FEDERATION WEEKEND-- 18th & 19th
October 2008.
Mt Cole State Forest, Mt Buangor and
Langi Ghiran State Parks.
Ballarat Bushwalking and Outdoor
Club is pleased to be hosting this year’s Federation Weekend,
with walks planned in all of the above parks.
Our base for the weekend will be the
Beaufort Lake Caravan Park, with sole use of the park and the
adjacent oval. There will be mainly camping facilities, but look
under our ‘Guide to Accommodation in the Beaufort
Area’ for other options.
How to get to
Beaufort Lake Caravan Park, our venue for the weekend?
From
Melbourne--keep following the Western Highway all the way to
Beaufort— (go via Ring Road around Ballarat, so there is no need
to go into Ballarat town centre.) At Beaufort, when you get to a
set of traffic lights, turn LEFT. Travel along Skipton Road for
1km and it is on your left. You can’t miss it!
Obviously if you are approaching
Beaufort from the opposite direction, when you get to the
traffic lights—turn RIGHT.
Guide to
Accommodation in the Beaufort Area -
Click Here
Background
information for Beaufort and the surrounding Parks:
Beaufort
Beaufort
is a small township approximately 40 km west of Ballarat
along the western Highway, and has a history firmly rooted in
the gold rush of the 1850s. To begin with, Beaufort was known as
Yam Holes (native yam, similar to a potato being found here) and
up to 40,000 men were said to be on the diggings at its busiest.
The area was also known as ‘Fiery Creek’.
Although gold was the initial reason
for the foundation of Beaufort it was the excellent grazing,
farming and timber country of the district which aided the rapid
growth of the town. A timber treatment plant, sawmill,
engineering factory, concrete mixing plant, hard and soft timber
industries, retail, trade and professional services, various
Government utilities and a modern hospital, many and varied
sporting facilities all help to make up the lifestyle of a
modern town. Oh, and yes....the coffee shops are pretty good
also!!!!
Mt Cole Forest Park.
Mt
Cole is actually situated approximately 25 km west of the
township of Beaufort.
Geology:
Around the dawn of time, 390 million years ago,
Mother nature was at her creative best. Hot magna pushed up from
the deep beneath the earth, but failing to break through,
crystallised to form granite rock. Daily for millions of years
nature continued to sculpt the area eroding the softer sediment
leaving the hard rock protruding like a sentinel, from the
plains below. So the legacy of Mt. Cole was born.
History:
Mt. Cole or ‘Bareep-bareep’ was the home to the
Beeripmo balug tribe that formed part of the larger Djab Wurrung
language speaking people. Through translation of the local
language we can get a feel for these people and what they saw.
‘Bareep-bereep’ meaning wild, and Beeripmo translating to “wild
mount”
Centuries later we can all
experience this magnificent terrain that is truly wild and
abundantly beautiful. According to ancient Aboriginal belief,
all life ( Animal, Bird, Fish and Human) is part of one
unchanging network of relationships, which can be traced to the
Great Spirit ancestors of the Dreamtime.
Time however, stands still for no
one and European colonisation of the area began after Mitchell’s
expedition of 1836. Notes from his journal tell of land richer
than any grazing land he had found in New South Wales. Settlers
soon came, and by the early 1860’s a small timber mill had been
set up in the forest. Up to 30 mills continues operating until
1904 when all the usable timber had been logged. In the early
1940’s charcoal burners worked the forest. Dead timber from the
forest produced charcoal, a substitute for petrol during the
Second World War. Over time significant natural regeneration of
the area has allowed managed harvesting of the forest in small
areas since 1947.
Mt Cole now with its tranquillity
and magnificent views of the Pyrenees and the Grampians regions,
attracts many visitors wishing to enjoy its many wonders and the
facilities it has to offer. One of the most rewarding
experiences is to enjoy the the endless kilometres of walking
tracks the wind through the forest. Our aim for this weekend is
to do just that!!!
Walking tracks include the famous
‘Beeripmo Walk’
Want more info, especially about
flora and fauna? ....go to a DSE Website
www.pyreneestourism.com.au/pdfs/FS0048.pdf
Mt Buangor State
Park:
This park is situated adjacent to the Mt Cole
Forest Park.
Here you can expect to explore a
variety of landscapes including eucalypt forest, creek flats,
waterfalls and steep escarpments. From the peak of Mt. Buangor,
the highest in the area , you can experience spectacular views
of the surrounding countryside.
Geology:
The rocks of the park are mainly Devonian
granite, intruded into overlying Ordovician sedimentary erosion
rocks 350 million years ago. Subsequent erosion formed Mt.
Buangor (990m), Sugarloaf (960m) and the steep southern
escarpment. The surrounding slopes have built up from outwashed
granite sand.
Flora:
The park contains a variety of eucalypts. Snow
gums grown on the higher peaks and red Stringybarks colour the
western area of the park, while Narrow-leaf Peppermint can be
found on the dry ridges.
Yarra Gums and Manna Gums grow along
the creek flats, while Blue Gums and Messmates prefer the
south-facing escarpment of the elevated plateau.
Magnificent tree ferns grow well in
wet gullies where the lush vegetation creates a cool retreat in
summer.
Fauna:
More
than 130 species of birds have been recorded in the park and
surrounding Mt. Cole State Forest. Echidnas, Eastern Grey
Kangaroos, Swamp Wallabies and Red-necked Wallabies are often
seen from the walking tracks and roads. There are many
nocturnal animals, including possums, gliders, bats and owls,
but these can be difficult to see.
Langi Ghiran State
Park:
This state park is situated further west along
the Western Highway—in fact it abuts the Western Highway 80 km
west of Ballarat.
Geology:
Mt Langi Ghiran is 949 metres above sea level.
The peaks consist of Devonian granite that intruded into
overlying Ordovician sedimentary, as with Mt. Buangor and Mt.
Cole. Granite sand washing down from the peaks has formed the
gently sloping surrounding plain.
History: 
Langi Ghiran is derived from and aboriginal
name meaning ‘home of the black cockatoo’
Major Mitchell climbed Mt. Langhi
Ghiran on his 1836 expedition through ‘Australian Felix’. The 2
resevoirs in the park were built from locally hewn granite
blocks in 1880. The main reservoir still forms part of the
Ararat Water supply. The open woodland was grazed by domestic
stock in the early days, but this is no longer permitted. There
was also some sawmilling and sand mining undertaken in the park
between 1940 and 1960.
The area obviously was of great
spiritual significance to the local Djab Warrung tribe, and
contains a shelter containing rock art unique to the area.
Flora and Fauna:
River Red Gums, Yellow Box and Candlebark trees
are scattered through
the
woodland. With Messmate, Manna Gums and Red Stringybarks in the
mountains and Yarra Gums along the waterways. Shiny Tea-tree,
Veined Beard-heath and Langi Ghiran Grevillea grow on the higher
peaks.
Eastern Grey Kangaroos, wallabies,
echidnas and a variety of birds can be found throughout the
park.
For more info re Mt. Buangor State
Park and Langi Ghiran State Parks, go to
www.parkweb.vic.gov.au and use the pull-down calendar to
access information about these parks.
