Beware of the Bunyip

***Trip dates have been updated to 7th-8th June***

Join us on a bikepacking expedition deep into Bunyip State Park, a little known forest east of Melbourne with isolated valleys and towering trees. We'll ride from Belgrave station along the Eastern Dandenong Ranges, tracing the route of the Puffing Billy (sightings possible) and stop for lunch along the way, before plunging down into the Back Creek Valley in the Bunyip State Park to find a spot to camp. The next day, we'll wind our way out of the forest and head to Longwarry to take a Vline train home.

This is an intermediate trip, so we recommend having some bikepacking experience to participate, but chat to us if you’re keen to come but unsure if you’d be suited.

Surface: Along the Eastern Dandenong Ranges rail trail and the roads in the Bunyip State Park we might encounter rough gravel, so tyres of at least 30mm are required.

Itinerary:

Friday 7th June (40km, 597m elevation gain):

• Meet at the clubrooms at 9am
• Ride down to Melbourne Central station and catch the 9:44 Belgrave train
• Arrive in Belgrave at 10:56am, and start the ride
• Arrive at Nash Creek Campground by 5pm (stop for lunch along the way, maybe in Gembrook)
• Relax
• Cook some dinner
• Sleep

Saturday 8th June (39km, 353m elevation gain):

• Wake up at 8am
• Start riding at 9am
• Arrive in Longwarry by 1pm and have lunch
• Take the 2:16pm train to the city
• Arrive back at the clubrooms by 4pm

Route

Day 1:

Day 2:

Participant requirements

• Have a roadworthy bike with 30mm tyres (it's possible to hire one from a shop if you don’t have one)
• Be a competent bike rider
• Be able to pack all your overnight gear onto your bike (you can hire some MUMC bikepacking gear to help you)
• Know how to replace a punctured tube (can learn how to do this from a youtube video)
• Have a good understanding of how to navigate using GPS