Heathy Hills

Route Summary      Two quite rocky but wooded hills with lots of open areas between with overhangs with a valley between them.
Walk Description      

The Heathy Hills are partly within a State Reserve but the area is surrounded by private property.   It is approximately 189ha, 3km north east of Elderslie and is located within the Elderslie Sandstone Landforms, a very extensive complex of sandstone cliffs and caves in Triassic sandstones.

It includes characteristic examples of Inland Eucalyptus tenuiramis forest.

The boundary used to access the site on this walk is quite close to the road and the owner seems quite happy top allow walkers to cross over to the reserve.  A spot with ample parking can be found just on the northern side of a bend and at the base of a hill; it was a small quarry site. The best approach if the river is not low is through the gate to the south and down a short distance over the paddock where a crossing can usually be easily stepped over followed by another one.  If the river is low then the northern gate is the way to go and cross at the ford.  The latter crossing is the easier and more direct way to get into the gorge.

A short distance up the gorge and on the left (north eastern) side there is a spectacular arch.  A number of caves and overhangs are aloes visible and can be reached.   As  much of the reserve is fairly easy to negotiate bush, the route taken  for a walk through can be varied as much as desired.  On the main southern side of the gorge there is an old vehicle track, probably from the days when the wood was extracted. When viewed from satellite a number of these tracks can be seen but they don’t lead all the way back to the starting point.

The satellite image of the route taken is at the bottom of this post.

Clicking a photo will bring up a viewer

Arch at Heathy Hills

Map      Elderslie 1:25
Last Updated  Friday, 27 March 2015
Start Point      Clifton Vale Rd
Hazards      Cliffs
Route Conditions      Untracked within the gorge and most of the walking areas
Facilities       None
Route Grade      Various depending on where you walk, but moderate would be a fair description
Route Distance Klms     7  
Days      1
Access       West Dysart via Clifton Vale Rd or via Elderslie
Features      Sandstone features flors
Time Hours      
Time Comment      
Height Gain metres       238
Distance to Destination metres       4100
Related Links      
Google Bushwalks Blog
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