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- Open Hours : Mon-Fri 08:00 - 17:00
The Goldfields Track is a stunning point to point shared use Bushwalking and Mountain Bike track between Ballarat and Bendigo in the Goldfields region of central Victoria.
Embark on a captivating walking tour, immersing yourself in Victoria’s rich gold rush history. Follow a well-maintained track that winds through remnants of the 1850s gold rush era, passing old mines, stone chimney ruins, overgrown mine shafts, and water races.
The Goldfields Track offers contrasting landscapes across the Great Dividing Range. The southern side, cooler and wetter, features tall forests with a lush understory teeming with wallabies and birds. On the northern side, experience a drier and warmer environment characterised by Box-Ironbark forests and their unique fauna.
As you traverse the track, you’ll encounter Australia’s largest concentration of mineral springs and have the opportunity to taste the rejuvenating waters from the springs along the way. Stay in the charming spa towns of Daylesford and Hepburn Springs, known for their therapeutic offerings.
Starting from Daylesford, you’ll journey through the Central Highlands’ forests and farmland before entering the Castlemaine Diggings Heritage National Park, rich in gold mining history. The tour concludes in Castlemaine.
Enjoy luxurious accommodations during your walk, including a 19th-century hotel in Ballarat with a rich history of hosting royalty and statesmen, as well as an iconic hotel in Hepburn Springs.
Immerse yourself in the captivating blend of history, nature, and relaxation as you embark on this unforgettable walking tour through Victoria’s Goldfields region.
Departures.
Ballarat / Creswick / Daylesford Customers will be Picked Up / Dropped Off from their accommodation.
Melbourne-based Customers will be met at Southern Cross Railway Station and travel Free return on the fast train service.
Tour Dates
06 – 09 Jun 23 13 – 16 Jun 23 20 – 23 May 23
Please refer to our Terms and Conditions prior to booking
We meet you at 07.45am in the Southern Cross Railway Station, Melbourne for our fast comfortable train journey to Ballarat. On arrival in Ballarat, we move to Mt Buninyong, the start point of our 4 day Goldfields Track walking adventure.
We begin the day by walking into the crater of an extinct volcano which was active 50,000 years ago, then through large messmate and manna gums to the top of Mt Buninyong, 750mtrs above sea level for spectacular views of the surrounding countryside. We return to the vehicle and head into Buninyong for morning tea at a local café.
We travel to Creswick Regional Park, to begin our second walk for the day.
The walking takes you past extensive evidence of mining for gold with overgrown mines, water races, dams, sluiced gullies and coppice trees. We then follow Slatey Creek as we meander through the bush to a campground. We return to the vehicle by walking along a bush road, then drive to Creswick for a well-earned lunch break in one of the local cafes.
Our final walk of the day leaves from the café, and we make our way through suburbia to St. Georges Lake, which was once a mining dam. Leaving the lake, we enter the Creswick State Forest and make our way beside creeks and gullies until we reach the ex-Koala Park, stopping at a creek crossing before returning. We backtrack to St. Georges Lake and walk around the opposite bank of the lake before walking through suburbia again back to our vehicle. We drive back to Ballarat for your night’s accommodation at Craig’s Royal Hotel.
After breakfast, we drive to the Wombat State Forest to begin our walk. The walk leaves from the rotunda on a grassy platform of the former Wombat Station of a long-gone railway line.
Walking along the former railway line, we walk over embankments crossing creeks, but the highlight of this section is the railway cutting; the walls on either side rise imposingly to 20mtres as the cutting carves for 1km through 500 million-year-old bedrock.
We return to where we set off by walking through a tall forest of blue gums, wattles, and various undergrowth filled with birds and the occasional wallaby along the Wombat Station Track. We drive into the township of Daylesford for morning tea, stopping at Sailors Falls on the way.
We start our second walk for the day at the boathouse on Lake Daylesford, be sure to bring a cup to taste the mineral spring water from several springs. Walking along the shore and over the dam bank we meet up with Sailors Creek and follow its meandering path for several kilometres before coming out on a road. We follow the road into the suburbia of Daylesford, catching excellent views of the town and Wombat Hill botanical gardens before heading down hill back to Lake Daylesford. Back into Daylesford to find a café for lunch.
After lunch we head just north of Hepburn Springs and begin our final walk for the day in the Hepburn Regional Park. The forest is much drier now with stringy bark trees and smaller undergrowth. We pass Beehive gully, which was sluiced for gold leading to extensive erosion resembling a mini grand canyon 10-15 mtrs deep.
Remnants of overgrown mines, water races and crushed quartz can be seen. We walk up and out of the gully to the Chocolate Mill, where you can buy fine chocolate. We backtrack along the the track to the vehicle and drive into Hepburn Springs to your nights accommodation.
After breakfast, we head out to our start point on the Goldfields Track; today we walk in the Castlemaine Diggings National Heritage Park. We walk along creek lines and gullies where the vegetation is thicker and full of birdsong from the many birds you encounter. As we head up the ridge lines and make our way further north, the bush becomes more sparse and drier.
You will pass many relics of the 1850’s goldrush from water races, old chimneys, stone walls and overgrown mine shafts.
On reaching Wewak Rd, we make our way back to the vehicle on a gravel road, then off to Guildford for some lunch.
Our next walk is a small one, where we walk to an old Brewery site. The site once held 3 breweries and you can still see some of the cellars. We head back to the vehicle and make our way to Fryerstown.
Starting from Fryerstown, which was once a large town in the goldrush days, we follow the track through typical dry Box-Ironbark forest to one of the most famous mines in the Castlemaine district – the Spring Gully Mine.
This mine operated from the 1850’s to the 1930’s, we stop here to wander around the mine site to take in the mine’s relics and history. We back track along the Goldfields Track to our vehicle.
We drive to Chewton to start our final walk for the day.
We begin by walking along Forest Creek and crossing the creek to make our way uphill to the Manchester Reef. We wander around here to inspect he 1850’s mining relics.
Moving on uphill again, we come to the Garfields Water Wheel foundations. Revolving at 1 revolution per minute, this huge 21.5mtr diameter water wheel drove a 15-head quartz crushing battery, whose deafening noise could clearly be heard in Castlemaine over 5km away.
Leaving the site, we follow the gravel road back to our vehicle.
This finishes the Goldfields Track walk, and we drive back Ballarat for your overnight accommodation at Craigs Royal Hotel.
After breakfast, check out of Craigs Royal Hotel, and we transfer you to the Ballarat Railway Station for your fast train journey back to Southern Cross Railway Station, Melbourne.
