BEWARE OF SNAKES!
Actually, while the bushland that makes up Yarran Dheran may be natural for the area, it is by no means untouched. The site has quite a history - starting out as a quarry which provided stone for Whitehorse Road in its early stages, and then serving as a municipal tip for many years before being restored to its original state and being donated to the community as a reserve.The Yarran Dheran Website has a history of the site along with various pictures, maps, native animal sightings (platypus' have been seen in the creek, and koalas are not too unusual) and other information - it is a well laid out website and worth a look.
The listed coordinates will place you outside the Information Centre , but the waypoints do not have to be visited in any set order. The Information Centre is a logical place to start, in which case the vertical direction of travel will be down and then up. Alternatively, you may wish to start at the Pumping Station (there is a car park nearby) and visit the waypoints in the reverse order, which will take you up and then down.
Information Centre
Despite living less than 200m from here for more than 15 years, I think I have only ever seen the Information Centre open on one occasion - although I must admit I don't actually pass it all that often - but you can grab a few pamphlets showing the park layout and various flora and fauna walks from the boxes behind the bars even if it is closed.
| Located at |
S 37° 48.424 |
E 145° 12.216 |
you need to find the date on which it was opened
A = day of month
B = no. of letters in the month - 1
(11/10/2022)
*The information is not currently accessible at the Information Centre.
A = F - C
B = F + C
Now proceed to
The Bridge
This waypoint should find you at a bridge, under which the outflow from a number of ponds flows over a manmade waterfall down a treefern lined gully to the creek 50m further down.
| Located at |
S 37° 48.453 |
E 145° 12.297 |
you need to determine the load limit the bridge can carry, and the number of ponds nearby
C = No. of ponds - 2
D = Load limit of bridge -1
Now head on down to
The Track Junction
This waypoint sees you at the junction of a number of trails. If you have not already done it, at this point you may like to detour and do Quasar's A Bridge Over Troubled Waters, which will entail a rather bucolic streamside walk of only a few hundred metres on the same side of the creek.
| Located at |
S 37° 48.446 |
E 145° 12.362 |
You will observe one or more posts with directional arrows on them at this point
E = the number of posts (only count the posts immediately on the junction - the ones with coloured arrows)
A short downstream stroll with excellent views will lead you to
The Pumping Station
You should now see a cubic structure made of local stone which hopefully is making a distinct noise. It contains a pump which pumps water up from the creek to a small pond near the carpark at the main entrance which flows down through the ponds, over the waterfall and back to the creek. You will also see the last signs of the area's quarrying history across the creek at this point (the road running by here is named Quarry Road).
| Located at |
S 37° 48.371 |
E 145° 12.344 |
You need to count the number of hinges on the steel cover on top of the stone cube
F = no. of hinges
Now you should have enough information to head off to
The Cache
The cache should be an easy find, we were going to put it a bit further on near the edge of a very steep slope where there are great views of the creek, but thought it might be a bit dangerous for smaller geokids, however you may like to wander a little downhill and back towards the bridge and check it out on your way back to the car.
| Located at |
S 37° 48.FAD |
E 145° 12.EBC |
The cache is a 1 litre Sistema container with a few swaps - Good Luck!