of a rest I was.

The '1000' in 'The 1000 Steps' is a bit of false advertising - there aren't that many. I'm fairly sure I counted them one time (exceedingly boring it was) - and the total was disappointingly well short of 1000.

If you go up View Track (from the Ferntree Gully side) it can be a pleasant stroll the other way from Chandlers Track (ie turn right instead of left) - along Macedon Track and Bellview Terrace, following the ridgeline South. Plenty of joggers around and all that, but tends to get quite misty and magical in the right weather..
It's not wild, but glad you avoided the shopping malls with this, far better, alternative

[Son of a Beach]

Yes there are a few more tracks in there that look worthwhile. Saw a kangaroo in there yesterday. No other people once off the 1000 steps though.