October 8th, 2021GDTA guidebook for walks and bike rides

MOST people heading out into the bush for a walk or a mountain bike ride don’t have all day, so the Great Dividing Trail Association has produced a new guidebook, consisting of walks and bike rides within the Daylesford region, all short enough to complete in four hours.

President Gib Wettenhall said the association had, for many years, wanted to make Daylesford’s varied terrain more easily accessible “from the vastness of the Wombat Forest to the Central Highlands’ lakes and riversides, from its abandoned railway lines to gold rush era ruins”.
“The solution is now here – a new guidebook with 20 walks and 10 bike rides – and all of the routes presented are circuits, so there’s no fiddling around with car shuttles.”
Mr Wettenhall said a team of five GDTA members with vast collective experience had specifically devised the new Central Victorian Highlands Walk and Ride Circuits guide.
“Each of the walks and rides is supported by full colour, large-scale contour maps alongside detailed accompanying track notes. Graded from easy to hard, the circuits are all within a 25km radius from Daylesford.”
The guidebook received $8000 funding from the Community Bank Daylesford & District and it is for sale for $24.99 from www.gdt.org.au/shop or the Daylesford Regional Visitor Information Centre.
Bank board member Margaret Hodge said the bank supported the project because it was a wonderful boost for locals and visitors who enjoyed the outdoors.
Bank manager Melanie Tudball said the bank was owned by local shareholders and had provided more than $100,000 in grants and sponsorships each year over the past couple of years.
“The GDTA is an amazing group of volunteers who have for almost 30 years focused on building, maintaining and promoting trails in our region. The Community Bank is pleased to support them and many other local groups.”