Angelsea Perimeter Walk~West - April 2016

Last weekend we headed over to the Great Ocean Road again to go for another stroll. I justified the two hour road trip due to the fact that we had to go up to the city anyway and pick-up Sam's boots that had been in for a bit of work, so seeing that we were already forty minutes in the right direction I figured that we may as well keep heading west, well that and the fact that there are some nice cafes in Angelsea that Sam and I wanted to check out. So after picking up her boots we motored on down to Angelsea and settled in for breakfast and an extensive reading of the Saturday papers. An hour and a half later somewhat better informed and a bit fatter (relax I'm only talking about me in relation to the fatter bit!) we figured that we better head off on our stroll the Angelsea Perimeter Walk-West (APWW), returning to the ute we swapped the papers for our walking boots and packs and headed off.

There are some nice boat sheds on the Angelsea River.

If the name of this walk looks a little familiar it might be because I did it's Eastern half back in February, on that occasion I walked on my own but on this occasion Sam was (mildly) keen to walk with me. With climate change in full swing down here in Victoria we were lucky enough to get a late Autumn day in the low twenties with a warm Northerly wind blowing, it feels like early summer and is all wrong but at least it makes for nice walking weather, I can't help thinking that we are living the End of Days in an environmental not religious sense, but anyway I digress. So making the most of the unseasonably warm day we wandered back up the west bank of the Angelsea River towards Coogoorah Park, the mouth of the river is obviously still closed to the sea as the river/inlet is lapping at the edge of the track in a lot of spots along here.

Hey, hey a pirate ship!

Coogoorah Park marks the spot where we would leave the banks of the Angelsea River and start our climb up to Angelsea Heath, but more importantly (for me) it has a pirate ship. Now apart from the promise of hours of fun playing on the pirate ship, the ship is your best indication of where to turn inland (climb the bank behind the pirate ship) as the route is a little on the vague side here. Climbing away from the river the described route has more twists and turns than Malcomn Turnball explaining why negative gearing is good for first home buyers (because their parents can buy them their first house in case you missed it, unfortunately for the kids most of the parents that I mix with are struggling to keep their heads above water and don't appear to be in a position to buy a house for their off-spring. oh well I must move in different circles to Mal). So anyway as I mentioned it pays to keep an eye on your map and notes along here as the route twists and turns as it slowly makes its way out of Angelsea. On meeting Messmate Track we made the side trip to check out the decommissioned Power Station and open cut coal mine, now I crapped on about this in my last post about Angelsea so I want go over old ground but I was slightly perturbed to be watched the whole time buy a security guard in his car as I took some photos of the environmental mess that is the derelict open cut, hmmm maybe they'd read my earlier waffle and were waiting for this feral trouble maker....?

Sam heading towards Angelsea Heath.

The Angelsea open cut.

We had a security guy watching us the whole time. This feral bloke he must be trouble!

Leaving the open-cut lookout to our mate in his security car (who left almost as soon as we did) we headed off along Messmate Track towards Mt Ingoldsby. Messmate Track is a 4wd track that has wide grassy verges and makes for nice side by side walking, with only the last 50 metres before Mt Ingoldsby getting a little steep. At 121 metres we are not talking oxygen to climb this one but even so Mt Ingoldsby has its own trig marker hidden in the forest which gave me an excuse to stop for a minute to get a photo. The APWW now slowly meanders its way down to the coast via the western extremities of town and while the walk is hardly remote you don't have to get far off the roads before you get swallowed up by the scrub.

The Mount Ingoldsby Trig, at 121m you hardly need oxygen though.

Heading through O'Donohue Reserve the APWW past close to some houses but was still good walking I thought.

There are a few peeks out towards Bass Strait.

Eventually the route starts to cross some open grassy sections which allowed us some extensive views to the west and Aireys Inlet, its light house and the cliffs beneath it standing out in the late afternoon sunshine. After crossing the Great Ocean Road the APWW starts the second costal phase of the walk, dropping down onto the sand at 99W we slowly beach combed our way east towards Point Roadnight. The sun passing in and out of the cloud making for ever changing light and photos, although patience was needed. The beach sand along here was pretty firm even with a fairly high tide forcing us higher up the sand so the section to Point Roadnight was easy walking, and after climbing over Point Roadnight the easy beach walking continued up to the Angelsea Motor Yacht Club.

The light house at Aireys Inlet standing out in the late afternoon sun.

Bass Strait was looking almost inviting on this warm Autumn day.

Beach combing our way towards Point Roadnight.

The APWW leaves the beach to cross over the low Point Roadnight.

From the Angelsea Motor Yacht Club it looked like we could of rock hopped the coastline around to the Angelsea Surf Club but we decided to stick to the signposted route of the APWW instead and stay on the cliff tops. The walking track along here is very well benched and constructed and is the best bit of the walk in my opinion, there are lots of places over the next couple of kilometres where you can gaze out over Bass Strait. Passing above Soapy Rocks the route starts to parallel the Great Ocean Road for a short while, the amount of litter indicating that we were close to the Great Ocean Road lookout above Middles Beach, its obviously too onerous for people in vehicles to take there rubbish with them. 

We left the beach at the yacht club and climbed the track up onto the cliff tops.

Looking back to Point Roadnight.

The walk was now rapidly coming to an end, leaving the lookout beside the road the APWW meanders its way down towards the Angelsea Surf Club, now thankfully far enough from the road that the litter had disappeared again. Passing behind the surf club we soon arrived back at the Angelsea River, the route keeping close to the edge of the inlet and sometimes taking to boardwalks over the water, the soft late afternoon sunlight allowing for some nice photos. Crossing over the river on the Great Ocean Road bridge we headed past the new skate park back to the ute, taking my boots off and slipping on my fine dining Havaianas we once again headed into town for our afternoon tea, this time at Cafe Daniela, which is probably the pick of the casual dining options in town that I've sampled. Now suitably re caffeinated we jumped back in the ute and headed off on our 2 hour drive home, pretty content with life after another nice walk.

The last descent of the walk, Sam heading down towards the Angelsea Surf Club.

Late afternoon on the Angelsea River.

The end (or the beginning) at Angelsea.

The Dirt.

This is another walk out of Walking The Otways from the House of Chapman written by the Geelong Bushwalking Club. I'd rate this as an easy walk, we walked 13.9 kilometres and climbed 262 metres on this easy stroll. The walk features a river and wetlands, a bit of urban walking, some heathland, and then some coastal walking all on good tracks, the route is easy to follow and well signposted except for the bit from the pirate ship until you get onto Messmate Track, its still easy to follow and you won't get seriously lost but you need to keep an eye on the notes and the map. Angelsea is a nice seaside town that has all the facilities you could need for a pleasant day out.