Exploring Sunrise Track in the Warby Range

The Warby Range in NE Victoria is a great place to explore on a clear winter’s day.

We chose to visit a section of Sunrise Track, a loop walk on the eastern edge of the Warby Range, It is a small National Park with great views to the Australian Alps. There are usually lots of interesting birds here and parking is easy and few people.

My track notes from AllTrails give a bit of a guide our part of the site; https://www.alltrails.com/explore/recording/morning-walk-e2357c3?u=m&sh=jkjfs0

The following is a collection of images taken on our short walk.

Eastern Shrike-tit is a small bird with a large beak for digging out grubs under the bark of eucalypts. Their scratchy sounds tearing off bark are often heard before you see one.

Yellow tufted Honeyeater is a beautiful bird they are gregarious and noisy. I have seen a small group each time I have been here. My image does’nt do it justice.

This Yellow tufted Honeyeater was trying to hide amongst the granite rocks at the quarry.

This is a great view of the Australian Alps (far distance) and the Ovens River valley from the old quarry. Mt Buffalo is on the far right. Our mountains often don’t appear as high looking peaks. The bluish colour of australian mountains is caused by the eucalyptus scent given out by this dominant Genus eg. The Blue Mountains west of Sydney.

A closer view of Mt Buffalo with the tops hidden by cloud.

This image was taken from the carpark looking southeast shows mixed grazing farmland to the south and the blue looking Victorian Alps. The large trees in the distance are mainly River Red-gum in the valley floor with this Blakelys Red-gum in the foreground.

Typical woodland slope vegetation shown above with eucalypts like Long-leaf Box and Red Stringybark overstorey on the walk to the old granite quarry. The path is a peaceful place today all part of the Warby Ovens National Park.

The gantry for the old crane is a remnant of the past. The granite rock blocks were excavated from this cliff face and trimmed and then somehow got to the lower slopes for transport. It was ultimately used in the construction of St Patricks Catholic Church in Wangaratta some 10km away.

Overall a great place to relax.