Bushy Park Traditional Cache
This cache has been locked, but it is available for viewing.
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(micro)
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Another cache along the Dandenong Creek trail. Please enjoy this
cache with the many others along this trail.
Bushy Park Wetlands is a 30 hectare conservation park nestled at
the north eastern edge of Glen Waverley. The Park is bounded at the
north by a remnant orchard accessed from the eastern end of
Highbury Road. The southern boundary, near the pony club at
Drummies Bridge Reserve, is accessed from High Street Road. The
Park's eastern boundary is Dandenong Creek and its western boundary
is formed by residential properties in King Arthur Drive and
Knights Drive.
A section of the Dandenong Creek Trail provides vantage points
overlooking the scenic wetlands.
Originally, the land was timbered with Yarra Gum (Eucalyptus
yarraensis) and about 65 other species of native trees, shrubs and
grasses. The Woiworung Aboriginal tribe roamed through the area in
search of food for thousands of years before European
settlement.
In 1839, Thomas Napier obtained a lease to run cattle, but just a
year later he transferred the lease to Alexander Scott, whose wife
Madeline named her home on the east of Dandenong Creek "Bushy
Park". A succession of owners cleared the timber. Acacia bark was
used in the production of tannin to tan hides. The land was used to
run cattle, as a market garden, for cut flowers and as an orchard.
By 1981, the land was acquired by the former Melbourne Metropolitan
Board of Works for use as a park and wetland. Today Parks Victoria
designates most of the area as a conservation zone, although some
of the area is agisted for equestrian needs.
An amazing 90 bird species have been recorded in the area, ranging
from water birds to bushland and farmland birds. You are likely to
see pelicans and ducks on the northern and southern lakes.
Spoonbills and herons may be observed searching for food at the
water's edge. Use the bird hide and interpretive signage to help
see and identify as many birds as you can (also accessible for
wheelchairs). On the grasslands, insects, perhaps stirred up by the
cattle, attract Willy Wagtails, Magpies and Cattle Egrets. White
Cockatoos, Galahs and White Ibis are often seen perched on tree
branches. Overhead can be spotted the Black-shouldered Kite
featured on the brand image for Bushy Park and other birds of prey
like Brown Falcons and Australian Kestrels.
Additional Hints
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