SkyHigh to Silvan Reservoir Walk with Public Transport Links

Take in impressive city views and waterfalls with scenic bushland walks through eucalypt forests and ferny gullies.

GRADE | LENGTH | TYPE: A moderate 10 km point-to-point walk with some steep downhill sections on bush tracks.

MEETING TIME | LOCATION: In the front carriage of the Lilydale train at Ringwood Railway Station departing from Ringwood at 9:58am.

MAP REFERENCE: Ringwood Railway Station: Melway map 49 grid G8; Google map https://goo.gl/maps/Qw3wpoNCzmG2.

DISTANCE | TIME FROM GPO: The train journey from Flinders Street to Ringwood is 50 minutes. By road the drive to Ringwood is approximately 30km, allow at least 40 minutes. There is ample parking at Ringwood Railway Station.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT: Access to and from this walk is by public transport only, meeting in the front carriage of the Lilydale train at or before Ringwood. For travel from the city, take the Lilydale train which departs Flinders Street at 9:06am and meet and travel with the group in the front carriage if you wish. At Ringwood we will all meet in the front carriage of the 9:58am Lilydale train. We will leave the train at Croydon for a connecting bus to SkyHigh, Mount Dandenong. For the homeward journey we will take a bus from Monbulk Road, Silvan with the option to travel in either direction, depending on timing, to take us to either the Belgrave or Lilydale station for a train back to or through Ringwood. All travel is within the Myki metro zones with a weekend daily cap of $6.30 (free for seniors).

FOOD: Pack food for lunch and snacks. At least 1 litre of water must be carried.

APPAREL | FOOTWEAR: Wear a hat and clothing to meet the forecast weather conditions and footwear suitable for walking on unsealed footpaths and bush tracks.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION: This event utilises two bus routes which provide a scenic journey and an ideal transport option for point-to-point walks in the Mount Dandenong, Olinda and Silvan areas. To commence this walk we arrive on the bus at SkyHigh, Mount Dandenong where we will take some time to enjoy the impressive views of the city, suburbs and countryside below. There is a café at SkyHigh for those who wish to have a coffee before we set off on our walk. From SkyHigh we set off on a steep bush track and walk down through the Mount Dandenong Arboretum to meet Olinda Creek and then on to the Olinda Falls Reserve. There are two side tracks to access viewing areas for the Olinda Falls, the first is less than fifty metres long and the other is a one hundred and forty metre walk down and back up steep rock steps. After visiting the falls we continue down a steep bush track following the Olinda Creek gully until we reach a quiet gravel road. We will follow the road on a bush track alongside it and will stop along the way for our lunch break. After following the road for around one kilometre we turn back into the bush to make our way along vehicle tracks through eucalypt forest and ferny gullies to reach Silvan Reservoir Park. A final walk along a foot track will take us to the bus stop on Monbulk Road to commence the homeward journey. The anticipated time of return to or through Ringwood is 5pm.

FURTHER INFORMATION: www.skyhighmtdandenong.com.au.

LEADER | BOOKING: Peter Tocknell | by Thursday 6th December. Email the Leader if you have any questions. Members can access leader contact details under Members->Leader Contacts  when logged in to the website.