Plenty Gorge
Plenty Gorge Park offers a wide range of natural and cultural experiences only 20 km from Melbourne, where the spectacular gorge sets a backdrop for stunning landscape views and the abundant native wildlife are always on show.
Red Gum Picnic Area
Parking
There two designated disabled parking spaces each of 3.6 metres in width. Both parks share a central access way for loading that is 2.7 metres wide. The car park surface is asphalt and is level. The two disabled spaces are located directly in front of the toilet block.
Toilet Facilities
There is an accessible unisex toilet located on the side of the building away from the car park. The cubicle is fitted with an inward opening swing door. It is light to open and is fitted with a self closer. There is a low vertical handle on the outside of the door and an internal rotating lock fitted with a wing type handle. The door can be opened and locked with finger dexterity or strength. The toilet seat is 420 millimetres high and is fitted with a side grab bar only. There is wheelchair space beside the toilet. The flush is located low down level with the side grab bar. The flush buttons and raised. The hand basin has clear space underneath it with no exposed hot water pipes. The tap is a fluted handle twist type that requires finger dexterity and strength
Picnic Area
Red Gum picnic area is a large flat grassed field easily accessed from the car park. There are picnic tables provided. They are the fixed side seating type with 225 millimetre overhangs. The tables are all on small concrete pads.
Playground
There is a playground behind the main toilet block. It is on open ground. The main play area is covered with tanbark and surrounded by a plastic edging approximately 75 millimetres high. The playground has several ground level play features.
Hawkestowe Picnic Area
The Hawkestowe Picnic area is on two levels
Lower Car Park.
The lower car park gives access to the picnic facilities and a large grassed area. The car park has a designated disabled parking area although the individual bays are not marked. There is a loading area next to the bay that is marked with raised sleepers 75 millimetres high. The surface of the car park is gravel and level.
Picnic Area
Entry to the picnic area is at the opposite end of the car park to the disabled parking spaces. Level access is provided through the garden to the flat grassed area. There are gravel paths running through the area. The paths are all level and are a fine hard packed gravel.
Two picnic pavilions are located to the left. Each is accessed by a gravel path and has a level concrete floor. The picnic tables are steel framed with fixed side seating and a small 225 millimetre overhang at either end. A BBQ is between the two pavilions. It has two hotplates at a working height of 800 millimetres and is push button operated. The buttons are recessed and require flinger dexterity to operate them within their recessed surrounds. The BBQ has a two wing benches at the same 800 millimetre height. The BBQ surround is fine crushed gravel.
A second BBQ area is located to the right of the path from the car park at the base of the hill leading to the homestead. The BBQ is of identical design but there are two picnic tables with a 460 millimetre overhang to allow wheelchair users to sit front facing at these tables.
Upper Car Park
Upthe hill from the lower car park is the old Le Page homestead. It can be reached by a path across the lawn but it is uphill for 200 metres at an approximate 1 in 14 slope. Manual wheelchair users would require assistance. The path leading from the designated disabled parking spaces has no steps.
An alternative parking area is located between the homestead and the outbuildings. There are no designated disabled parking spaces. The parking area is a level gravel surface.
The toilets for the Hawkestowe picnic area are located at the rear of the Le Page homestead off the rear patio. The path and patio are paved with brick. The disabled toilet is a unisex facility and is located on the side of the house on the far side of the rear patio/courtyard. The door opens outward and only requires light effort. The handle is a lever type that pushes down. It is close to the door some finger dexterity and strength would be required. The internal lock is a rotary type with a wing type handle that can be operated without finger dexterity. It is mounted below the entry handle.The room is large with space for a wheelchair beside the toilet. The seat height is 420 millimetres and it is fitted with side and rear grab bars. The flush unit is located behind the toilet at a height of about 950 millimetres above the floor. The buttons are raised and can be operated without flinger dexterity or strength. The hand basin has clear space underneath it and all pipes are protected. The tap is a lever flick style with long handle requiring only light pressure to operate it. There is a push button soap dispenser at a height of 950 millimetres from the floor and an automatic hand dryer at the same height on the other side of the basin. There is a bin in the room.
The rear patio has a great view over the old farm and the large dam below. It is a large area and there are two tables with movable chairs that allow wheelchair users to sit at them front facing. The are large trees offering protection from the summer sun.
The verandah areas of the Le Page homestead are wide and level with the car park allowing wheelchair access to the arts school when it is open.
Yarrambat Picnic Area.
The Yarrambat Picnic area is off the Yan Yean road on the other side of the Plenty Gorge Park. It is a small area with large grassed areas for play.
Parking
The car park has two designated disabled parking spaces that are 4 metres wide each. They adjoin a centre access area which is two metres wide. The two parking bays are directly in front of the toilet block.
Toilets
The toilet block is 30 metres from the car park along a level brick paved path. It has one unisex cubicle located between the male and female entrances. It has a large outward swing door with a small vertical “D” type handle on the outside. There is no latch to open but the handle is small and close to the door which would require some finger dexterity and grip to open. There is no handle on the inside to close the door other than the small wing handle of the rotating door lock.
The is ample room inside and space beside the toilet for a wheelchair. The toilet seat is high at 530 millimetres from floor level. There are side and rear grab bars fitted. The flush is immediately behind the toilet just above the rear grab bar. It is an unusual twist type with a 50 millimetre by 19 millimetre handle. Only light effort is required to operate it.
The hand basin has clear space beneath it with no exposed hot water pipes.
Picnic Facilities
Beside the toilet block in front of the car park is a large grassed area with several electric BBQs and picnic tables. The BBQs are electric with a small recessed push button control. The height is 800 millimetres. There sit on large brick paved surrounds.
The picnic tables are steel framed with fixed bench seating on either side. The table tops have a 225 millimetre overhang at either end but sit on small concrete pads that are not large enough to accommodate a wheelchair. A the back of the area is a picnic pavilion. It has a brick paved floor, and electric BBQ with a working height of 800 millimetres and two tables that have fixed seating on three sides and an open side for wheelchair users. The front of the pavilion has a 75 millimetre lip from the grassed area but the rear of the pavilion is level with the surrounding grass.
On the opposite side of the car park is a large playing field. There are three more picnic tables and a small rotunda that is accessible directly from the car park.
Yellow Gum Recreation Area.
Parking
There is no designated disabled parking in the small gravel car park. The surface is course stones that can be up to 25 millimetres in diameter. Entry to the picnic area is through a gate. There are small entry areas on either side of the gate but a larger gap to the right behind the shrub. The surface is quite rough with large stones. The gap is 1.4 metres wide.
Picnic Area
The picnic area is up the path to the right which is gravel and has an approximate slope of 1 in 14 for about 80 metres.
The picnic area is large and flat with a grass surface. There are several electric BBQs here with a working height of 850 millimetres. The BBQs are located on a concrete slab that is a metre around the BBQ. They are operated by a small recessed push button switch. The picnic tables are a square design with three fixed seats and one open side to accommodate a wheelchair or people bringing their own chair for back support. The tables are located on a natural surface allowing ample room around each table. At the rear of the picnic area is a large pavilion. It has one fixed table of the same accessible design with room for two more portable tables.
Toilets
There is a toilet block at the rear of the area but there are no disabled facilities.
Blue Lake Observation Platform
The Yellow Gum picnic area is renown for its views over the blue lack in the Plenty Gorge below. It can be seen from two viewing platforms. The upper platform is best accessed by taking the left hand road near the entry gate and then following the right hand branch below the toilet block. There is a path from the toilet block that joins the main path but its gradients exceed 1 in 10 and the surface is rough and rutted. The upper viewing platform looks down on the lake and is a wide area of natural earth.
The path to the lower platform is over 600 metres in length and has long sections with gradients in excess of 1 in 10.
