The Maits Rest Walk should be suitable for most people.
Maits Rest hardly counts as a walk really, it came in at around 1 kilometre on my GPS however most of the stuff I've read has it coming in at around 850 metres... either way we are not talking a strenuous outing here. This is a walk that's best done when you are in the area already, and as I was passing by the start of the track this afternoon and had a bit of spare time I decided to drop in and check things out. I haven't walked this little track for many years, since I'd last been through it had been closed for a while with some kind on storm damage - although I can't remember exactly what type of disaster befell this little walk.
This walk is well furnished with information signs.
Leaving the ute I grabbed my camera and GPS, slipped on the hiking Havaianas and disappeared into the wall of green. After a few metres I branched left and started to drop down into a gully that came complete with a gently trickling creek. The vegetation here makes you feel like you are traipsing through a jungle somewhere exotic, not ambling around tourist walk in Havaianas a few metres from the Great Ocean Road! There is a dense understory of ferns and bracken along here with huge old Mountain Ash trees towering above, a lot of these old mountain ash trees have had their tops lopped off by storm damage however they are still magnificently tall and impressive trees.
Almost as soon as leaving the car park the track dropped down into a damp gully.
It's a world of green down here.
Now I could enlighten everybody on the names of all these ferns... yes, I could if I knew them myself!
Once down in the gully most of the walk is along well constructed boardwalks which makes it pretty easy to concentrate on the scenery and not worry to much about where your feet are being placed. The track eventually arcs around and starts climbing back up to complete the circuit, the higher (relatively) the track climbs the drier and more open the bush became. There are also a few openings along here where some of the big Mountain Ash have come down and created a clearing in the dense canopy which somewhat ironically provided the best views of the other still standing Mountain Ash Trees.
There was a trickle of water flowing down the gully this morning.
I find that I really struggle to capture the essence of these stunning forests in my photos unfortunately.
Maits Rest, Great Otway National Park.
I'm thinking that strollers and wheelchairs would be a possibility on this walk.
It was around twenty minutes after setting off that I emerged from the wall of green blinking into the afternoon sun. It might not be a long walk however its still well worth doing, especially if you are with some non walkers. Jumping back into the ute this afternoon I slipped off Havaianas and set off for home after what had been a great day out - I'd done this little stroll on my return journey from a bigger walk down at Cape Otway.
When there is a break in the canopy you can get a bit of an idea of how big and majestic these old Mountain Ash Trees are.
Gee, I got lucky with the weather today.
After crossing the gully again the track started to climb.
The stumps of the fallen trees sometimes give you a better perspective on the size of these giants - and something for the kids to play on!
The Dirt.
As I mentioned earlier this is a short walk, according to my GPS I walked around 1 kilometres and climbed about 84 metres on this very easy stroll - and these figures actually feel a little over the odds. This walk is suitable for most people, the track has no steps so wheelchairs and strollers are a possibility although there are some solid grades to negotiate. I'm sure Parks Vic have some free stuff online about this walk and the track itself is well furnished with information signs. The Julie Mundy and Neil Fahey book Best walks of the Great Ocean Road book has a description of this walk along with a map, I just used my GPS topos this afternoon though.
Relevant Posts.
Maits Rest, Great Otway National Park.
Climbing back up to the ute the views continued.
I visited Maits Rest early in the afternoon on Good Friday, even at what I'm guessing is a very busy time I didn't have any trouble getting a park.
I'm thinking that my GPX track might be a little dodgier than normal on this little stroll due to the thick tree canopy interfering with my GPS signal?
It is a nice little walk. I expect that in Autumn after rain, there would be a bit of fungi about.
ReplyDeleteYes, its a great little walk that should be within most peoples ability.
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