Overview

The Carlyle Bushland Reserve is a magic, peaceful place home to native trees and shrubs providing habitat for mandy birds and kangaroos. It is a place to enjoy peace and quiet amongst native trees and shrubs. There is a choice of a 1.6km loop track around the 24 hectare site, or shorter tracks through the middle.

A gate in the south west corner leads onto a closed section of Kilborn Road and a 700m link to the Rutherglen Wahgunyah Rail Trail. The Carlyle Bushland Reserve was established in 1998 by the Rutherglen Landcare Group and the Rutherglen School in an effort to control the salinity in the south east corner of the site. Tall wheat grass is now growing to mitigate the salinity.

Route Details

  • Short Walks

  • 2 kms

  • 30 minutes

  • Grade 1

  • Circuit Walk

  • Nature Walks

View Route on Map

Start
Walking

Start Walking: The Carlyle Bushland Reserve is 4km north of Rutherglen.

1

Start at Kilborn Road (closed section) adjacent to the fenced reserve. Follow the dirt road in a south west direction. At the 700m mark there is a timber framed gate on the right.

Indigo Shire Council

A landscape restored

This unique walk shows how an environment can be brought back from the brink thanks to community efforts. Established by the Rutherglen Landcare group as a project of the North East Salinity Strategy Implementation (NESSI) in 1998, this 24 hectare reserve started life as a way of mitigating the effects of dryland salinity.

Carlyle Bush Reserve
Indigo Shire Council

2

Go through the gate and connect with the fence line on the left. Continue to follow the fence all the way around the reserve. Explore the reserve at any point of the walk using the map as a reference.

A quick environmental science lesson: salinity is an accumulation of salt in the soil, often caused by the removal and replacement of deep-rooted plants like trees with shallow rooted crops and pasture which can lead to groundwater rising and dissolve the salts that are otherwise held deep below the surface.

Salinity

3

Not far from the reserve are the grand All Saints Estate with its award-winning restaurant, The Terrace, and, next door, the sustainably built and run, Valhalla Wines. In early Spring, canola fields surrounding the reserve are an Instagrammer’s delight, ablaze with yellow.

Take either the outside perimeter or the many tracks criss-crossing the reserve – the choice is yours! Expect to see plenty of wildlife including kangaroos and many different types of bushland birds which provide a constant soundtrack along the way.

4

A gate at the south west corner of the reserve leads to a closed section of Kilborn Road and a 700 metre link to the Rutherglen Wahgunyah Rail Trail which offers a fantastic, off-road bike path linking the towns and the many wineries in between.

Indigo Shire Council

Spring Creek Bridge

Landcare Group volunteers, together with the North East Catchment Authority and local Scouts and the not-for-profit environmental group, Greenfleet, pulled out all stops to plant 12,000 native trees and shrubs at this site. The result is a forest of eucalyptus trees, melaleucas, wattles, grasses and other plants, offering habitat to several bird and animal species.

Forest of trees

End Walking: Once at Carlyle Hopetoun Road either follow the fence line or the main road through to Kilborn Road passing the Reserve sign.

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