The forecast for the day wasn’t brilliant, but we were not deterred. Rain and possible thunderstorms were due later in the day, so we set off early to give ourselves the best chance of finishing the walk before they arrived. We drove via Lower Templestowe to pick up our regular walking partner Christine, and travelled towards Yarra Glen, turning off at the entrance to Sugarloaf Reservoir and parking close to the dam wall. Walking notes recommended walking the Reservoir in a clockwise direction (although the reasons for this recommendation were never explained).
We applied some sunscreen (even though light rain was falling), locked the Prado and set off, as instructed, in a clockwise direction. It was quickly noted that many eyes were watching our every move as we walked by a mob of grazing kangaroos. They looked well fed, content and comfortable in the company of people. Joeys were either close to their mothers or peering out from the safety of their mother’s pouch.
The walking notes suggested a full lap of the Reservoir was about 16 kilometres, while signage near a picnic area stated it was 18 kilometres. We continued with the thought that we could always turn around and return to the Prado if we had gone far enough, or the rain and storms arrived. A track led us through the picnic area, eventually connecting up with a gravel service road, then a walking track marked out with orange posts or orange triangular markers nailed to trees at regular intervals.
We were soon walking through open eucalyptus forest down towards the shoreline of one of many inlets that became the pattern for much of the walk that followed – around one inlet, then over a ridge line before descending to the shoreline of the next inlet. More kangaroos were spotted feasting on the fresh spring grasses that were encouraged to grow by recent rain and warmer conditions. At around the 6-kilometre mark we stopped for morning tea while another group of walkers passed by.
The duty of carrying the day pack passed from Chris to Wendy and eventually to Christine as we stopped for breaks along the walk. At around 12 kilometres into the walk we climbed the highest point for the day, with stunning views out over the Reservoir and on to the Macedon Ranges in the distance. It was agreed that it was a view that could be taken in for quite some time. The remaining kilometres passed through sections of very steep and uneven tracks before leading us to the dam wall and following that back to our Prado.
According to Chris’s Fitbit tracker (in GPS mode) we covered 15,61 kilometres (see screen shot below). It was agreed that it had been a good workout, with great views and scenery to take in during the day. Our timing could not have been better as the rain started before we had driven back to the entrance to the Reservoir. We learnt that the body of water is connected to the dam north of Healesville, which in turn is fed by the catchment in the surrounding hills and connected to the Melbourne metropolitan water network.
Our next extended walk will be on the other side of the country in just over a week. The setting will be quite different as we follow the limestone coast north, with beaches to our left and coastal scrub and forests to our right. Hopefully our level of fitness is up for it and our gear has been well walked in for the challenges that await us.