Aldgate Valley Nature Trail

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Posted 2015-09-25 by Steve Hudson ⇒ follow

Starting from the centre of Aldgate opposite the popular Aldgate Bakery, the takes walkers on an easy-to-moderate hike through a group of reserves and rarely used road corridors to Mylor, a distance of some 6km. One of the main purposes of the trail is to highlight best practice management in terms of bushland rehabilitation and to showcase the corridor that has been created for native fauna to pass through in a harmless manner.

The large information sign in the car park near the toilets opposite the Aldgate Bakery provides a great description of the trail and a brochure with some information about the walk, including the much needed map. We head towards the Aldgate Pump and became immediately buoyed by the fact that we have already seen three direction markers, a trait which continues throughout the whole trail.

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The trail continues along the footpath alongside the Strathalbyn Road past the Aldgate Primary School where we contribution by the school to the trail. A bit further along the road we pass the Stirling Bush Cemetery, and again note efforts to help contribute to the trail. Interpretive signs at each of these locations also explains what has and is being done in order to ensure the sustainability of the trail and the wildlife corridor.

The trail now continues through some back laneways through what is known as the Valley of the Bandicoots wildlife corridor. The Southern Brown Bandicoot is an endangered marsupial which nests in the thick bushland, similar to that alongside the trail. Allegedly bandicoots are shy creatures and often hard to spot in the wild, and despite my efforts to search high and low for one, I could not see one.

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Notwithstanding the absence of the bandicoots, we continued along the trail noting the extensive plantings over the years in an effort to restore this part of the walk back to the natural lands that it once was prior to human settlement. These plantings are supplemented by weed removal, much of which has disappeared apart from a few winter sour-sobs.

Leaving the laneways the trail passes through the Aldgate Valley Reserve where Aldgate Creek meanders through the centre of the Reserve and creating a scenic watercourse. Some tables and chairs provide a resting spot for a picnickers to explore this reserve which features numerous spring flowering wildflowers and spectacular fungi.

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Leaving the Reserve, the trail is suitable only for walkers due to its single trail nature and walking through some of the more delicate environments. Initially we maintain our focus on rarely used roads or road corridors or reserves and we pass through the Nurrutti Reserve, Kyle Road Reserve, Camp Gooden and the Mylor Parklands. The latter path of the trail also has single trail paths which cross a couple of creeks over some well placed stones, which provides a great position to view the natural up and downstream flora.

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After several different changes of environment from ferns and tall trees, we pass through several groves of wattles and spring flowering native shrubs. The trail ends at the northern end of Mylor alongside Leslie Creek Road, where walkers can either return as they came, walk back along the pleasant Aldgate Valley Road or call for a lift to return them back to Aldgate.