We took a bicycle trip to Warburton over the long weekend in September. We rode about 40 km on the Lilydale to Warburton Rail Trail and stayed overnight in Warburton.

Unfortunately, it rained relentlessly, and we arrived in Warburton wet, cold and dirty. Our hotel didn’t have laundry and we hadn’t brought any spare clothes, so we spent the rest of the day in our room waiting for our clothes to dry.

The next morning was nice and we went for a walk along the Yarra River. Our hotel (Alpine Hotel) was right next to the trail.

Sign reads:

Upper Yarra River Reserve Walking Tracks Warburton
Beware of track hazards – proceed with care
Birrarung

We came across (and crossed) few nice bridges.

Sign reads:

Moorool, Great Water

Billibellary, who was a headman of the Woiwurrung Kulin, told the story of the time when the waters of the Yarra were once locked in the mountains.

This great expanse of water was called Moorool, or Great Water. It was so large that the Woiwurrung had little hunting ground. This was in contrast with the Wothowurungs and the Bunurongs, whose hunting ground was the lovely flat which is now Port Phillip Bay.

Barwool, a Woiwurrung headman, remembered an earlier attempt by Mo-Yarra to free the land and decided to try again to release the great water.

Barwool cut a channel up the valley using his stone axe.

It was a very pleasant walk. If you are in Warburton, I definitely recommend it. We walked about 5 km total.