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. Another proposal is
to extend the track east to Mt Macedon.
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 very few designated campsites along the track which usually have a water supply. There are no fees or bookings needed for the track. 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 as water can be hard to find on some sections. Some pre-place water drops and that is a good solution. 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. 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 sections from Ballarat to Bendigo
has been also named as the Goldfields Trail, both names are displayed
on signposts. The Goldfields Trail is designed for bicycles and
currently some alternative routes for bicycles are being marked as
parts of the Great Dividing Trail are too rough or too dangerous for
bicycles.
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 | Ballarat
to Slaty Creek |
| 2 | To
creek north of Cosgrove Reservoir*** |
| 3 | To
Mullens dam |
| 4 | To
Daylesford (town) |
| 5 | To
Mt Franklin, a few km off the track |
| 6 |
To Vaughan Springs |
| 7 |
To
Castlemaine (town) |
| 8 |
To
Expedition Pass Reservoir*** |
| 9 |
To Mt
Alexander*** |
| 10 |
To
Sandhurst Reservoir*** |
| 11 |
To Bendigo (town) |
| 12 |
To
Bendigo (town) |
| 13 |
Bus to
Daylesford,
to Nolans Picnic Ground |
| 14 |
To
O.Briens Picnic Ground |
| 15 |
To
Kenworthy Track
(followed the river, not the track) |
| 16 |
To Long
Point |
| 17 |
To
Bacchus Marsh |
