The possibility of a walking and cycling trail along the route of the Chinese gold seekers of the 1850’s is being explored by a group of 4 cyclists from The Golden Trail– Robe to Bendigo Committee, who recently passed through Maldon on Day 10 of their 650km journey.

They passed through 18 towns staying in camping grounds (or in a motel when the heavy rains came during the South Australian floods mid January).

To add novelty to their trip they put their bikes on the train at Maldon for the journey to Castlemaine, then Chewton, Mt. Alexander and through to finish at the Chinese Golden Dragon Museum at Bendigo.

The intended trail, the Gold Trail, will pass through towns rather than avoid them, to bring in business and to encourage people to visit the tourist and historic offerings of the town. Following the trip, one of the cyclists, Peter Dingle, President of The Golden Trail Committee, said,” The cycling aspect of the trail will work extremely well.

There is some beautiful country between here and Robe and viewing it on bikes, mostly on sealed back roads, is a fantastic way to see the country. We hope the trail will encourage many local, national and international cyclists to try it.”

Concurrently with building the cycle trail, a walking trail is also under way. In 2001, a group of Bendigonians walked this trail for the 150th celebration of the discovery of gold in Victoria. The Golden Trail committee seeks to link gold and Chinese to the region’s history and make a permanent walking and cycling trail.