Pelican Point Walk, Matilda Bay Reserve - January 2020

I got to meet some locals this afternoon.

Arriving back at Fremantle after our short vacation in Indonesia at the start of January 2020 Sam and I found ourselves stuck. We had planned to drive back to Melbourne via Cape Arid National Park so I could climb Mt Ragged, however bush fires had closed this area off. Our next plan to get back home was to head along the Eyre Highway across the Nullarbor, the Eyre Highway being the only sealed road that crosses the south of the continent, trouble was that highway was also closed by bush fires. Running out of options to get over to the east coast I organised the permits that I would need to drive the Great Central Road, an 1100 kilometre red dirt road up to Central Australia, only for rain to close that road as well. The only remaining option that was open to us was the 7000 kilometre drive home via Broome, although even that one soon closed off as a cyclone crossed the coast between Port Headland and Broome and closed the road.

Sam and I were stuck in Scarborough for awhile - yes it could of been a lot worse.

The end result of all that was that Sam and I were stuck in Perth for awhile. Looking around for a few easy walks that would allow me to stretch my legs I came across this one on Matilda Bay. The only thing that I really knew about the walk was that it was short and easy, oh yeah and I knew of the Matilda Bay Brewing Company;) Parking the ute in the small carpark at the UWA Boat Sheds I reset the GPS and headed off south along a shared path between Hackett Drive and Matilda Bay. This walk started off easy and pretty much stayed that way for the duration. Initially following the shared path I meandered my way south beside Matilda Bay through manicured urban parkland, the water never too far away.

Setting off this afternoon I followed this sealed shared path south.

As far as suburban parkland walking goes this was pretty good.

That's Pelican Point in the distance.

Arriving at a café I left the water for awhile and tracked across a small peninsula, the highlight along here was crossing Australia II Drive, thinking to myself that any boss who sacks his worker because he can't get home because of bush fires would be a bum! After crossing Australia II Drive my route headed through some native scrub in the J.H.Abrams Reserve, the dappled light coming through the Casuarinas looking quite nice. The J.H.Abrams Reserve marked the southern extremity of this little walk, so after stopping for awhile to watch the acrobatic kite surfers out on Matilda Bay I grabbed my  pack again and started heading north.

Australians of a certain vintage will know the significance of this...

...and this.

Passing through the J.H.Abrams Reserve on Pelican Point there was a nice section of native bush.

Now the quickest and easiest way back would of been to follow my outward route, although that would of been a little boring... So Instead I dropped down to the water line and started tracking my way along the tiny piece of dry land between the lapping waves and the coastal scrub. Now when I say tiny I mean anorexic really, there really wasn't much dry real estate to walk along here. While it would of been inconvenient to get my feet wet the thought of heading through the knee high coastal grass without gaiters wasn't really appealing to me either. Still, while things got a little rough it was only for a few minutes after successfully dodging the waves that I came to the big Osprey nesting tower, marking the spot for me to turn inland for awhile. Heading back through the coastal Casuarinas I was soon back at Australia II Drive again, this time I turned to the right and followed the  quiet road out towards the end of the little peninsula, passing a low, bird lookout (that's not really worth the effort of climbing) along the way.

There were plenty of kite surfers out on the Swan River.

Heading back around Pelican Point I followed the shoreline for awhile.

The Osprey nesting tower marked the spot to leave the coast.

Reaching the end of the little peninsula I wandered down to the water through Camp Cornwell which is the home of the Pelican Point Sea Scouts, yes it sounds wrong but it's all above board... apparently. The jetty at the sea scout camp gave me another different perspective out over Matilda Bay and along the coast back towards the ute. Following the coast line I picked my way through the Royal Perth Yacht Club, my Feral presence obviously raising the tone of the yacht club. After checking out the flash boats (although I didn't notice any winged keels) I exited through the security fence...and immediately felt a little more relaxed.

Back on Australia II Drive at the Pelican Point Sea Scouts.

The view across Matilda Bay towards the Perth CBD from the sea scouts.

Royal Perth Yacht Club

Late afternoon on Matilda Bay... nice!

The rest of my walk was a pretty straight forward affair. First I shuffled past an area where a few of the locals were out picnicking, no doubt enjoying the pleasant early evening temperatures. A few minutes after passing some swimming pontoons I rejoined my outward route. Retracing my route now the main interest was the changing light, the late afternoon light giving me something to stop and photograph.

Looking across Matilda Bay towards the Perth CBD - this place positively drips money.

The Dirt.

I shuffled 4.1 kilometres and climbed 20 metres on this very easy stroll. This walk would be nice one for the Perth locals I'm thinking, it is also has some nice spots for a swim or a picnic (or some kite surfing if you have the skills). There is one short section along the waterline that is a little rough however it would be easy enough to omit this bit of the walk. This is one of those walks that probably isn't worth travelling too far to walk, however if you are in the area then it makes for a nice way to stretch your legs. I used the notes and map out of Woodslane's book Perth's Best Bush, Coast & City Walks (2nd edition) by Paul Amyes, along with my GPS maps.

Relevant Posts.
Fremantle Walk, 2019.

Instead of following the shared path back I walked the grass near the water.

Matilda Bay

Time to head back to the hotel.

Roy