MOUNT GAMBIER
 Valley Lake Walk

Return distance : 4.2 km; Time : 1 hour 30 minutes

Today’s challenge is to walk the Valley Lake Circuit, or ‘Mountain Trail’.   I start at the Mark’s Lookout car park.

There is a good view of Valley Lake from here.  Browne’s Lake to the left has now dried up.   I walk the circuit in an anti-clockwise direction, with the trail leading off from the end of the car park.

The path soon crosses the Saddle between the Valley Lake and the dry Leg of Mutton Lake to the east. With the water level gradually dropping year by year, these dry lakes are unlikely to fill again.

There are good views from the Saddle, and I am pleased there is some sunshine. The Centenary Tower can be seen on the horizon.  The trail will go by there!

Another view of the Lake from the Saddle.

We pass the old hospital and follow up alongside Hay Drive.  There is some exotic plant life along here, including this blossom.

The Centenary Tower looks quite close from here ... with a zoom lens!  The flag flying indicates that the Keeper of the Tower is present, and the Tower is open for inspection.

There are good views of the Lake from the SA Centenary Lookout.

A good set of steps leads dwon from this Lookout in the direction of the Centenary Tower.  But beware: this is a false trail!

The steps lead down a spur to the dilapidated RSL Lookout, and a dead end.  However, there is another good view from here.

Climbing back to the Centenary Lookout, we find the correct trail passing to the right of the reservoir tank, and leading away from the Lake.  There is a transmission tower by the tank.

A passing shower makes life uncomfortable, but adds character?  Walkers can't be choosers ... .

From the top of this little hill, the trail veers to the left ...

 ... coming to a steep flight of steps alongside a pine forest.  This lady had been running up and down the steps in training for a building step climb – a sort of local ‘climb the Empire State Building’ contest!

Looking down from the steps we see this flat grassy area – an old, small crater? From here we can look back on where we have been: the transmission tower, and the following ‘hill’.

I found this climb hard work.

Now we are getting closer to the Centenary Tower.  But what is this?   The flag is down, and the Keeper has gone home.

By this time we are quite a long way from Valley Lake.  Those showers are hanging around again.

This purple flowered periwinkle creeper is quite common around here.

At last I reach the Centenary Tower: the plaque unveiled in 2004 commemorating 100 years since the Tower was opened, and 50 years after Mount Gambier was declared a city.

This view from the Tower looks back across Browne's Lake to the mysterious grassy area in the distance. The RSL Lookout can just be seen on the spur at right.

Walkign down the hill from the Tower, we can look south to distant Mount Schank.

There are also nice (now sunny) views of Valley Lake.

The pine trees are looking very attractive with their clusters of new cones.

The trail levels out, and returns to Mark’s Lookout.

A final glance back.

I found this an interesting but somewhat tiring walk.  I must be getting old!!