Blue Gum loop trail — Attraction in Salisbury

The 5 of us came out of the forest bleeding. I gave it 5 stars review for each one of us who made it out alive.

Upon arrival there was a guy in the picnic area, he was trying to burn the leeches on his legs with a lighter, seems like getting rid of the leeches was more important than not getting burnt.

He tried to warn us, telling us that he only walked for 200 metres into the forest and he did a U turn. We laughed with him, and we emptied a can of aerogard on our shoes.

Just before entering the forest we laughed about him, telling ourselves that a few leeches would not stop us. We were ready and our ego was pumped up. Ah well...

The place was covered by leeches. Not sure if it was the fact that it had been raining the past few days. About 90 percent of the leeches were on the ground and were climbing on our shoes (aerogard does not work and at some point I started thinking that they actually like it). Some of us had shorts and the leeches were sucking on our legs.

We couldn't stand still at any point in the  track, we had to keep walking, shaking our legs and stomping our feet. Someone in the group with some general leech knowledge said that stomping your feet on the ground creates a vibration and alerts the leeches that someone is approaching. Everyone went quiet, and at some point we started using hand signals.

Back at the picnic area we took our clothes off and got rid of the leeches. The floor was covered with blood.

Ideally you would want high boots, long pants, socks covering the bottom of your pants.

Maybe spray the boots with...

This walk needs a review. Blue gum trail is world class walking (flora, fauna, rocks, views). However, if you go north on Rocky Crossing track it’s gotten rugged, presumably worse during pandemic. Most bridges are out and there’s at least 5 trees that have fallen across the paths, which need to be navigated, particularly the middle sections. Could be easier to return to car after pool of reflections and then drive up to get to rocky Crossing. Walking is doable but not for the fainthearted and needs a sense of adventure. Also, stick to main paths as minor paths have been reclaimed by the bush (we came a cropper round the back of the old barrington...

I recently went on the Blue Gum Loop Trail bush walk and it was absolutely fantastic! The scenery was breathtaking, and the trail itself was well-maintained and easy to navigate. The various flora and fauna along the way were fascinating and made the walk all the more enjoyable. Overall, I highly recommend this trail to anyone looking for a peaceful and scenic escape from the city. It's the perfect way to spend a day in nature and get some exercise in at...