Mr Dickie has also been busy cleaning up the debris and damage from February’s floods, which closed the McKenzie’s Flat campsite for two days and “ripped trees out of the ground”. They also nourished the park and filled the river.

“The place is looking better than I’ve seen it in years. The Tunnel, where miners once cut a huge hole in a rock-face, has water flowing through it all the time now. It’s spectacular.”

While he says visitation has increased significantly in the past decade, putting pressure on camping and picnic facilities, there is still a sense of isolation on the walking trails.

The vegetation ranges from dry box and ironbark in the south to river bottle brush and grey gums in the north.

“The Byres Backtrack is one of my favourites; it’s a fairly easy walk three hours each way up and down gullies where the Lerderderg river was once mined for gold in the 1880s.”

Point Cook park ranger Mark Cullen oversees another patch of historical and environmental significance — the Point Cook Coastal Park.

Flanked by the birthplace of the RAAF on one side and the homestead of Melbourne’s earliest sheep farmers on the other, the low-lying salt lakes of the Point Cook Costal Park provide a point of contrast to parks further inland.

Tucked behind sand-dunes that overlook Port Phillip Bay and sweeping views of the CBD, the internationally protected wetlands is a haven for hundreds of species of migratory birds that silence onlookers as they glide in gracefully for seasonal feeding.

“The birds make the wetlands a peaceful place; it’s become increasingly popular with bird watchers who come here for the serenity.”

One of the most coveted species is the endangered orange bellied parrot, which was spotted by one of Mark’s colleagues last year.

“You’d be lucky to see one of those; there’s only 50 known individuals, but Point Cook is one of their main feeding spots.”

As well as interacting with a growing number of weekday visitors, a highlight of the job is seeing the wetlands awash with colour in spring.

“Coming out to the wetlands when the lakes are full and you can smell and see the wildflowers out in full bloom ... that’s one of the best parts of the job.”

With an extension of the Bay Trail completed and residential development creeping within metres of the wetlands, the Melton resident says educating the public is today’s challenge.

“We have to make sure there’s enough pamphlets handed out and visible signage to let people know why they can’t litter or let their dogs off the lead in restricted areas.

‘‘If waterways are polluted some of those birds won’t be able to make it back to breeding sites in countries such as Japan, so there’s a ripple effect.”

The former Werribee Tigers footballer can’t imagine a job without fresh air and exercise.

“We do spend a fair bit of time in the office organising tours and group sessions and that sort of thing. But it’s great to have that diversity, where you can just step outside and go for a walk or bike ride as part of your job, monitoring the safety and condition of the park. We’ve been outside a lot clearing trees and branches from the floods.”

Of the same ‘outdoorsy’ breed as Mark and Charlie, Tamara Karner works in Hume’s Woodlands Historic Park - an open expanse of forest and grasslands that are home to endangered species such as the golden sun moth and the striped legless lizard. After summer’s record rainfall, the native grasses are thriving.

“There’s bright orange grass as tall as me; after the drought ended, kangaroos stopped overgrazing and now it’s looking better than ever.”

The St Albans mother, whose one-year-old son “cries for fresh air” when he has been inside too long, says a love of the outdoors is in her blood. She grew up in a family of bush-walkers. After studying environmental science, she started out with Parks Victoria 10 years ago at Wilsons Promontory, one of the state’s “icon” parks. It was beautiful, but she felt isolated and outnumbered by men.

“At 22, as a young lady living in a male-dominated and remote area it could get a bit lonely. But knocking off at 5pm and going snorkelling or surfing got me through,” she says with a laugh.

One of nearly 344 women among Parks Victoria’s 1074 staff, Tamara says her role is no more suited to men than women. She loves the diversity of tasks and can’t imagine an alternative career path.

“I just love the unpredictability of it; one minute I could be pulling someone out of a bog, the next I’m helping rescue an injured kangaroo, or teaching a school group about the endangered eastern barred bandicoot. It’s great that we can get out of the office and go for a walk or a drive as part of our job. Especially now, with the woodlands and grasses doing so well.’’

Regional fire operations officer Tony Morris, who has witnessed a transformation at Macedon Ranges Regional Park, is also amazed by the impact of recent rain.

“I started at Mt Macedon after Ash Wednesday, so I saw it in the very early stages of regeneration; it caused a lot of trauma for the ecology of the area and for rangers who lost offices and houses between trying to fight fires. But it’s been incredible to see the resilience of nature.

“From that nightmare fire day which left so much of the park charred and black to the incredibly lush and misty days over the past year, the diversity of weather conditions up here is incredible. To be able to look back and see how the environment can recover from something so destructive is really satisfying.”

He spends all year working with DSE and councils to plan fuel-reduction burns on the residential borders of the west’s parks. It’s a complex science with dual aims: to keep residents safe while stimulating native vegetation.

“It’s about striking the ecological balance of spurring on new growth of flora species, and protecting fauna and residential communities.”

He said the benefits of a back-burn are sometimes delayed by six to 10 years. “Even after re-growth, that earlier fuel reduction stops the build-up of a fire’s intensity.”

He urged residents to venture out to see Mt Macedon at its finest.

“People drive past it every day, or see it in the backdrop on the way to the airport, but it really is a must-visit place.’’

If you’re lucky, you may even spot the odd honey eater, koala or rock wallaby enjoying the peace and quiet, unaware of any previous destruction.