Macedon Ranges Walking Trail

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Longer walking trail that weaves in and out of Macedon Regional Park through the wider Macedon Ranges landscape.

☰ Trail details

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Distance

14.28 km

Est. time

4 hr 37 min

Elevation gain

595 m

Route type

Point to point

Steepest stretch: +105m over ~300m (around the 8.8km mark)

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In an emergency

Call 000 for police, fire or ambulance — Australia's emergency number works even with a weak signal, and without a SIM if any carrier has coverage.

You're in Macedon Regional Park, Macedon Ranges, VIC. Mobile reception in this area is not guaranteed — this is exactly why the offline map and GPS position on this page work without signal.

Tell someone your plan and expected return time before you set off. A PLB is the most reliable backup where there's no reception at all.

Tracks & plans

+ Add to tracks / plans

Species to look for on this trail

Ancient trees and rare flora confirmed in this park. Spot one? Add it as a sighting pin below.

Victorian Christmas BushDocumented on this trail

Prostanthera lasianthos

Vulnerable — VIC: Vulnerable▾

Vulnerable — VIC: Vulnerable

Prostanthera lasianthos, commonly known as the Victorian Christmas bush or coranderrk , is a large shrub or small tree of the mint family, Lamiaceae, which is native to Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania in Australia. It grows up to 10 m (35 ft) high but is usually much less and is found in wet sclerophyll forests, often beside creeks. Its flowers, which appear in profuse sprays, are about 2 cm long and white or pale lilac, with purple and orange blotches in the throat. They appear in late spring and summer, and specifically around Christmas time in Victoria. The fragrant, toothed leaves are 4 to 12 cm long and about 1.5 cm wide.

How to spot it

Prostanthera lasianthos is the largest member of the mint bush genus Prostanthera. Highly variable in habit, it ranges from a 10-metre-high (30 ft) tree in sheltered forest to a 2-metre-high (7 ft) shrub in exposed montane areas. Arranged oppositely (arising in pairs) along the stems on 0.6–1 cm long petioles, the dark green lanceolate to ovate leaves are 4 to 12 cm (sometimes 15 cm ) long and about 1.0-3.2 cm wide and taper to an acute apex. The leaf undersurface is paler. The flowers appear an

Family Lamiaceae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Victorian Christmas Bush

Spotted Hyacinth-OrchidDocumented on this trail

Dipodium pardalinum

Endangered — VIC: Endangered, SA: Vulnerable▾

Endangered — VIC: Endangered, SA: Vulnerable

Dipodium pardalinum, commonly known as spotted hyacinth-orchid or leopard hyacinth-orchid, is a leafless hemiparasitic orchid that is endemic to south-eastern Australia.

How to spot it

For most of the year, plants are dormant and have no above-ground presence. Below the ground lie fleshy roots. Flower spikes between 40 and 90 cm in height appear between December and March in the species' native range. These racemose inflorescences have 10 to 40 white to pale pink fleshy flowers with dark red spots or blotches. The tepals are strongly recurved and the three-lobed labellum has a line of white hairs.

Family Orchidaceae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Dipodium pardalinum

Photo via NatureShare (CC-BY), collected by David Francis

Dwarf Silver-Wattle

Acacia nanodealbata

Vulnerable — VIC: Vulnerable▾

Vulnerable — VIC: Vulnerable

Acacia nanodealbata, known colloquially as dwarf silver-wattle, is a species of Acacia native to Australia.

How to spot it

Real occurrence confirmed near Macedon Regional Park (Atlas of Living Australia, 1976) — no separate physical description was available on Wikipedia for this species, see the source link for more.

Family Fabaceae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Acacia nanodealbata

Wildlife you might see on this trail

Animals confirmed in this park. Spot one? Add it as a sighting pin below.

Freckled Duck

Stictonetta naevosa

Endangered — NSW: Vulnerable, VIC: Endangered, SA: Vulnerable▾

Endangered — NSW: Vulnerable, VIC: Endangered, SA: Vulnerable

The freckled duck is a waterfowl species endemic to Australia. The freckled duck has also been referred to as the monkey duck or oatmeal duck. These birds are usually present in mainland Australia, but disperse to coastal and subcoastal wetlands in the dry period. During such times it is common for the freckled duck population to congregate in flocks in the same area, giving the impression that they are more common than they really are.

How to spot it

The freckled duck has a distinctive appearance.

Family Anatidae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Freckled Duck

Barking Owl

Ninox connivens

Critically Endangered — NSW: Vulnerable, VIC: Critically Endangered▾

Critically Endangered — NSW: Vulnerable, VIC: Critically Endangered

The barking owl or barking boobook, also known as the winking owl, is a nocturnal bird species native to mainland Australia and parts of New Guinea and the Moluccas. They are medium-sized brown owls and have a characteristic voice with calls ranging from a barking dog noise to an intense human-like howl.

How to spot it

Real occurrence confirmed near Macedon Regional Park (Atlas of Living Australia, date unrecorded) — no separate physical description was available on Wikipedia for this species, see the source link for more.

Family Strigidae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Barking Owl