Lagoon of Islands
Tuesday 18 May 2021
Shirley suggested a walk to Lagoon of Islands at the Steppes, and I remember visiting there with Jack Thwaites a long time ago, but I can’t recall much about it. A little research by Sue revealed quite an interesting history.
Originally it was a wetland with islands of floating vegetation but was flooded when a dam was built in 1964 to supply water for irrigation to properties along the Ouse River. This ruined the environment, and it became nutrient rich and with the decaying vegetation the water quality was terrible. In 2013 the Hydro removed the dam and carried out remediation work and the lagoon is gradually improving. It is unknown if it will return to the natural state it originally was.
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| Lagoon of Islands |
The walk starts from the access road off Interlaken Road, and we went in an anti-clockwise direction. This is the best way because the nicest parts of the circuit are found here, with good views over the lagoon and pleasant sandy sections. One spot had large eucalypts on what was virtually sand dunes and backed by an open area ending in a small shallow water body.
The day was mostly calm and sunny all the time. It took almost 4:15 for the 12.3k circuit.
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| Litter on sand bank and open grassy area |
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| Apparent track through trees making for pleasant walking |
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