Strzelecki Bushwalking Club - August 2024 - Cycling

Three cylists on the trail

The Great Southern Rail Trail is a wonderful natural resource that we have right on our doorstep in Gippsland. The Rail Trail begins at Nyora and with the newest section opened extends all the way to Welshpool. The Rail Trail covers a distance of 110 km and could be extended to 143 km if users travelled all the connecting trails.

The Great Southern Rail Trail really show cases some of Gippsland’s best scenery and passes some rich dairy and beef farmland. You will find yourself cycling past cattle grazing in the paddocks and rolling hills so lushly green that it is hard to tear your eyes away. The Rail Trail passes through many Gippsland towns, so your next coffee stop is never far away. You can stay overnight in one of the towns along the trail or just complete a section in a day. The rail trail is great for cyclists, walkers and even horseback riders on some sections.

The Strzelecki Bushwalking Club regularly hosts activities along the Rail Trail and recently we held our inaugural marathon, and 15 members walked 42km from Lowry’s Road (near Foster) all the way into Leongatha. This was an amazing group effort lead by club stalwart Martin Norris. This was definitely an achievement the Club was proud of. More recently we have held bike rides from Korumburra to Leongatha and Foster to Toora, on Sunday July 21 we had nine cyclists try out the newest section from Alberton to Welshpool.

Riders outside a cafe in Welshpool

This newest section is very flat riding and passes through beautiful green farmland. The track has been made to the highest standard and makes the ride a joy. When the riders from the Strzelecki Bushwalking Club arrived at Welshpool, we had lunch at a beautiful local cafe called “The Olive Branch”. The proprietor served food all sourced in the local region and the coffee was wonderful.

Riding and walking with the Strzelecki Bushwalking Club is a great way to experience the Rail Trail. Travelling along with a group of friends enjoying the view is a very enjoyable way to spend the day and when coffee and cake are thrown in you cannot go wrong.

 Further information is available on the website at sbwc.org.au, on our Facebook page or by contacting publicity@sbwc.org.au