Last updated: Monday 10/11/2025 @ 4:00pm
Embedded Files
Note: If you would like to check out the routes that I took for yourself, you can click "More Options" at the top left of the embedded maps to open them in Google Maps
Note: If you would like to check out the routes that I took for yourself, you can click "More Options" at the top left of the embedded maps to open them in Google Maps
*Map is a very rough estimation due to the unmarked paths I took.
08/11/2025 - Castlemaine to Malmsbury
08/11/2025 - Castlemaine to Malmsbury
Bit of a longer blog this time
What ended up being a ‘bigger than anticipated’ day, was simultaneously my favourite walk, but also a bit of a disappointing one, but not necessarily because of the walk itself..
The day started out quite early with a 4am drive to Castlemaine Station, and catching the 6:10 train into the city. There wasn't too much to report about this little detour, aside from the rain in the city was very atmospheric with a very low cloud, hiding the Skydeck and Australia 108 from view, much of the travel time was spent catching up on what sleep I could manage on the notoriously ‘uncomfortable for tall people’ V/Line, V/Locity train.
My city trip was nice and easy, and I managed to catch the trains that I had planned, getting me to my starting point just after 11, But I made a bit of a mistake.
The original idea was to start at Malmsbury and make my way to Castlemaine, and for those who know the area, know it is quite mountainous, and the total elevation has a steady decline going in this direction.
Unfortunately I missed the notice from the conductor explaining that the platform will only be available in the forward-most car on my 3-car set, and I wasn't able to make it in time, because of this I ended up back in Castlemaine... (Open for more)
I had 2 choices:
Start in Castlemaine and hope the upwards gradient wasn't going to be too bad.
Or
Wait 20 minutes and catch the next train back to Malmsbury, delaying my day further.
As you have probably worked out, I decided to just start from Castlemaine, as the train would add another 50 mins to my day, and I was racing a tight window for the rain due that afternoon/evening.
Kickoff from Castlemaine at 11:41am, and I forgot to take my regular Station photo as I left.
The changes in scenery in this area as I followed the track felt so sudden, and the views on this walk will NOT be forgotten, and this walk will stand as my favourite as of right now.
This was a walk that I have envisioned doing since I was in Primary School, first riding the train to my Royal Children's Hospital appointments and seeing the dirt track that just looked perfect, and I remember picturing a dirt-bike riding alongside the train on that track and performing tricks as we went along at speed.
The further and further I went along the track, the more I realised just how much work had gone into literally blasting a path through the mountains to connect the Bendigo Goldfields and the Deniliquin Wool Trade down to Melbourne in the 1850's.
I was treated to many amazing high-speed flybys, and in this section of track there were plenty of bridges, from which I could experience the force and rush of having 340 tons of Loco fly underneath you at 160km/h, something I haven't been able to experience yet due to various factors, but its a felling Im gonna chase for awhile I think.
The amount of intense gradients along the way were incredible, at some stages I was driven to walking alongside the tracks, just to treat myself to a bit of flat land for a bit, this came with its own challenges though:
The ballast rocks were VERY unstable below the feet, and they were causing quite a bit of rolling in the ankles.
Some sections wouldn't allow this due to the tight tolerances between the track and wall of rock.
Train frequency would allow for safe passage of some sections.
Lastly, The tunnel.
It wasn't too far into the walk that I was forced to go off the beaten track, and begin exploring some of the infrastructure hidden in the ranges to accommodate for the rail and weather management in the canal I found running alongside the tracks around the Elphinstone tunnel.
I got a bit risky in getting some photos of the tunnel entrance. Every walk I forget to take a proper camera with me, and unfortunately the Fold camera just doesn't do what I'm seeing any justice.
It really tickled an urb-ex itch I've been building up in recent months, exploring abandoned or aged historical structures (without trespassing private property).
There were some spots such as the tunnel entrance that I would have loved to get a video of the train exiting, But the timetable didn't line up enough to justify it.
However, as I got over the peak and reached the exit, I did some bush parkour and made my way to the edge of what can only be described as a cliff down to the track, which sat at the base of a 20m drop, at what I would guess was about a 70° grade.
I sat here next to a surprisingly chill ants nest for about 10 mins to be greeted by the 2:20pm train heading back to Bendigo.
I had to follow the very main road for a few hundred metres before making it to Railway Rd, a side road which follows the tracks down toward Elphinstone.
Along this road I went off the beaten track once again and took a peak at the overpass, where I was treated with some politics in graffiti form, a particular phrase I wouldn't have expected to see in such random places.
Elphinstone was a beautiful quaint little town, and I had to get a pic somewhere as a memento, and what better icon of the Australian small-town, than the local pub, Elphinstone Hotel.
Not too far outside Elphinstone I saw a bright yellow loco I had never seen before.
It was “Evie”, the Metro Evaluation set, which from a standstill quickly got up to speed heading back toward Elphinstone.
It was after Elphinstone that the views really started to open up, and return to that amazing rolling landscape, a mix of meadow and forest, and with the clouds opening up in the afternoon sun, the shadows projected on the mountainside really exaggerated the scale of the area.
These are the areas and views that give me goosebumps, and bring a rush that is so hard to put to words, and impossible to recreate the experience in picture form.
This is where the terrain began to level out a bit more, which was a very welcome change at this stage of the walk.
As I approached Taradale, my options for a track on which to walk became VERY limited, and I had to walk on ballast for a good few kilometers, which put a lot of extra strain on my ankles, which were NOT recovering well after the extreme hills around Chewton and Elphinstone.
The old Taradale train station looked beautiful, the building had been repurposed into what looked like a residence, the primary building draped with vines and amazing planter boxes around the edge, it looked like it had been very well maintained, evident by the open garden shed with an absolute arsenal of garden equipment.
It was a few hundred meters down the track that I reached my biggest obstacle yet, but one that I could technically pass, at some risk; The Taradale Viaduct.
This 270m long, 33m high bridge serves as a key connecting the Bendigo line, suspended over Back Creek, and has some of the most beautiful ironwork I have ever seen, on a stretch of track that very few people would be able to see at 160kph. Ironwork that is around 165 years old, designed by Rowland Brotherhood, has led me down some amazing rabbit holes on just how many key people from around the world were involved in the advancement of Australia's Gold industry.
I waited about 20 minutes behind the end of the bridge for the next window of free track.
With the V/Line app in hand and a surface level knowledge of how to read railway blocking signals, I waited for the opportune moment after a train flew past (Making sure they could NOT see me whatsoever, to avoid casing the driver stress) then I made my way across as fast as I was physically able to. The view from the bridge was stunning.
After getting to the other side, I was just about meeting my end. I had no fluids or snacks left and in a rather silly move, I hadn't eaten that morning. My energy was completely drained, and I found myself on hands and knees trying not to pass out or throw up.
I pushed a little bit further until I reached the end of how far I could follow the track and I followed a dirt track to the Calder Highway heading into Malmsbury.
The corner property had a lady riding a horse while leading two others. She saw me walking around the edge of her property and she came back over and sussed out if I was lost. I told her about my walk and in the nicest way possible, she looked at me like a nutcase.
We wished each other a good day and she called out “Only 5km left” as she rode off, and that sentence just about killed me.
50m up the road I found a sign to lean against, and as I was sitting there with an awesome, panoramic view of the Fryers Ridge in the distance, I made the incredibly difficult decision to call in a pickup from my Auntie who lives in the Castlemaine area.
I couldn't be more appreciative of this as my next-best alternative was hoping a passerby would accept my hitch-hike request.
I had a lovely time waiting, but the wind started to pick up and the rain I had been racing all day began to make its way in.
Catching up with Auntie Julie was lovely, we discussed the route I had taken, the overall beauty of the area and how life has been after moving into the area 3 years ago.
We also got talking about the significance of the history of the area regarding the gold rush, and some pretty cool information was dropped on me. Auntie Julie’s Husband and my Uncle, Roger, has ancestors that played integral parts in the development of the area.
Auntie Julie also made me feel much better about not completing the walk, pointing out that I need to consider what I’ve been through in terms of physical ’trauma’, and that showing the low points will play just as big of a role as showing the high points.
This really got me thinking, I looked back on my surgery recoveries and the hopelessness I felt in those moments, convinced I would never achieve what I could pre-surgery, and that I only had more surgeries to look forward to.
But if you had told Ben of 2021 that he was walking 10km, let alone racking up 250km throughout the year of 2025.
So I think it sits as a great reminder to those going through these scary medical diagnoses, that although life feels like it may be limiting and painful sometimes (or all times), pushing through and persisting with finding the treatment that suits you personally can open up new worlds and opportunities in due time.
I have never been a book buff, and I struggle to read large chunks of text, but I have an urge to source some books reflecting the building of the Bendigo line, and also the high-speed rail upgrades made to the line.
I'm personally getting to a point where I am tired of the mass of misinformation and conflicting information about different subjects, and I find myself drawn to sourcing established books that were written during the construction or following the construction of the line.
I will be in Melbourne for ‘Good Things’ festival in December. I have booked an extra night to explore Melbourne and I think I will take some of this time to visit Melbourne Library once again and see if I can find any books or journals from the gold rush, or the construction of the railway.
After visiting the Library with my sister this time last year I have wanted to go back and check out some of the books in-depth, but I wouldn't have known where to start, but now I know what I want to read about.
All in all, aside from the mistake of walking in the wrong direction, this walk was one I will remember for a long time to come, and one that I will most likely do again, but the correct way around that time. That won't be for quite some time though, and most likely not until after the completion of this project.
I will remember the camera and extra supplies next time for sure.
23/10/2025 - North Redesdale Road
23/10/2025 - North Redesdale Road
An awesome return after another 3 week break, even though the weather wasn't exactly what I was hoping for, the views definitely made up for it, with Mt Alexander to my left, and beautiful livestock and kangaroo-filled fields to my right.
I began the morning quite early and arrived in Redesdale around 5:50am, just as the sky is lighting up and the birds are all rising and singing (audio sample on right).
There was something very therapeutic about the variety of birds in the area, my warmup stretches were a bit of a treat this time round.
The first section of walk had me stopping and starting a bit as I had to follow the main road for a section to get to North Redesdale Road, the livestock along this section were a bit different, and a bit of a treat, one VERY enthusiastic looking donkey and two quite large populations of alpacas.
Redesdale birds.m4aSoundtrack of Redesdale at 6am
Once I reached my target road, it was as simple of setting the legs to autopilot and zoning out to music and scenery.
The scenery was everything I was hoping for in the lead-up to this walk. The beautiful green rolling meadows, all behind different levels of morning fog, putting some true scale to the size of the region and Mt Alexander in the distance.
Alot of the large properties in the area seemed to be limited to a select few avenues in terms of what they can do with their land, alot have resorted to the standard livestock of cows, sheep, goats, but many of the paddocks are registered as "Land For Wildlife" areas, which is a voluntary wildlife conservation program aimed at designating and maintaining areas to increase the livability for native flora and fauna.
This resulted in ALOOOOOOOOT of kangaroos on either side of me for majority of the walk, including a few noteworthy big bucks that couldn't help but staunch me the whole way past.
A few properties were not so friendly toward the local kangaroos, and on my return stretch, I kept hearing what sounded like gunshots or bird-cannons quite close to a mob to my right, it was a bit spooky, but they succeeded in scaring the roos away.
When I reached the end of the road, I felt like continuing down to the water for a look, but I didn't realise beforehand that most of the water at the Metcalfe and Coliban Pools are private property.
I reached the Holiday Park at the base of the road and gave them a quick call just to inquire about checking out the water, but they respectfully declined as they typically do not take visitors outside regular hours, and they have strict boat ramp access.
This was no stress, as the main attraction for me was the general landscape of the region.
I chucked a U-turn and got headed back on the return stretch, the last portion of road leading up to the holiday park was on a pretty hefty incline, MapMyWalk estimates I had a 121m Elevation difference, and although the walk was mostly a steady decline, that last portion felt like the whole 121m.
I had a fantastic time on this walk, everything I remembered about this landscape help up.
I'm very keen to get back to my Bendigo Line project, which doesn't necessarily need to shift too far from this region.
Im thinking next I will do Castlemaine to Malmsbury, just on the other side of Mt Alexander.
Note: Path on this map does not reflect the path taken, this map is for a rough gauge.
04/10/2025 - Tongala Rail Line
04/10/2025 - Tongala Rail Line
This was another walk outside of my current Melbourne Project due to a number of factors, but it was actually a really nice walk heading deep into spring.
I felt I should keep this next walk a bit closer to home due to the continued issues I am having with my knees at the moment, but that gave me an opportunity to bring Rani for some of the walk.
Rani accompanied me for the first few kilometers, just until we reached Kagome, unfortunately it was getting a bit warm for her, and the prickles along the track we were taking were giving her a bit of grief, thankfully Mum was on standby ready to come get Rani or Myself when needed.
After Mum picked up Rani I continued along the track toward Tongala, and even though I didn't make it quite as far as I was originally hoping, I got to see a beautiful part of the area I hadn't seen before.
It was fascinating to see all of the properties lining the tracks, and how they had all found their own ways of adapting around them, some areas with high horse traffic around the Echuca Racetrack were very exposed and could almost trip you up, while some other properties have essentially buried the tracks into the ground.
I've discovered in today's walk that coming into summer Im going to have to complete these walks alot earlier than I first thought to beat the heat, and that I might also need a broad brimmed hat, as much as I love my Knotfest cap.
GOD BLESS THE MAN WHO INVENTED THE FLY HAT THINGY
After reaching Looker Rd, I had to really think about how much further I wanted to go, keeping in mind that the sun had really started beating down at this stage, and I was putting on quite a sweat. I gave Mum the call and she came out to meet me at the Looker Rd corner on the Murray Valley Highway, where one paddock was chockers with Rosemary.
On the way home I started looking into a bit more info on the Toolamba (Tongala) Rail line.
Some interesting key notes I saw:
Stopped passenger services in 1981
Used to send rice traffic from north of Echuca to Melbourne
Reopened while works were completed on the Shepparton line
Reopened in October 2013, then closed down again in 2020, due to track conditions.
…and boy were those tracks in a bad way, I wouldnt be brave enough to ride a V/Locity on them thats for sure.
I couldn't imagine the manpower and money required to upkeep that track, especially after the upgrades the Echuca-Bendigo line were given over the last couple of years, they’d have to rip the whole thing up for sure, the sleepers were essentially melting.
Even though this walk didn't add anything for my first big project, it was a nice change and gave me a better look at a part of Echuca I've passed many times without even a thought of seeing again.
19/9/2025 - Kanyapella Dog Walk
19/9/2025 - Kanyapella Dog Walk
Dogs Dogs DOGS!
We've upgraded and opened new doors!
The walk was modified upon arrival to ease damage on my ankles for now, and allow the dogs a decent walk without overdoing it.
Although it is VERY large, the new dog pram proved more than useful on this little trial walk.
Archie and Mia loved being out of the town and just walking in a straight line. Rani was just doing her thing hanging onto their heels, and when they were riding along in the pram toward the end, she glued herself to my heels.
It was a nice walk out there today, although I was hoping to get in another Canola walk before they start to go onto their next stage, I was treated to all of the horses and livestock again, and then some chill bushland, which is sadly used frequently to dump rubbish.
About halfway through the return stretch, Archie was starting to hop and slow down a little bit, so I popped him into the pram and he was so chill, even while moving.
Mia wasn't too far behind him, she also has a problematic back leg at times, so when she started to slow down, I chucked her into the pram for a lift as well.
Mia has a tendency to over-estimate her abilities and will keep going no matter what, so she was eager to climb out of the pram and keep walking, so she needed to be zipped in, after this she calmed right down and laid next to Archie.
All-in-all a successful walk, and a successful test of the pram, and even though I may not take Archie and Mia on all walks, I will take it on walks with Rani in case she needs a rest. For solo walks I will leave the pram at home.
I think after this walk it is officially time I retire my latest pair of Asics, they are causing severe pain in my ankles. For now I will use the older shoes with some modification until I can source a newer pair with the correct size and heel support.
13/9/2025 - Goornong to Elmore
13/9/2025 - Goornong to Elmore
Flies, Magpies…and more Flies!
Flies, Magpies…and more Flies!
Today's walk was awesome. I had the intention of completing this one pretty soon, as all of the Canola in the area is in flower.
Seeing Canola fields in full flower always makes me think back to the days of having the Disc Walkman on at bedtime to help me sleep, listening to “Fields of Gold” - Sting.
The weather couldn't have been better either, the temperature was a comfortable 18°c and the clouds that were forecast to happen were very patchy to the point of disappearing all together.
I gave myself a generous amount of time to stretch before heading off from Goornong, as I feel like in previous walks I haven't really done enough before-hand, and it’s caused some pain on the walks in the past, plus with my ankle feeling 100% again, I don't want to aggravate anything if I can help it.
As a backup, I brought my older pair of sneakers, just in case a change was needed, but it just felt like extra weight that wasn't needed in the end.
This was the first walk of the season where I encountered some cranky mamma Magpies, only one ended up giving me a warning swoop, but that was it. A few more pairs of Magpies along the way definitely made some noise at me, but they weren't showing any further aggression after that.
THE FLIES, Its begun, the slightly warmer weather has brought out the annoying flies, that show no mercy and no intentions of leaving you alone until you get a lucky snap.
They emerged quite early in the morning too, while it was still quite cool and a dew was still on the ground.
Unfortunately the damage being done to my feet on these walks is becoming a bit much, I will need to wait for more blisters to go down before my next walk, I may also need to see a Podiatrist to enquire about the condition of my feet, and how I can make these walks more comfortable.
A really nice day overall, and back in Echuca by lunch to relax and work on BLW.
3/9/2025 - Huntly to Epsom
3/9/2025 - Huntly to Epsom
Another walk so soon!
In hind-sight, I may have jumped the gun on doing another walk so soon with the condition of my ankle, but since I have an event this weekend I wanted to get the weeks walk out of the way and figured I'd do a shorter one.
That's what I thought, But it was pretty early into the walk that the ankles started to burn, and my affected ankle wanted to roll by itself, although I have a suspicion that this is also due to my shoes, they have worn down on a visible angle on the right shoe only, causing my foot to always want to roll outwards.
I believe this is due to the first few walks after I got these new shoes, I focused on walks that took me off beaten track, and going on extreme slopes, including track ballasts, which can be quite steep.
Because of this, my foot was cranked at a 40° angle for most of Macedon to Woodend, the walk I should have done on flat land for the first time, just to break them in.
The scenery for this walk shifted almost suddenly, but it was such a nice change, to have a mixture of farmland and bush-land.
The wildlife was quite unique this time around too, starting off with a kangaroo chilling among a group of alpacas. Followed by a trio of gorgeous young Longhorns.
The other noteworthy wildlife was a 'paddling' of ducks, but not the everyday ducks we'd see, larger, beautiful ducks, two fully white, one fully black, and one mixed.
The latter half of the walk in the bush-land was amazing, although it didn't make up a huge stretch, it was littered with blossoming Wattle trees, just a blanket of yellow over the bush, I didn't think to get a photo sadly.
31/8/2025 - Huntly to Goornong
31/8/2025 - Huntly to Goornong
Despite the days gloomy overcast setting, today's walk was a bit of a treat, the scenery was nice and tame, with not too much going on in the back paddocks.
Something I had forgotten until I was about 30 minutes in, was that the train tracks back onto the many Equine facilities and homes that line Peatlings road.
These horses were a nice change from previous horses I have come across, they werent skittish at all, in fact they ran up to the fence, and if there wasn't an extra fence between us, I would have given pats, if he allowed.
I was only treated to the one flyby due to Sundays restricted schedule, but it was quite a chaotic flyby.
I like to take every precaution when walking along tracks, I have the PTV app loaded up and I am constantly reminding myself of the train schedule so I can be prepared, and be far enough from the track to ease any concern for the driver.
Today however, the conductor of the train for some reason saw me and panicked, despite me standing a good couple meters from the track with my phone up to take a picture, and waving as they go past.
Despite this, they panicked, held down the horn and slammed the brakes, coming to a halt, then 20 seconds later, they beeped and took off again. It was so strange.
I just feel for the passengers, they would have felt it.
24/8/2025 - Macedon to Gisborne to Riddells Creek
24/8/2025 - Macedon to Gisborne to Riddells Creek
I began the day by driving to Kangaroo Flat station once again, catching the 5:56am train to Macedon.
I had originally planned on starting in Riddells Creek and working my way back to Gisborne and Macedon, but there were some works being done on the tracks between Gisborne and S-Cross, causing a bus replacement for those towns between.
I couldn't have picked a better day for this walk, the morning had a very light fog and for a walk starting in the lower alpines, which turned into a beautiful clear sky early 20's day for the open hills and paddocks toward R-Creek.
As far as wildlife goes I was treated to a nice change for this one.
Pretty early on I came across a kangaroo by itself as well as mob of about 25-30 kangaroos grazing in a field, lots of cows including majority of them being Highland's and a ridiculous amount of rabbits, the most I have seen so far.
They were rampant, all among the widely spread thorns that run along most of the track in this region and their burrows were sneaky all along the side.
I only got so far down that first stretch before the service track ended and I was at a dead end of thorns that had no safe way through, I had to go back.
Instead of doing this though, I looked up the fence of the paddock next to me and saw I could get past the thorns just 80m or so up the fence-line.
I broke my no.1 rule of not jumping fences and trespassing, to jog up the fence to my exit point and i stepped over a second barbed wire fence.
With just one more gate in the way to get of the properties and back to the track, and gauged the jump carefully and given that there were so many burrows around, and I hopped the gate.
It slipped from under me slightly and caused me to land on a divot hidden among the grass, causing a severe roll on my right ankle. It was troubling at the time, and that night I couldn't walk on it at all. But as of the next day (25/8/2025), I am able to walk on it comfortably.
After that little mishap we rolled into Gisborne and I had a nice look around and checked out some shops and got some classic lollies from my childhood, Sour Straps and some Zombie Chews.
I then continued on towards Riddells Creek, and I'll be honest, I think this walk has been my favorite in terms of scenery.
As I exited Gisborne and traveled over the very steep hill on the way out, I was treated to a gorgeous view that overlooks the town with some of the ranges in the background.
Coming in closer to Riddells Creek as the terrain begins to level itself out, the scenery becomes what I like to describe as 'a perpetual Windows XP background', just stunning rolling hills with the crisp blue sky backdrop, every paddock bring a new element to the view, boulders, vineyards and many horses and farriers, I came across a lady riding an absolutely incredible tall horse, young and fit, I assumed it was a racing horse being next to a race horse training facility.
I really loved this walk, and I think its the first one I would actually love to do again.
I have thought of redoing some of my walks down the track, but this was the first one where the scenery really left an impression.
I began the day by driving to Castlemaine station for a nice change, and taking the train all the way into the city quickly, then I took the train back to Macedon to begin the walk.
18/8/2025 - Macedon to Woodend
18/8/2025 - Macedon to Woodend
Even though this walk was shorter than usual, the different hills definitely made up for it, but my ankles did much better than I expected, and now that the new shoes were worn in a bit, they felt much better.
This took me through the beautiful Macedon Regional Park, on a closed of service road that seemed untouched for years, with new trees growing over the tracks as tall as me.
The overcast couldnt have been more perfect for the scenery, and really added to the experience, with all of the rundown structure along the track, and 'wintery' feel of the forest.
Being part of the high-speed section of the train line, I was treated to a few flybys at speed. One driver even gave me a honk.
I kept an eye on the PTV app and the time to be able to position myself in a safe spot for the flybys, which proved a bit challenging on this stretch as much of the track is raised quite a bit, and quite steep.
For many of these walks I have noticed that as the tracks are upgraded to concrete sleepers, the old hardware is disposed of beside the track, and Ive had the itch in the back of my mind to grab a spike one day, or if im lucky enough, a small enough cross-section of track to chuck in my backpack, Im happy to say yesterday was that day!
They will need to be cleaned up a bit from rust, but I have a little memento of my stretch in the ranges.
The only trouble I had with my feet on this trip was really just trying to navigate the ballast rocks, they caused a bit of rolling, but no injury.
Im pretty keen for the next walk which Im thinking will be the stretch connecting Riddells Creek back to Macedon, going through Gisborne on the way to make that connection through majority of the ranges then into the flatter land closer to Sunbury.
10/8/2025 - Kyneton to Malmsbury
10/8/2025 - Kyneton to Malmsbury
I was pretty excited about this walk, especially after doing such flat country for the last few.
The hills were a bit of a shock to the system, especially in new shoes, but compared to my old shoes, they were much better, unfortunately the road was a bit rough on them.
Apart from that and some teething issues with the ball of my right foot, the new shoes were great!
The walk was comfy and more importantly, despite what i was feeling on the back of my foot, I don't have blisters this time!
This was also the first walk I began using a more visible shirt, in a high-vis orange, which made me feel a bit more seen on the windy roads and blind corners.
There were some tight bends on this walk that I had to switch sides of the road constantly for to ensure I was seen by any potential traffic.
The scenery was amazing, the properties along the Lauriston road are gorgeous and host some of the most beautiful calves and horses Ive seen (Pictures in the gallery), and the Lauriston Reservoir was a pretty sight with some nice bird-life on it when I went past, 2 pelicans, and 2 black swans.
I did see something rather upsetting on this walk that is unfortunately A part of farm life, but it was rough to see.
1/8/2025 - Rochester - Strath+
1/8/2025 - Rochester - Strath+
After a much needed 2 week break after my last walk, I felt I was ready for another.
I was skeptical about my Asics holding up, as on the Elmore-Rochy walk they began giving me quite severe blisters and rubbing skin off, unfortunately this time was much the same.
Thankfully though, I am getting some assistance with a replacement pair of shoes, which hopefully this time around I can get something more tuned for long-distance walking.
As for the content of the walk, there is really not much to say about this road really, this back road was mainly crops in their early stages, only one paddock of stock, some gorgeous dairy cows, who were all very interested in me walking past, what felt like hundred of eyes locked onto me and tracking the whole way past.
This walk really just felt like an obligation to fill the gap between Echuca and Elmore, but I'm thankful its done.
After reaching Strathallen, I turned back toward Rochester and Mum picked me up 5km out of Strath. We then stopped into Rochester for a moment and head home.
Now I can start to set my attention to Bendigo and beyond!
18/7/2025 - Elmore - Rochester
18/7/2025 - Elmore - Rochester
This was the next in the series of walks connecting Echuca to Diggers Rest.
I started by driving over to Rochester early in the morning and catching the 7:44am train one station over to Elmore.
From there I caught the back road and just walked in another big straight line just like Stathallen.
I've learnt that I prefer a bit of variety in my walks and not just straight roads, that being said, I still like some straights every now and again where I can see road in front and road behind me.
This walk also caused my (semi) new shoes to start causing issues from wear and tear.
The padding around the side of my foot just below the ankle had shifted and was rubbing my foot with the aluminium frame.
I also learnt there are a few Alpacas along that farm road.
12/7/2025 - Echuca to Billabong Ranch (Kanyapella)+
12/7/2025 - Echuca to Billabong Ranch (Kanyapella)+
Today's walk was more of a filler walk, and did not contribute to my Diggers Rest connection milestone, but I did connect another 'town' that surrounds Echuca, Kanyapella.
There is not much out this way apart from the Ranch and the many farms that gradually switch from crops to livestock as you get closer to the ranch.
There is a section of bush land in between Village and Kanyapella where the 2022 floods ripped through, if you look into the tree-line, you can see the mark of the flood waters up the trunks, it is level with the levibank nearby, as far up the tree as I am tall.
As part of this walk I also connected Echuca Village, but I'm not sure if I want to count that as a separate township, I see this as more of an extension or a suburb of Echuca itself.
Kanyapella has reported population of 51 as of 2021.
5/7/2025 - Woodend to Kyneton
5/7/2025 - Woodend to Kyneton
This was the first of my planned out walks.
I took the train in the morning at 7:22 through to Woodend station, I had taken this train to Melbourne what could be over a hundred times and always loved the look of scenery around the Woodend - Macedon stretch.
So I checked out the distance between those towns on G-Maps and saw that from Woodend to Kyneton was a similar distance to my Strath walk, actually a few kilometers less, but it was still a decent distance for a few hours, and a beautiful walk, the scenery and livestock in the area were gorgeous. There was one animal I wish I hadn't seen but we wont talk about the Poo-Kangaroo.
I made it to Kyneton with nearly an hour to spare for the train home, so I caught the bus to Woolies for a snack and then walked the ~1km back to the station.
My hips held up very well on this trip with the assistance of my Sacroiliac belt and some gel pads in my shoes.
27/6/2025 - Echuca to Strath+
27/6/2025 - Echuca to Strath+
This was the first of a series of walks I am doing to rack up some km's and improve long-distance conditioning.
The idea being that I can walk between more main towns such as Echuca to Rochester.
This was a test trip to the township of Strathallen, situated roughly halfway between Echuca and Rochester at 14km and 12km respectively, the road I took follows the railway line that connects Echuca to Bendigo and Melbourne.
I unfortunately had to call in my lifeline from mum to pick me up just over halfway back, as my hips were starting to get a bit agitated, I can handled my ankles and knees causing a bit of grief, but once my hips are involved I really need to think about resting or stopping for the day.
17/5/2025 - Myrtleford Mosaic Trail
17/5/2025 - Myrtleford Mosaic Trail
I did some house-sitting for my sister a week before my birthday this year, and on one of the days I was there I checked ou part of the Mosaic Trail with her dog Zedmond. I underestimated the distance for him and it was a bit much for him in the end.
Needless to say, he slept well that night and got extra dinner.
2/4/2025 - Bendigo to Kangaroo Flat
2/4/2025 - Bendigo to Kangaroo Flat
This was unknowingly my first connection made thism year, while I was staying In bendigo, I decided to walk to the Kangaroo Flat train station and hitch a ride back to the Bendigo station and kick off.
I mainly followed the road shown on the map and there wasnt too much to note, but this along with the other walks I took during my stay showed me that I might actually be at a place I didnt think Id achieve again with my hips'.
30/3/2025 - 5/4/2025 - Bendigo Walks
30/3/2025 - 5/4/2025 - Bendigo Walks
While I was spending some time in Bendigo earlier in 2025, I filled some of my spare time with some walks.
My first walk was from one of our day trips to the Art Museum in Bendigo.
The train line between K-Flat and Bendigo station was just down the road, with trains coming through every 30 mins or so, I really enjoy watching trains go by on my walks, and any time I can I will follow a train track in the hopes of a flyby.
I unfortunately hadn't tracked the larger of my walks, but I will map it out with Google Maps to the best of my ability.
I experimented with walking to the K-Flat Train Station and riding the train to Bendigo town center and walking back to my accommodation.
Tracked trips to my spot along the tracks.
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