DATE: TBD

Distance EST: 20.7km

Duration EST: 4 Hours 33 Minutes

Ive been craving a return to flatter ground following the last walk, don't get me wrong, I love being in the Castlemaine area, but I think I need to give the hills a break, plus my only remaining portion for the mountainous areas will require some extra planning (K-Flat > Castlemaine).

I have fond memories of the last walk I did in the Riddells Creek area, so I definitely want to make sure I pick a ripper of a day in the weather forecast.

Stay tuned for the date on this next stretch.

Date: TBD

Distance EST: 40km

Duration EST: 8 Hours 59 Minutes

• Via Harcourt North

For this one I think I will need to split it into two separate walks, with Harcourt North as the mid-point.

As happy as I am with my progress, I don't quite think I'm quite at 40km range just yet.

But this is one of the stretches that inspired this particular project, Ive always loved the K-Flat to Castlemaine stretch on the train, not only does it have an awesome looking dirt road siding the tracks, but it has an obstacle I'll need to maneuver:

The Big Hill Tunnel. 

One of two nearly 400m tunnels which connects the Bendigo line through the difficult terrain, was completed in 1860 to accommodate the Northern Victorian wool trade and Bendigo gold rush of the 1800's, and to this day, it takes you to a depth underground where the pressure change causes the ears to pop.

I'd love to time the train perfectly to see it enter, or even better, exit the tunnel at speed, this is the section of track where the speed limit increases to the V/Locity's top speed of 160km/h heading all the way down to Melbourne.