Located in central Victoria, west of Melbourne, this 270 kilometer trail passes through what was once the richest gold mining area of the world. The trail design itself is very unusual as it has three arms, which meet at the historic town of Daylesford. This means that if you walk this as a through track, you will only complete two of the arms.
All three arms have been completed - you can walk from either Bendigo, Ballarat or Bacchus Marsh to Daylesford. It has been proposed to extend the track further west to the Grampians and a route has been suggested and publicly displayed.
The track can be walked by anyone with average fitness. It is suitable for less experienced walkers and travellers as the weather is rarely extreme and much of the walking is on firm tracks or old roads.
There are designated campsites along the track which usually have a water supply. There are no fees or bookings needed at these sites. Camping is allowed in someof the forest through which the track passes but no facilities are provided. In particular you should either carry water or treat local supplies. There are several small towns and settlements in the area and many farms. None of the water in the streams is safe to drink without treatment.
The best periods to walk are autumn and spring. Winter can be rather cold and wet and summer can be extremely hot.
The trail does not follow the Great Dividing Trail, rather it
crosses it once and it seemed to be an odd name for the trail. It has
now been renamed as the Goldfields Trail and this is a more suitable
name as it links the old gold mining towns of Bendigo, Castlemaine and
Ballarat. An extension has been proposed to the west towards the gold
mining areas near the Grampians and so far the track has been extended
from Ballarat to Mt Buninyong
The track is located about 90km west of Melbourne.
Ballarat, Castlemaine and Bendigo can be accessed by public transport with railway services and buses.
Currently, the Great Dividing Trail Association publishes the
following maps. 'The Dry Diggings Track' covers Castlemaine to
Daylesford. 'Wallaby Track' covers Mt Buninyong to Daylesford.
Leanganook Track which covers Castlemaine to Bendigo.
Detailed VICMAP 1:50,000 or 1:25,000 topographic maps are available for the entire track but it is not yet shown on many of the maps.
| 1 | Castlemaine to Vaughan, 17km |
| 2 | To Mt Franklin, 23km |
| 3 | To Daylesford (town), 21km |
| 4 | To Wombat Station, 19km *** |
| 5 | To Dean, 18km *** |
| 6 | To Slaty Creek, 16km |
| 7 | To Ballarat, 17km |
