Riparian Walk #4 – County Creek, Ruffy

It was a wintry but clear morning in Ruffy, where 21 nature enthusiasts met to tackle the County Creek gorges. Starting again at the Ruffy CFA shed before driving down to the starting point where the County Creek intersects the Longwood-Ruffy Rd, the tradition of the first part of the walk being the hardest was upheld. A quick scramble down the creek bed and back up the other side ensured a serene start to the walk, with an easy meander through some paddocks, following the Country Creek to our first stop, the falls.

A massive lump of granite churns the County Creek before a steep descent back to its creek bed. This is a fantastic spot unlike any other that we’ve encountered on these walks.

The County Creek Falls

After descending down the side of the falls, another short stint beside the creek followed before reaching the first scramble of the walk. These small, steep sections were scattered throughout the journey as we descended into the gorges. In some parts, walking beside the creek was too difficult as there was little bank or heavy scrub surrounding it. This was however a great opportunity to walk along the top of the gorges and get a breathtaking birds-eye view of the County Creek.

Very few blackberries were spotted, as is the case with most walks, tended to be found in clusters. As is becoming a theme on these walks, some very quiet wallabies and a few skittish wombats were sighted, and a particular healthy looking Blue Tongue Lizard was spotted while scouting the walk a few weeks earlier.

A quiet Blue Tongue Lizard getting some precious sun

The walk started at 9am and concluded around 1pm, with the paddock walking making the walk much faster than normal. Total length was around 7km, but there were some major discrepancies between walker’s phone GPS tracking apps.

A series of geo-tagged photos has been uploaded to the SRCMN Flickr for public viewing.

Thanks to all of the walkers who came, to Justus Hagen for gaining permission from landholders for this walk, and to the generous landholders (the Hill family) for allowing us access to the creek through their properties.