Morleys Track, Yarra Ranges National Park - July 2017

Today's walk will almost exclusively feature big trees, so if trees aren't your thing them maybe give it a miss.

Morleys Track is one of those logistically challenging walks that requires a car shuffle, and being up in the Yarra Ranges it's a fair drive from home. So consequently I've haven't walked this track to often, the last time being around eight years ago. With Sam and I in the area last Saturday I figured that now was as good a time as any to revisit this stroll. With rain predicted Sam wasn't keen on the actual walking bit, but was happy enough to drop me off and then head down to the finishing point in the ute and pick me up a couple of hours later. While being in the Yarra Ranges National Park this track actually cuts through the Maroondah Catchment, a restricted access area. The old growth forest in this catchment is absolutely stunning and Morleys Track is one of only a few ways that you can get in and experience it.

I started my walk at the Dom Dom Saddle Picnic Area, unfortunately some tool had cut up the picnic ground.

It was just after 12 when Sam dropped me off at the very cold, damp and misty Dom Dom Saddle. The picnic area was deserted today but it pissed me off a little to see that one of my responsible 4 wheel driving mates had decided to do a bit of circle work on the grassy picnic area, hmmm. After saying goodbye to Sam I set off up Road Eight. Like Monda Track on the other side of Dom Dom Saddle, Road Eight is a wide firebreak cut along the crest of the range, now that doesn't necessarily sound like it would make for good walking, in reality the wide fire break normally allows for great views of the towering mountain ash forest bordering the fire break, although my views today were somewhat atmospheric. 

Road Eight climbing away from Dom Dom Saddle.

Occasionally I'd drop out of the cloud. Notice the old growth on the right in the water catchment and the forestry regrowth on the left in the state forest.

Road Eight is the start of a route that leads all the way over to Mt Doona Buang, but this afternoon I was only following it for 3 or 4 kilometres before dropping off it into the Watts River Valley. The 3 or 4 kilometres that I did follow the road were mostly shrouded in cloud today but it was still good walking, while navigation was no problem in the rain and mist the steep grassy sections where the firebreak diverted from the gravel road for short sections required a fair bit of caution if I didn't want to become a feral toboggan! Dropping down to Carter Gap I picked up and old fire track, climbing fairly steeply for a couple of hundred metres onto a forested knoll, this marked the spot that I turned west and started to drop down Morleys Track.

Dropping down Morleys Track the forest crowds the track a little more making distant views of the tall trees a little harder to get, although that said it looks like parks vic has recently run some kind of slasher down the track as the normally narrow walking track is currently about vehicle width. Morley Track drops fairly steeply into the valley of the Watts River and it was as I descended down here I finally broke out of the mist for the final time today, a few more open sections giving me a few glimpses of the surrounding mountains cloaked in cloud. It was with some relief when I finally bottomed out near the Watts River and could relax a little without worrying about going arse up.

The Morley Track section provides for a closer view of the trees.

Morley Track

The walk along the Watts River valley is very easy, it's around 4 kilometres from where I reached the river to where I'd finish my stroll at Fernshaw Picnic Area. Now when I say I reached the river, while I could quite easily hear the river I couldn't actually see it. Morleys Track stays just far enough away from the banks of the Watts River that you don't actually get a glimpse of the water and with off track walking being banned due to it being within a water catchment area the river stayed tantalizingly out of site. While there are no water views the walking down the valley is beautiful, the wet temperate rainforest along here is fairly undisturbed as you would imagine and the almost flat walking track makes a pleasant change.

The sun actually made a fleeting appearance as a descended Morley Track.

After crossing over the closed and out of bounds Fernshaw Road and the bridge over Morley Creek the track climbs a little, sidling the sides of the valley a little. With the sound of the traffic on the Maroondah Highway starting to filter through the trees it signalled that I was getting close to the finishing point of today's stroll and sure enough the open grassy Fernshaw Picnic Area appeared through the bush. After checking out the old oak tree that was planted to commemorate Queen Mary having visited the site back in 1901.  I wandered the last few metres over to the ute. Jumping in we headed back down to Healesville for a late lunch and the Beechworth Bakery, in doing so I no doubt undid any positive health benefit that I had derived from the walk! 

Nearing the end of the stroll I crossed over Morley Creek.

Morley Creek

The lower sections of Morley Track are a great walk.

The Dirt.

According to my GPS I walked 11 kilometres today a an average speed of 3.8 kph, with 280 metres of climbing I'd rate this as a medium grade walk. I used the notes and map out of the Chapman book Day Walks Melbourne, it's walk number 30 in the book if you've got it. I assume that Parks Vic has also got some free stuff on line in relation to this walk if you want to check it out. This is a nice little walk if you can sort the logistics out, the old growth forest being particularly good. The only issue of caution that I should mention is that some of the descents are very steep and slippery so a bit of care and maybe a couple of walking poles are very handy.

Relevant Posts.

Monda Track, Toolangi State Forest, 2017.

Mount St Leonard, Yarra Ranges National Park, 2015.

Tree ferns and mountain ash are the story of the day really.

The open grassy expanses of the Fernshaw Picnic Area marked the end of today's stroll.

The old oak tree which was planted way back in 1913 to commemorate Queen Mary's visit here in 1901. The accorn that the oak grew from came from Windsor Castle.