With limited time (and enthusiasm) I snapped all those photos on my dodgy phone camera.
The 5 kilometres limit, along with the limited time allowed outside really pulled a hand break on any decent walking for a loooong time.
While the Corona Virus has spread around the world like creeping death I've spent the last 3 months basically in home detention. The virus managed to escape from a hotel quarantine set up in Melbourne, and with cases hitting 700 a day at one stage the state government basically locked us down. Initially we were told only to go outside for exercise and essential services so, being the responsible citizen that I am (cough) I decided that I'd only do local walks that I didn't need to drive to.
Approaching the start of the walk - it looks like it's night hike time today!
To start with I crossed over the Patterson River.
Not that it was always flowing across the bar.
After crossing the river I passed beneath the Mornington Peninsula Freeway... yes, it's a walk full of highlights.
The Patterson River.
Approaching the National Water Sports Centre (NWSC).
Unfortunately it seems that a lot of punters maybe aren't as civic minded as your Feral corespondent and initially the numbers continued to go in the wrong direction. So the government then went hardcore, only 1 hour outside a day for exercise, most business shut down, schools shutdown, a 5 kilometre travel bubble from home, and a 8pm to 5am curfew. Now I was lucky in that I was a permitted worker so I still got to enjoy my daily mountain bike commute to and from work, however there would be no real walking for many months.
The Dandenong Creek Trail heading through the NWSC.
I had the scenic Eastern Treatment Plant to check out initially.
It wasn't all bad.
I'm about 5 minutes into it and I'm already feeling the 20 kgs hanging off my shoulders.
Sunrise over the Eastern Treatment Plant settling ponds.
The Eastern Treatment Plant.
Dandenong Creek Trail.
Now for someone who heads bush every weekend and spends all his holiday's travelling in one form or another... and has been doing that since I was a very little kid (remember my Dad was an interstate truck driver) then being confined to barracks for months on end was.... challenging! (no doubt it was a lot more challenging for Sam putting up with me caged up in the house though!) Mentally I was really struggling not having any alone time in the bush to reset. It wasn't only my mental health that was heading south though, despite riding almost 30 kilometres a day and eating fairly healthily (no take away for around 3 months!) I was still stacking on the weight. Jumping on the scales in mid September one morning I saw 127 kilograms (280lbs for my American brothers and sisters). Now I'm a solid unit at the best of times but 127 kgs was getting a bit ridiculous.
The NWSC.
Eastern Treatment Plant.
Dandenong Creek Trail approaching the end of the NWSC.
Looking back down along the NWSC.
I wasn't always blue sky.
The starting gates at the NWSC.
Dandenong Creek, Bangholme.
Dandenong Creek, Bangholme.
Looks like it was night hike time again.
The sun rising over the settling ponds.
Late afternoon approaching the Eumemmerring Creek Bridge on the Dandenong Creek Trail.
Approaching the Eumemmerring Creek Bridge on the Dandenong Creek Trail.
It's a pretty flash bridge over a pretty ordinary creek.
Now while the loop was quiet enough I was still trying to avoid as many people as possible so I decided to head out at the extreme ends of the day. While our curfew was on I was setting off just after 5am if I did the walk in the mornings, if I did it at night I was racing the 8pm curfew to get back home. So with me lugging around 22 kilograms on my back to simulate hills, breathing through my mask to simulate altitude, and then jumping into the steam room when I got home to simulate walking in a tropical jungle, I worked on keeping the pork off. And it worked... well to a degree... by the time the government eased our leash out to 25 kilometres I'd dropped back down to portly 123 kilograms.
Approaching Perry Road along the Dandenong Creek Trail (I'm still on the route of my daily commute).
An early morning scene in Bangholme.
Bangholme
The Perry Road Bridge is a little dodgy for pedestrians.
The Dandenong Creek Trail continues on under the bridge - I'd bounced into my 5 kilometre bubble now so it was time to start heading for home.
Dandenong Creek from the Perry Road Bridge.
Anyway, this post is really just to document the last 3 months of my life, the photos were all taken with my phone and there was very little time to stop and smell the flowers on these walks... which is OK really as the walk is pretty ordinary (although I may be taking it for granted a little as half of the route is along my daily commute). I'll let the photos tell the story of our second Corona lockdown, watching the river rise and fall, the sunrises and sunsets, the night hikes and day hikes, yes it's been...real!
After crossing the bridge I picked up this informal grassy pad along the top of the levy bank.
Night hike time again - the red light was handy as it allowed me to keep a bit of night vision.
The Wattles were flowering now.
The pad is a little faint along here.
Dandenong Creek, Bangholme.
Bangholme
For anyone who feels inspired to follow in my footsteps I started my little loop on the north side of the Patterson River bridge, crossed the bridge to the south side and then headed towards Dandenong along the Dandenong Creek Path. The first half of the walk on a crushed granite path as I passed by the watersports centre and then crossed Eumemmerring Creek before continuing along the Dandenong Creek Path until I arrived at Perry Road. The road bridge on Perry Road allowed me to cross Dandenong Creek and I was then able to follow the grassy levy bank back towards the watersports centre, now I was back on the north side of the creek. There was a rough pad along the levy bank however it's pretty rough under foot and could be a bit snakey sometimes. Once back at the National Watersports Centre it was just a matter of continuing through until I arrived back at the start point... before heading off home and jumping into the steam room!
Dandenong Creek, Bangholme.
Early in our lockdown we were allowed to wear buffs or similar, later on we went to fitted masks.
My old pack tipped the scales at just under 22 kilograms on these death marches walks.
Heading back down Dandenong Creek towards the NWSC again.
Back in the NWSC.
The Dirt.
I was walking around 9.7 kilometres and climbing around 35 metres on these strolls. Now I really can't recommend this walk as anything much more than a get fit loop, sure you can get a good photo occasionally, however there are so many other places around that I think are scenically better. If anyone does find themselves in the area and considers this walk then there is parking on the north side of the Patterson River Bridge, there's no drinking water along the walk although there a few benches spread around. The Perry Road Bridge needs a bit of caution, especially on weekdays when it's busy with heavy traffic as there isn't much of a shoulder to walk on to stay safe. The grassy pad from Perry Road back to the watersports centre is informal and rough, you won't get lost though as it's just a matter of staying on top of the levy bank until you reach the waterspouts centre fence.
Relevant Posts.
I was walking around 9.7 kilometres and climbing around 35 metres on these strolls. Now I really can't recommend this walk as anything much more than a get fit loop, sure you can get a good photo occasionally, however there are so many other places around that I think are scenically better. If anyone does find themselves in the area and considers this walk then there is parking on the north side of the Patterson River Bridge, there's no drinking water along the walk although there a few benches spread around. The Perry Road Bridge needs a bit of caution, especially on weekdays when it's busy with heavy traffic as there isn't much of a shoulder to walk on to stay safe. The grassy pad from Perry Road back to the watersports centre is informal and rough, you won't get lost though as it's just a matter of staying on top of the levy bank until you reach the waterspouts centre fence.
Relevant Posts.
With the NWSC closed due to Covid things were pretty quiet on this walk.
Almost home again.
Night hike time and I'm back at the Mornington Peninsula Freeway bridges.
Passing beneath the Mornington Peninsula Freeway - it probably looks better at night I'm thinking.
Time to jump into the steam room for a bit of a wind down.
If I used all of my imagination I was lying on a beach in the tropics somewhere!
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