A Day Hike: Myrtle Gully Circuit

Toolangi State Forest

By Thomas Feng

June 10^th, 2020

A dusty, gravel road greeted us as we drove into the outskirts of Toolangi. Clouds of wafting dust swirled behind. The trees of the forest grew taller and taller and the potholes even deeper as I swung a turn into the Wirrawilla Carpark.

Gemma joined Michelle and I on a day-trip out to the Toolangi State Forest. Nestled between Kinglake and Healesville and just over an hour out of Melbourne, it is an often overlooked place for camping and hiking, with some of Victoria's oldest trees in the protected forest.

Giant Trees

The Myrtle Gully Circuit begins after passing by the Wirrawilla Rainforest (more on that later). Immediately if you look up, there are trees towering up skywards which have survived numerous bushfires and logging over their centuries of life.

Myrtleford Gully Circuit

The 8.5km circuit is actually half of a larger 17.3km Tanglefoot Loop Trail, which wraps around Mt Tanglefoot, and is named aptly for the many vines, sticks and barks which may wrap around your feet if you're not careful throughout the walk.

Blankets of ferns kept us cool from the dry sun, as we trudged our feet along the dirt. At times, the dirt was muddy with puddles, so definitely wear your hiking boots, especially if it has rained recently.

The first few km's are all up-hill. Nothing too steep, but you'll definitely want to have water and snacks to catch your breath. The thick forest makes you feel like you're an explorer, uncovering whatever comes in front of you as you try to make sense of your surroundings.

Gemma challenges us to do a heel-click jump and it becomes our mission throughout our entire walk (much to our own amusement).

Throughout the walk, we catch up with Gemma on the craziness of life. From sudden job changes to sudden job finds through LinkedIn, to what was at the time the impending unknown and doom from coronavirus, it had been a wild month of stressful elation.

The creek burbled louder and the ferns seemingly grew taller while we descended down the second half of the track. Moss covered the raised wooden walkways, as you walked along the forest's understory.

We snaked downhill towards the end of the trail, where the moss covered most surfaces.

Wirrawilla Rainforest Walk

Rather than heading straight back to the car park at the end of the trail, we detoured into the Wirrawilla Rainforest Walk.

As we entered the boardwalk, a gentle blast of fresh, humid air kissed our skin. The trickling streams peacefully hushed out all other noise. And we all couldn't help but marvel and widely grin at this little piece of magic we'd discovered.

On our way home after devouring giant burgers in Yarra Glen, Taio Cruz's Dynamite came on the radio, and Gemma and I screamed our lungs out until our throats were sore for the next week.

This day trip was the final big moment of pre-coronavirus joy. As restrictions gradually ease, and we're allowed to go outside again, I'm hoping to rekindle these feelings of exasperating invigoration from being in nature, and a sense of playfulness and fun in friendship.