Cycling the Warburton Rail Trail
For us city slickers, it’s pretty hard to beat the feeling of remotelessness you get hurtling down a rail trail in the middle of the night being caught in a thunderstorm.
Lighting flashes light up the sky, rain buckets down, the gravel trail fast turns into mush and you’re relying on an intermittently flickering dynamo light to guide you.
Still, you’ve got to get home right?
My brother and I lazily set off at around 11:30am and rode the first leg of the journey down to Lilydale. From Melbourne this is about 45-50km which doesn’t sound far but be warned, the east side of Melbourne is notorious roller coaster hilly landscape.
This was my second time out to the rail trail and the first I took Canterbury Road, never again. Despite being easily the quickest and most straight forward route to Lilydale, Canterbury Road is a nightmare to traverse for the cyclist. Save for a few km’s on the Lilydale side, the rest of the road is simply up or down.
It doesn’t take long to run out of steam and find yourself exhausted. Worse still on the ride home this isn’t the ideal way to end a long day of cycling.
This time I took a slightly different route which saw me head down Ferntree Gully Road, Scoresby road, Croydon Road and then following the Maroondah Highway until Lilydale. Overall it was much flatter then Canterbury Road but you still had some steep killers, the last stretch of Maroondah highway in particular was tough.
The alternative is simply catching a train out to Lilydale and starting the Warburton trail from there. I consider this a bit of a copout though and would rather get as much cycling in as possible so the train option isn’t for me.
Once at Lilydale you have a variety of food options. There’s take away cafes, some bakeries and your usual slew of junkfood assortments. Figuring I’m probably going to cycle it off I usually go for junkfood before setting off.
Public toilets are also available at Lillydale and while there are one or two toilet facilities along the trail it’s advisable to make the most of the toilets before starting.
The entrance to the Warburton rail trail can be difficult to find as it’s just a driveway crossing off Maroondah Highway, just after the McDonalds.
I believe a section of the trail continues down to Lillydale station but given you just wind up being dumped on the Maroondah with no crossing I find it easier to get onto the trail from the highway.
Once on the rail trail cycling is pretty straight forward. There’s some fantastic runs at slight gradients so you don’t need to pedal and can maintain a speed of around 20-25km/h, these are mostly at the start of the trail and after that the rest of the track is pretty flat.
Scenery wise you start off feeling like you’re in a bit of a rainforest with houses scattered around and in the later stages this opens up to grassy plains on either side with cows, deer and horses grazing.
An interesting feature of the Warburton rail trail is the scattering of old railway stations along the trail. I found it sort of made me wonder just how frequently the track was used and was a glimpse into a time when people didn’t rely so heavily on their cars to get around.
One odd thing we ran into was this sort of quacking sound. I took some video footage of a pond the noise was coming from but couldn’t see what was making it. It sounded like ducks but there were no ducks to be seen and it was quite loud! We heard it a few times along the trail, even in the dark!
Once you get away from the houses at the start of the trail it really feels like you’re in the middle of nowhere. The air is fresh and if the sun is shining it’s very relaxing.
All up the trail is about 40km’s and should take around 2 hours, slightly offer if you ride lazily. I like to take in the scenery and relax so it winds up taking about 2-2.5hrs one way.
There’s a few toilet stops along the way, the Cog cafe and Yarra Junction being the two notable ones. Of course you can always just stop to the side of the trail but it can get a bit busy during the day so either find a really big tree or risk a group kids whizzing past!
The Cog is great for cafe stuff meanwhile there’s Woolworths and some other shops out at Yarra Junction.
Warburton itself has some novelty shops and various cafes when you finally reach there. There’s also accommodation available if you want to spend the night and head back along the trail the next day.
Yesterday we got caught in a thunderstorm heading back and learnt that bottle dynamos don’t really like wet gravel. Once we got onto the drier parts of the trail the lights kicked in though. Considering just how heavy the rain was and how dirty the bikes got I’m just glad the dynamos didn’t cut out altogether.
In winter it’s a good idea to bring your lights just in case as you really cannot see anything in the dark (we’re talking pitch black here) with lighting. You can probably get by with a battery powered LED setup but the trail is much more visible with a dynamo or battery pack setup.
The Long Haul Trucker was as usual a dream to ride and with the Continental Contact Travel 700×37 tires handed great. I’ve done the trail once before on Gatorskins and while they worked, the larger tyres were definitely more robust and there was no worry about sliding along the gravel. My Brooks B-17 remained comfy the entire trip and kept me going.
Finally making it back to Lilydale at around 10pm we decided it was probably best to catch the train back into Melbourne. I could have gone on (I have no problems about getting home after midnight!) but my brother didn’t bring any wet weather gear and riding another 45km home in cold wet gear isn’t any fun.
The Warburton rail trail is situated just far enough out of Melbourne to give you that country experience but isn’t prohibitively difficult to get to.
As I mentioned earlier on bike your probably looking at about 2-2.5 hours to get to Lilydale depending on where you live and which route you take. The trail itself is about again 2-2.5 hours so all up allow for roughly 10 hours in the saddle, obviously less if you’re riding faster then our lazy 17km/h average (it was the hills!).
Don’t forget to bring some munchies and water to keep you going!
September 20th, 2009 at 5:03 pm Yi(Quote)
frogs!
September 20th, 2009 at 5:24 pm Suzie(Quote)
Two of us here were going to suggest frogs. I also wanted to mention lyrebirds. We’ve heard some pretty amazing noises coming from lyrebirds in Sherbrooke forest. Except lyrebird noises keep changing and these didn’t.
September 20th, 2009 at 5:26 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)
Frogs? I thought frogs made ribbit noises!
September 21st, 2009 at 12:30 am Roly(Quote)
Yep, frogs.
Actually frogs make quite a wide range of calls, and because the little buggers can be very hard to see the calls are the most reliable way to identify the various species around.
The Common Froglet has been very active in my local creek since the rain of the last couple of weeks. Sounds a bit like crackling popcorn.
This site has an extensive database with recordings of calls;
http://www.frogsaustralia.net.au
September 21st, 2009 at 9:47 am ozsoapbox(Quote)
Geez you think you know an animal and then BAM. Next I’ll find out cows can bark!
September 21st, 2009 at 11:11 pm Roly(Quote)
I was with a NT ranger at Hall’s Gap one time when we heard a Koala grunting outside. He jumped up in alarm saying “Wild pig!”. When you’ve heard a Koala carring on you will understand how someone experienced with wild pig (but not Koalas) could make that mistake.
As for frogs; the Common Froglet makes a little “pop” but when you have a pond full it sounds like crackling popcorn. Perrin’s Tree frog (that happens to look just like a large blob of dried cement, embedded with tiny emeralds if you look closer) makes a deep and widely spaced “Brrrak Brrrak”.
My personal favorite is the Red-eyed Green Tree Frog who calls in chorus and makes a two-part call starting with a series of about five slowly rising “Brrraak’s” followed by about four rapid falling high pitched “Deweet’s”, quiet for a few seconds, then they all start again.
I learned to imitate this fella and found that I could initiate the group calling. Sometimes I would mess with their minds by doing the second part first and they would fall into disarray. You could almost hear them grumbling “who’s the idiot out of sync?”.
They also use Time-Division-Multiplexing with one species calling in the gaps of the calls of others. When you are trying to actually visually spot them you can understand how this strategy confuses predators. If you listen to the dawn chorus you will notice how birds use the same TDM/FDM tricks.
Ever heard a Catbird (so named for its call)?
I’ve spent a fair bit of time in the bush, but one day I surprised myself over lunch with friends when I heard a rukkus outside and instantly said “Airborne predator!” and rushed outside. Sure enough a bunch of Maggies came into view giving a young Wedgie a hard time. Only after we had resumed lunch did it occur to me that I had not only internalised avian alarm calls but even the difference between airborn and ground predator alarms. Friends sometimes call me Dr Doolittle but I think it’s something that anybody can do with practice – like identifying unseen frogs.
One nice aspect of mimicing critters is that some (smaller birds, possoms) will come quite close to see what you are playing at, while others such as ‘roos and wallies will allow you to get quite close (downwind) if you mimic their gestures (head shake, ear scratch, pretending to browse pulling up handfuls of grass, etc).
September 21st, 2009 at 11:56 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)
Lol that gave me quite an amusing mental image, thanks for sharing – the feedback on this post has been somewhat of an education for me
.
No but I heard what I believe is called a ‘screeching owl’ when I was on holidays a fortnight ago. Let me just say… oh. my. god.
September 25th, 2009 at 3:51 pm Roly(Quote)
Screeching? No. Barking? Nope. But some years ago I had almost nighly encounters with a Powerful Owl. Have you any idea how BIG this rarely seen critter is? Taller than his favorite side marking post, and one night took off and flew above the bonnet with his wings easily spanning the car width. Magical moment.
I used to have a resident Boobook (aka Mopoke). Cute lil’ blue-grey fella with talons bigger than he is. He would sit on the peak of my tin roof and when I heard the (‘orrible) sound of talons trying to grip tin I’d go outside with a torch. I swear they look embarrassed when you spot them. “Aw shucks, blew my cover ag’in”.
Maybe you need a frog tank to go with your fish tank.
)
September 25th, 2009 at 11:01 pm ozsoapbox(Quote)
What the crap? That sounds like some horrific nightmare! I’d be screaming ‘THE BIRD IS TRYING TO PICKUP THE CAR, OMG DO SOMETHING!’
Monster owls and creatures with giant talons… Roly I’m starting to think you reside in some mythical wonderland or something.
As for a frog tank, not bloody likely if they’re going to carry on like drunk lemmings everynight!
September 27th, 2009 at 11:00 pm Roly(Quote)
Jeez Oz, you need to get out of the city more. Northern Rivers region of NSW mostly. In fact, don’t look up next time you’re in a city park at night ‘cos there is a reasonable chance you might see a barn owl, somewhat bigger than a Boobook. What do you think the possoms are worried about? Not you, that’s for sure.
Having lived in the bush I’m still amazed how blind city dwellers are to the critters that live around us generally unnoticed. I’ve seen foxes in Melb General Cemetery and crossing Bell St Preston, and the huge but timid native water rat right under Princes Bridge, several species of owl in city parks including a Tawny Frogmouth in Edinburgh Gardens in Fitzroy, a hawk and a native mouse in Carlton, not to mention lots of Tiger Snakes along the Merri Creek.
Most people would freak out if they had any idea of how many wild critters live right alongside us unnoticed, but if it were not for them we would be overrun with house mice and common rats (mozzies, spiders, and what all).
The Powerful Owl is very big for an *owl*, but only about the same size as a Grey Goshawk, and less than half the size of a Wedgie. We are so lucky in Australia that, Crocs aside, we don’t have any native critter that will try to predate humans. I’ve even had Dingos come into my desert camp for water without any worries. Goannas can be dangerous because they are so stupid they may try and climb you to escape (from you!) and do you a lot of unintentional damage with their tree climbing claws. But then even a zonked Koala has meat-hook claws to avoid. You attack, they are well equipped to defend, but if you are careful not to be a threat and just observe they quickly get used to you.
Over several years I developed a fairly complex relationship with a Lewin Honeyeater who would join me for lunch most days; introduced me to his mate, then the family who continued to do lunch long after ‘Scruffy’ stopped coming (pix if you want). These genuine wild critters eventually would eat from my hand and even land on me, but I assure you I was careful to be passive and the initiative for closer contact came from them.
Back to frogs for a moment; most of the species I have had to do with are actually pretty civilised in that they pack in their racket around 10-11pm so they didn’t keep me awake.
So, an article on cicada mating calls and how predatory katydids mimic them. Has a set of sonogrammes that well illustrates the wide variance of the calls of species within this group, and shows the use of TDM by the cicada, and how the predator katydids exploit this.
New Scientist, 26 Sept 09 (current issue)
September 28th, 2009 at 9:50 am ozsoapbox(Quote)
Roly as always your nature stories are quite entertaining and humble me.
Sounds like you’ve had quite the outdoor life. I wouldn’t mind leaving the city some more if only Australia’s wildlife didn’t sound so terrifying!
Psychologically I have a problem with giant birds, insects and snakes…
September 29th, 2009 at 2:04 am Roly(Quote)
You and a lot of other people; so if I have a message it’s that with only a few exceptions like Croc’s our native critters are entertaining, educative, and *harmless* if you don’t try to mess with them.
I’ve met many more people who’ve been seriously injured by farm livestock such as cattle and horses than by wildlife.
Outdoors sure, but some of my fondest encounters have occured inside, visited by tiny Blue Wrens with huge attitude, resident Horseshoe Nosed bats, a tiny skink that lived on a workbench, and huge Pythons jes’ passin’ through.
My own introduction to snakes was living surrounded by Tiger snakes in the Western District. It took years to discover that these guys are atypically agressive, that Black’s are real wimps, and the bigger the python the cooler and more placid they are (and I’ve had to do with some breathtaking pythons you simply wouldn’t believe the size of if I told you). But I can assure you that when you are being overrun by native mice one of these fellas moving in for a while is a godsend; certainly the best mousetrap I’ve ever had.
You’re charmed by fish, while I’m charmed by frogs, skinks and birds, and the only bird to ever attack me (domestic geese aside) have been nesting Magpies, and those mostly in *city* parks.
Since this is a very common experience I’ll pass on a tip; if you do encounter a swooping maggie simply find a small branch or even tall weed and simply hold it so it sticks up above your head a couple of feet. They will still swoop, but they will pull up above the top of the stick and you won’t get struck.
The only animals I *fear* in the bush are the ferals, pigs, deer, dogs, and cats. Hell hath no fury like a feral cat in a cage trap.
September 29th, 2009 at 9:08 am ozsoapbox(Quote)
Haha this actually happened to me on the way to the trail in Croydon, much to my brother’s amusement.
Sticks work but aren’t really practical, what most riders do who live near crazy magpies is attach a few zipties to their helmets so that the excess strap is upright.
Personally this is over the line dorky and I’d rather just try and outrun them (and fail every time
).
April 4th, 2010 at 1:47 pm Bec(Quote)
Definitely frogs. We have them all around the wetlands here in Warragul and they make the same noise as in your video.
By the way – ducks go “quack” in case you heard them too ; )
April 7th, 2010 at 12:46 am ozsoapbox(Quote)
Yeah frogs seems to be the general consensus. Freakish sounding frogs I’ve ever heard.
And yeah…I might be a city boy but I know what a duck sounds like!
(it sounds like *crunch crunch crunch* in my mouth)