By JESSE GRAHAM
DELIGHTFUL water-play and picnic opportunities await those who are willing to travel off the beaten track, with Little Peninsula Tunnel, located past Warburton.
The tunnel was originally created in the 1860s, years before towns like Healesville began to exist, and was created to divert the course of the Yarra River, providing opportunities to search for gold.
Travellers will easily be able to find the tunnel area, with signs clearly marked along Woods Point Road – the tunnel lies around 14 kilometres east of Warburton, a few kilometres out of Reefton.
Once arriving, a path leads visitors to either side of the tunnel, with one bearing a picnic area and a quiet place to sit and the other an amazing view of the tunnel’s mouth and the flowing river that emerges from it.
The river isn’t quite deep enough to swim properly, as it is in Warburton, but is deep enough to wander out and enjoy the cool waters, whether sitting or standing.
Being so far removed from both Warburton and Reefton, the only sounds at Little Peninsula Tunnel are the birds and animals in the surrounding forest and the river rushing through the rock face.
Heading toward the picnic ground, visitors will be able to walk on a small bridge that runs over the tunnel entrance.
There is sporadic tree cover in most of the area, so it’s recommended that visitors use sunscreen on warm days – and bring insect repellent because March flies are a common occurrence in the summer months.
Around a kilometre up the road is Big Peninsula Tunnel, another tunnel cut into a rock face, which has similar facilities and stepping stones where travellers can hop over the river as it passes underfoot.
Due to the remote nature of the tunnels, visitors should bring their own food and water – or stop in Warburton or Reefton for a bite after their visit.
