Mount Alexander Park

campers on Mount Alexander

JP and I went for a walk on Mount Alexander last Saturday, on what surely must be one of the last warm weekends of the season. Having never done any of the walking tracks before we headed off to the Leanganook Picnic Area. Now first things first, did you know you can camp there? I certainly didn't know that, but you can, and in fact a number of people were. This brings me neatly to the first topic that I want to raise. There's SO MANY fallen branches and trees up there. I appreciate the ecological importance of rotting wood in terms of food and habitat for wildlife, however there is a crazy amount of dead wood on the Mount. Surely it is fire danger concern?

Not only that, but the trees and branches are also over the walking trails, which  would make recreational use of the park for some people difficult or impossible. Moreover the park has a neglected feel, with poor signage and ill defined paths.

lots of dead wood

We started our walk from the Leanganook Carpark and set off following the circuit trail. At first the track was nice and wide and easy to follow, however after not too long at all it became increasingly narrow and strewn with fallen branches and even trees lay across the path in several places.

a fallen tree lies across the designated track

Don't get me wrong, it is quite beautiful on the Mount, and the view at the look out points is impressive. I was enjoying the walk, however I was also observing the experience from the point of view of a Harcourt Progress Group member. I was asking myself have we got it right here? Is there any way the experience could be improved? I feel that it could be improved with more defined pathways and consistent signage.

We started on the Circuit Walk but at some point it became apparent that we were no longer on that track and we ended up about a kilometer away, and walked back up the road to our car. 

where we ended up

Whilst looking online just now to find out what happened to the Old Koala Park, I came across an interesting article about the walking area. It was written by author Glenn Tempest, who was reviewing the area for an upcoming book, Victoria's Goldfield Walks. He too found the area to be in disrepair and I imagine he would have described it in that way in the book.

You can read his article here Mt Alexander Regional Park: Walking Trails Falling Into Disrepair

It's a real shame to think that the Mount Alexander Park is viewed in unfavourable terms. It's such a wonderful resource, and perhaps one that we could be doing more for. It could represent an increase in tourists to the area, if we can get the mix right between natural habitat and human recreation.