2025-07-04 -37 144

Location

In Gough's Range State Park, south of Maldon.

Participants

Tom

Expedition

Today my partner Miriam was able to pick up Max from school, so a slightly more ambitious geohash was a real possibility. I checked the app shortly after getting up and the geohashing gods had delivered. Slightly south of Maldon. I probably had enough hours if my legs were up to the task.

I dropped Max off at school, did some domestic duties at home and headed out shortly after 11am. First stop was Flora Hill Bakehouse. It's a mediocre bakery, but it's on the way and I'd need the calories. I wolfed down a Shepherd's pie and grabbed a chocolate hedgehog for the road.

The second stop was not far from the first. At the turn off to the One Tree Hill an older gentleman decked out in full steam punk regalia had parked his bespoke micro van. He was retrieving a jerry can of petrol from the boot. The van was next level awesome, complete with a whistle. I had a quick chat and took a photo, but I was keen to get going.

I'd had Girlfriend by *NSYNC stuck in my head all morning, so I queued it up and for once Spotify aced the follow up. R’n’B Friday was an excellent choice for a sunny morning. I took Mandurang South road and it was stunning. Baby lambs, kangaroos and even a small flock of alpacas. And not a car to speak of.

Next I turned on to the Leanganook Track, which at this point follows a channel that brings water north to Bendigo. I'm suspicious they don't use it much any more, and there certainly wasn't much water in it today. I bumped into a couple resting in a small shelter and decided to be polite and paused my speaker. (At this point it was blasting TLC’s Whatta Man). They informed me that they'd left their bikes further up the trail and that I'd be doing well if I rode up the next section. They weren't wrong. The channel at this point goes through a number of tunnels and cuttings. The path does not and I struggled to keep traction on the rocky path. I made it to the top and was grateful for the low gearing on my bike.

I left the track at Harcourt North Road, as I was concerned that continuing might add significant climbing. This turned out to be a bad move, as the road had no shoulder and I almost got wiped out by a black 4wd at the crest of the pass. Thankfully a swooping Nankeen Kestrel in a nearby farm quickly took my mind off the near death experience. At the base of the range, I may have stolen an apple from one of the many orchards in the area, and it may have been delicious.

There aren't too many options for crossing the Chandler Hwy, so I had to do a little backtracking to Fogarty’s Gap Rd. The climb to the gap started nearly immediately after crossing the highway. A completely superfluous road sign indicated step grades and my legs were starting to feel it. Thankfully the other side of the gap was a long gradual descent, and even though the road lacked a shoulder for safety, I put it in a big gear and headed towards Maldon.

After stopping at a derelict drag line, I made it to Maldon train station. To my surprise, the steam train was preparing for a return trip to Castlemaine. (The train runs Wednesdays and Sundays, but it can also be chartered). I called Max to show him the train, but it was leaving in 10 minutes and I was running out of daylight, so I didn't wait. By this stage I was out of water and had finished the hedgehog. The lollie shop was filled with kids, so I went to the nearby take-away, who freshly made me a chicken wrap that perfectly hit the spot.

The road out of Maldon was a similar shoulderless descent and I was soon turning onto Gough's Range Rd. Not only was it sealed, but so was Lower Track, possibly because it is a pretty steep grade. The hash was on the banks of a dried up dam in a depression which I'm suspicious was once a small open cut mine. After a scramble down the loose stone banks, I used the dry dam bed to avoid some bush bashing and reached the hash.

The route home involved getting the train from Castlemaine. It was a relief to get off the busy country thoroughfares and onto quiet dirt backroads. I took Sandy Creek Rd and Pullans Rd and instead of worrying about cars, all I had to concern myself with was the occasional corrugated section of gravel. Gowar State School closed exactly 100 years before Julia Gillard's stimulus funding in 2008, and it showed (see photo). I found myself on the same Donkey Farm Track that I used to complete the hash in May. It was much less stressful on a bike than in the Honda Jazz. Before long I was on the Castlemaine-Maldon Rail Trail. There was a long wait for the next train, so I caught up with a friend who works in the Castlemaine bike shop. We picked up his children from child care which turned out to be 50m from the station. Max and Miriam met me at the other end of the uneventful train trip, which was doubly nice as I'd forgotten lights and it was well past sunset. I was home shortly after 6pm. A great geohash for the memory books!