Loves Track

Loves Track is a 6 km point-to-point walk from a gate on Bambra Road to Distillery Creek Picnic Ground. Allow about two hours for the easy-to-moderate route. It follows Loves Track to Trig Point, then descends on a narrower path through the Ironbark Gorge to the lower picnic ground. Arrange a pickup or car shuttle before you set out; this is not a loop. Pet dogs are not permitted in the national park.

The broad forest track passes tall Brown Stringybark. About 100 m from the gate, a small path on the left leads another 150 m to a moist patch where Anglesea Grevillea grows. Return the same way; the short out-and-back adds about 300 m. The plants usually flower in late October or November. Stay quiet and you may spot a shy Southern Emu-wren; Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoos use the stringybarks for breeding.

At Trig Point, take the narrow, sometimes uneven descent. There are glimpses of the coast through the eucalypts before a picnic seat opens onto Split Point Lighthouse and Aireys Inlet; Lorne can appear farther west on a clear day. Frame the lighthouse with the inlet below it for the route’s most distinctive view. The path then drops through ironbarks beside the sheer edges of Ironbark Gorge. Keep well back from the cliff edge on the way to the picnic ground.