Mordialloc Creek - May 2015

As we had organized to catch up with our friend Belinda for brunch late Saturday morning I didn't have a lot of time available for a walk this week. After a quick look through my ever growing library of guide books I settled on a walk written up by Tyrone Thomas at Mordialloc Creek, this walk had the added advantage of being about ten minutes drive from my front door. When I was first starting to get into walking back in the day, Tyrone Thomas was the guide book author of choice. He used to have a weekly column in one of our daily papers and he published a large number of books covering most of the eastern half of Australia, from North Queensland to Tasmania, and over to South Australia. His notes were excellent and his mud maps,while nowhere near as pretty as the maps in the current batch of guide books were more than adequate for most walks. It was his notes that I used when venturing off track for the first time.

The start photo near Wells Road.

So leaving home just before 8am I headed to the starting point of the walk via the coffee shop, it was here that the walk almost came to a premature end, I'd forgotten my wallet so that meant no caffeine fix, hmm what to do? Go home or push on? Seeing that as last time I'd tried to do this easy stroll I'd aborted due to the fact that I'd forgotten my camera I figured that I couldn't let a lack of caffeine stop me today.  So that's how I found myself parking just off Wells Road and heading off along the wide creek side path.

Mordialloc Creek.

The walk basically follows Mordialloc Creek all the way out to Port Phillip Bay on its north side before retracing the creek back to the ute on its south side. Initially the walk passed the sporting ovals and park land that runs between Governor Road and Mordialloc Creek, being fairly early on a cold, slightly crappy morning there wasn't a lot of people about,so I shared the path with a couple of dog walkers and bike riders. The Kingston Council has done a lot over the years to re vegetate the banks and immediate surrounds of Mordialloc Creek and have been rewarded with a lot of native birds coming back to this little piece of native bush in the suburbs.

Passing under the Frankston railway line, you come across.....

this, what looks like a fishing village in the suburbs.

Crossing under the Frankston railway it can feel like you've stumbled into a small fishing village, with large numbers of boats moored in the creek and boat repairers and boat builders lining its banks. Its a great spot to sit and enjoy the piece and quiet. Passing under the Nepean Highway I made my way along the creek towards the jetty, passing more gently bobbing boats on the way. Mordialloc Jetty provided a great vantage point to get views up and down the coast, but with the wind whipping off Port Phillip Bay it was bitingly cold, the punters fishing on the jetty were rugged up as if they were visiting the snow. Quickly getting a couple of shots I headed back to the beach.

The Bridge Hotel, not a bad spot on a sunny day.

Looking out to Port Phillip Bay from Mordialloc Creek.

Looking up towards Ricketts Point.

Once back on the beach I followed a steady stream of joggers along the beach side pathway for five minutes or so, this is part of the Port Phillip Bay bike trail and I've ridden it on numerous occasions. Conscious of the time I turned around and started back to the ute, passing by the crowds of mamils on their roadies hanging out at the cafe at the end of their Beach Road  ride, I would have loved to join them for a coffee though!

Looking south down the bay.

Mordialloc Beach.

Heading back up Mordialloc Creek in the early morning sun.

Using Pompei Bridge I crossed to the south side of the creek, stopping to try and get a photo of some Banksia's on the way.  Once again the route was lined on one side by the creek and all its native vegetation and on the other by sporting fields, by now they were starting to fill up with families out for their children's Saturday morning sporting competitions. I was nearing the end of my walk however and after crossing back over Mordialloc Creek near Wells Road, the ute soon came into view and the walk was over. Heading down to Mornington we caught up with Bel and I finally got my weekend fix of coffee and newspapers.

Looking down the bay towards the Mornington Peninsula and Arthurs Seat.

Crossing back under the railway line and heading up the south side of the creek.

The Dirt.
This is very easy ramble on good paths, in fact it would even be suitable for a pram or stroller. For such a suburban area you feel quite secluded at times in a couple of spots along the creek. I walked 5.9 kilometres and climbed...wait for it... 36 metres! As I mentioned earlier I used Tyrone Thomas' notes from his book '40 Bushland & Park Walks in Metropolitan Melbourne'. I think the book is long ago out of print so if anyone wants more info contact me and I'll see what I can do. The walk passes very close to Mordialloc station so its also possible to do it using public transport.

Approaching Wells Road and the end of my walk for today.

Crossing Mordialloc Creek for the last time.