2023-10 Marysville

We planned to head up to Marysville for Hazel’s birthday and to do some hiking but the weather forecast was terrible and so we cancelled. The forecast was accurate, and we were glad not to have gone. The following week, the forecast was great and so we rebooked and headed up. The weather was fantastic, and we had a great time getting reacquainted with Marysville, a really lovely place.

Day 1

We began by driving to Healesville, and there we had a spectacular breakfast at Willow and Jackson, see photo below. Since Marysville is only just over an hour drive away, we used the time to do some hiking and we climbed Mt. St. Leonard. The hike was a mere 2.5km but the elevation gain was 141m and the ascent was very steep. It really tested us and reminded us that we have not been hiking since the Kimberley trip. The climb up to the viewing platform at the summit presented us with a disappointing view due to low cloud.

Following that, we did the aptly named 8km Tanglefoot loop which had masses of eucalypt bark strands and long twigs that threatened to topple us at every step. Nevertheless, it was a great hike and we managed it all even with the 314m elevation gain.

Day 2

The second day, we were amazingly, raring to go and so decided to do the Keppel lookout and Steavenson falls loop. It was 11.5km with an elevation gain of 494m. Wow, what a day. The weather was spectacular, the views truly amazing, we were both full of energy and we had an absolutely glorious day out. As a huge bonus Steavenson falls had more water than we had ever seen before, thanks to the heavy rain that caused us to cancel the trip a week earlier. Finally, as we were sat in the Duck Inn, having a well-earned beer, we noticed a family of Australian wood ducks in the park opposite. After much counting we determined that they had 18 half-grown ducklings. We had never seen such successful parents before in any species of bird.

Day 3

On day 3, we decided to relax and so we had a tasty bean hotpot breakfast at Fraga’s cafe and then did a gentle stroll to the Taggerty river lookout which was 6.7km with a mere 121m elevation gain. On our return to town, we took a good look at the memorial to the victims of the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires that all but erased Marysville from the map.

In the afternoon, we headed to Marysville history museum which was very interesting and extremely impressive for a volunteer run facility.

Day 4

On day 4, we took a stroll through Marysville beauty spot which is a lovely nature trail but the birds were annoyingly elusive. Whilst we could hear many birds, almost all remained well hidden. Following that, we went to Bruno’s sculpture garden which was amazing.