Whilst the trail does in fact go from Emerald to Gembrook, or vice versa depending on where you would like to start, they appear to be marked as two (they previously were) separate trails. One is the Emerald to Cockatoo Trail and the other the Cockatoo to Gembrook Multi Use Trail. The walk from Emerald to Cockatoo is 6.2km and from Cockatoo to Gembrook is 7km. We have done both trails many, many times but on our last visit here in January this year we left one car in Gembrook and drove back to Emerald and started from there. Of course, you could walk both ways totaling 26.4km but on a hot summers day none of us fancied doing that. There is also a bus service the 695 which runs from Gembrook to Belgrave seven days a week so you could walk one way and catch the bus back. I think the best, however quite a bit more expensive so not practical every time but as a one-off catching Puffing Billy one way and walking the other would be amazing. Seeing puffing Billy whilst doing this walk is always my highlight. Stopping to waive at the passengers as Puffing Billy chugs past always provides a well needed reprieve midst walk also, not to mention the happiness seen on the passengers and our faces which gives an instant recharge.
When we did this walk after leaving one car at Gembrook Puffing Billy Station we drove back to Emerald and parked in the Gemco Players Community Theatre 19 Kilvington Drive – Emerald. From here we usually pop in for lunch at either the Emerald Village Bakery or Captains of Emerald Fish and chips, whilst both are in the opposite direction to the start of our walk, they are not far at all, and both delicious. With a full tummy and well fuelled it is time to head off, our first stop is Pepi’s Land, a huge grassy area that is accessible back through the Gemco car park, walk along the track behind Emerald Primary School and cross the Puffing Billy tracks. At this stage you are looking at Pepi’s Land, we usually unless it is a wet day, head down to the outdoor gym. There is no possible better view to work out whilst looking at, the view is simply spectacular and even I will happily work out there. Ok, don’t spend too long here burning off all your energy as you have a long walk ahead of you, head back up to the path and keep walking until you reach Beaconsfield-Emerald Road, watch for cars it is a busy road and over you go.
Keep heading down Crichton Road until you get to Nobelius Heritage Park. If you have time pop in and say hello to the volunteers at the Emerald Museum which is open on Sundays 1.30pm until 4.00pm and Wednesdays 10.00am until 3.00pm. It is run by extremely friendly and knowledgeable volunteers and has some fantastic displays, memorabilia and photos dating back to early aboriginal occupancy to today. Nobelius Heritage Park is four and a half hectares of well-manicured gardens and orchards first established in 1866 by Swedish immigrant Carl Axel Nobelius. These gardens are a beautiful location to come for a picnic, as there are some well positioned picnic tables that allow you to sit under the shade of a leafy green tree or in winter choose on in what sunshine there is. The rows of Rosemary and Lavender here inspired my own garden at home, unfortunately mine do not have quite the same effect as the ones here. Once you have taken in the beauty of the gardens here head back up the hill towards the Nobelius Siding Packing Shed.
Once back up the top at the end of the car park you now have the choice of either of two paths both will take you to Emerald Lake; The Nobelius Track which runs parallel to Puffing Billy’s track giving you an up close and personal view of the magnificent steam train as he chugs past or The Pines Track which winds you down through some beautiful scenic bush to the lake. I prefer and if it is a day of my choice, we go along the Nobelius Track, it has lovely bushland to your left and the tracks to your right. Both tracks take about the same time to get to the lake roughly 15-20 minutes. Once you are at the lake you are spoilt for choices of things to do, I will make mention of them here briefly in case you are interested in doing them either on your walk or having a separate day trip to Emerald Lake.
Emerald Lake Model Railway, which might I point out is the largest model railway in the Southern Hemisphere and is absolutely incredible. It is worth every cent of the $7.00 for adults and $4.00 for children to go and see this miniature world. It is sensational; I love it so much that right now if it were not closed to the public and I had to stay inside like the rest of the world I would be heading up there to see it again now. I will add it to my list of things to do once we can all go out again and strongly advise you to do so too. I am such a big kid at heart.
Lakeside Paddleboats, yes Emerald Lake has those also and whilst we have only been on them the once, every time we go there, I admire them from affair. They are so brightly coloured that they brighten up the whole lake a dreary overcast afternoon. They are two seaters and life jackets are supplied. You pay per ride not per person and the prices are as follows: $15.00 for 15 minutes, $18.00 for 20 minutes and $28.00 for 30 minutes. Keep in mind these really wear your legs out so maybe do not go on them the same day as this walk come back and do go on them another day though. They are open on weekends, and I must apologise but I cannot remember what their opening times are and due to the current circumstances everywhere I have checked it is currently just listed as closed. Once life goes back to normal and they are open I will change this so you will all know. They are not open during the Winter months though. As promised I do have some updates hours for the paddle boats, thank you Lakeside Paddle Boats. Their hours are seasonal and subject to weather conditions, but their normal hours are: weekdays 11.30am - 4.00pm and weekends 11.30am - 4.30pm. Winter is weekends only and they do recommend to check their website before visiting to make sure.
The Café, fancy a cold drink after all the fun you have had at the lake or maybe some lunch so you can keep having fun all day long? The Café is open 7 days a week 10.30am until 4.30pm and is sometimes open later but on hotter days (that is up to managerial discretion). If it is a picnic lunch you are wanting, then why not use one of the BBQ’s which are located around the lake. They also have an outdoor gym and a playground for the kids however, I notice that the children seem to prefer the gym to the playground, that is ok as I prefer the playground. Sorry for the deviation but there is so much fun to be had at Emerald Lake I couldn’t not mention them. I do miss the old waterslides that were removed in the late 90’s. The last time I went on them would have been in 1994, on an end of year school excursion (all of 5 minutes down the road).
Time to get back to the walk, so walk across the bridge at the lake and cross the road to your right and head towards the Wombat Corner Camp, you will see to your left a blue sign with yellow writing pointing you towards Cockatoo. Now, I have had to search around the lake looking for looking for this part of the walk several, ok more than several times. Many blogs and other articles I have read about this walk describes this point as being in the top carpark closer to the Model Railway. Maybe it was just us, but we found this part super tricky to locate and had to improvise on many occasions until one day I stumbled across it nowhere near where I had expected it to be. This stretch of the walk is leafy green and quite beautiful. You will soon come to Wattle Creek which has a bridge across it, the view from the top looking down at the tops of the vividly green fern leaves is stunning. I enjoy stopping to admire the view below. To this point the walk has been flat and not in the least bit strenuous, that is about to change momentarily and as you cross over Bellbird Crescent and walk straight up the (not very strenuous) hill.
At this stage you have entered Wrights Forest, which like the lake is a whole world of its own with a variety of different paths to explore another day. Today we just kept heading through the forest and kept close to the tracks for all that we could, in the hope of getting a glimpse of Puffing Billy. By this stage we were getting hot, do not forget it was in the middle of summer and a lovely warm day. Soon we could see Bailey Road in Cockatoo, it was time for us to deter off our track and head up to the local IGA for some refreshing drinks. I distinctively remember one of the boys choosing a blue Powerade another opted for Coconut Water, whilst I was enticed by the limited edition of Lo Bros Blueberry Kombucha all 750ml of it. Whilst my drink of choice was delicious it was also very bubbly and not doing the best job at quenching my thirst. The other downside was we were only having a short break before moving on and I felt compelled to drink it all, as I didn’t want to waste it but I equally didn’t want to carry it with me all the way to Gembrook, so drank the lot I did.
Continue on we did, and the next point of interest was Fielder station, once you are here cross Belgrave-Gembrook Road, other busy one be cautious please. Until now the majority of the walk has been shaded by the canopy of trees towering above you, for this reason we usually do this section (Emerald to Cockatoo) in the Summer months. Walk up Fielder Road and you will see straight away to your left Fielderberry Farm, which we have not actually been into but one day will and of course I will report back. What will make you stop and spend some time here is the paddock of Alpacas. They are interesting creatures and will usually come over to see if you are there with food, on this occasion they did not move and inch. Some looked up as glared at us, most of them could not have cared less.
Enjoy the break here as you are about to walk up what feels like a jolly steep hill, not that it is necessarily particularly steep, but it does feel like it just goes on, and on, and on. The first time we went up here we had parked down the bottom of Fielder Road, and I remember as I was dragging myself up asking (quite loudly) are you sure we are going the right way! When you do this walk to avoid any arguments yes, it is the right way, just keep on keeping on all the way to the top. One thing that did lighten the mood and give us all a giggle was this sign, I am told the cartoon is from ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’ so the kids will get a good giggle out of it also.
Once you are at the end of Fielder Road you will again see Belgrave-Gembrook Road, this will sound crazy but cross it. You will see in front of you Mapleridge Local Produce. A small well known to the area stall of local produce ranging from jams, pickles, eggs and even plants. Everything here is fabulous, and hand made by the owner who is one of the friendliest people you will meet. What you really want to buy from here is the Chocolate Brownies, I have never had better or even close they are scrumptious. Once we picked up the car from the other end, we stopped in on the way back (could not resist). Keep walking past this not so little anymore stall (it did used to just be a small table of wares) and you will see the path, hop back on it. I must mention that the section of the walk from Cockatoo to Gembrook is the section we do during winter, as it is far more open and offers little shade. It is an excellent walk through the cold winter months were sunshine is hard to come by, as if there is any you will certainly find it here.
In my opinion this is possibly the most picturesque sections of the walk, the last stretch to Gembrook. It runs parallel to the tracks, and whilst does have a gentle incline it is not particularly strenuous. There is another sign to give us a giggle here located on one of the short steep sections, do not panic it is certainly nothing like walking up Fielder Rd.
The path here is wide and well formed to your left is acres and acres of potato crops, watch out for the huge sprinklers on a really windy day they can slip down the hill and spray right across the path, the water doesn’t smell great. The water actually smells so bad that I think it may be fertilizer, so we certainly walked well away from it. To your right is the Puffing Billy tracks and gorgeous rolling hills, it really is a sight to behold.
Another gorgeous sight along this walk is the bridge that will seem to pop out now alongside you out of nowhere and it is a gorgeous surprise. Of course, this is another stop where we take time to stand and admire our surrounds and take one or fifty photos. The scenery here really is spectacular and often we see Puffing Billy along this final stretch.
Soon you will come to Belgrave-Gembrook Road and cross it again and for the third time and walk along Station Road. This section is short but again the view to your left is stunning, the Puffing Billy tracks and behind them is rolling hills, enjoy it while it lasts as this is the end. Soon you will see the Puffing Billy Railway Station, the first thing we wanted at this stage was a big drink of water. We had left a bottle of water each in the car, but there are so many places in Gembrook including The Café at the station, Spencer’s Store, The Station House, The Independent and Gembrook Bakery to name a few. The bakery has some delicious lunches and cold drinks and is always my pick. With 13.2km done we decide to head home and chat about our next adventure, of course not before stopping in for some chocolate brownies.
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