P 2. The publisher address has changed to PO Box 5042, Laburnum, Victoria 3130.
The fires of February 2009 have burnt some of the areas covered by this guide. Walk 4, 31 and 33 are currently closed.
Page 15, Tides. The Flinders website has closed. Tides can now be obtained at www.bom.gov.au/oceanography/tides
Walk 2, page 22, 2.9km - At Cape Nelson, the track from the
restuarant/kiosk/cafe to the lighthouse has been closed for general
public access and a new track for walkers has been cut through
the Heritage classified Lighthouse Reserve. Do not try to walk
past the cafe, instead follow signs for the Great South West Walk
- two alternative tracks have been provided past the cape, one
through the reserve and one outside it. Note that the reserve
and the historic buildings are on private land and an entrance
fee applies to admission to the lighthouse reserve.
Walk 10, The toilet at the start has been removed. Signposts to it
are still there so just pass left of the old site or as one walker has
suggested, drive to the dam just south and start there instead.
Walk 14, the track down the centre of the point has been reported to be extended. This has no effect on the walk as described but does provide some more options.
Walk 15, 3.0km A bushfire has burnt the area. At the junction turn right and walk down the road 200m then veer left onto a lesser vehicle track. This descends to meet the old railway formation. The bridge over the railway cutting was destroyed in a bushfire.
Walk 15, 13.4km Hogans Lane is now a walking track and is signposted
as the Three Lost Children Walk. Be careful to turn right and descend
to the valley floor..
Walk 16. After fires, all roads and walking tracks in the
Brisbane Ranges were closed to the public. While some tracks have been
reopened, Spectral and Circuit Tracks are designated as permanent
closures. Hence this walk can no longer be walked as a circuit.
Walk 17, follow Quarry Road all the way to Thompsons Road instead of
the faint track to the right - the faint walk track has been reported
as being very hard to follow now. There are also some extra junctions
and sidetracks so take care to follow the suggested walk.
Walk 20, page 79 & 80 – A new fence has been erected from the
western quarry to the
reserve fence corner with a gate at the
northern end. This has effectively cut easy access to the billabong
– it can still be visited but requires doubling back on the new bicycle
track after passing through the gate.
Walk 21, Some track names have been changed with new signposting.
The walk can be followed OK by using the distances and left and
rights etc.
Walk 23, page 91, 2.2km, the sidetrack on the left has been closed
and designated a conservation area. I suggest either skipping the
summit or to visit it, 500m earlier (the 1.7km point) turn left up onto
the road then follow tracks to the summit turning right at each
junction. The summit restuarant is open and often busy. Return the same
way to Kyeema Track.
Walk 29, page 110 and 111 - If your copy was purchased before April 2003 then note that the walk as originally described crossed some private land between San Remo and Punch Bowl Road. Do not attempt to walk from San Remo to Punch Bowl Road - start the walk at the 6.0km point on Punch Bowl Road. All copies purchased since April 2003 should have the pages amended with the new pages glued in.
Walk 34, page 131 – 9.7km, The forest has grown and the first half
of the track is currently partially overgrown. The track around the Ada
Tree has been cleared. Also the ruins
of the two mill huts are no longer obvious - there are only some
sheets of tin indicating their location.
Walk 36, page 137, 6.5km Goulds No 2 track is no longer signposted -
yes it is an overgrown scrubby track and is easily missed.
Walk 38, page 143, 3.3km, Walk 50m to the track junction - currently
a fallen tree hides the track junction, the track is clear past the
fallen tree - alternatively walk the sidetrack loop to Wild Dog Falls
in reverse. There are also a number of fallen trees between Mt Samaria
and Rocky Knoll thus slowing walking speed.
Walk 41, page 155, the large log that was fallen across the river has now broken/rotted away at the western side - it is now necessary to wade across the river - expect wet feet. Large bushfires were reported around Caringal in early January 2006 and may have had a major effect on this walk.
Walk 42, trail bikes currently follow part of this track. After the third bridge ignore the bike track that veers off right - continue on the left beside the river. Also after visiting Nelsons Mill and climbing to meet the road - turn left as the road to the right is now covered in scrub. The road to the left climbs through the cleared (logged) area as marked on the map to meet Monettes Mill Road. Large bushfires were reported around Caringal in early January 2006 and may have had a major effect on this walk.
Walk 49, 2.7km, the pole junction has been moved from pole 63 to pole 60.
Walk 49, 5.1km, As with many walks in the alps, this walk was effected badly by the wildfires in 2003. Both of the Quintet Mine Huts near pole 125 in the 5.1km paragraph have been burnt in the January 2003 fires. Also in the 9.8km paragraph and beyond, Dungeys Track is hard to find and follow due to regrowth from the fires.
Page 190, website address for the Federation has been changed to
www.vicwalk.org.au