Dave and I started this walk at Frankston Pier.
There was no shortage of (4 hour time limited) parking near Frankston Pier this morning.
Our walk started off fairly unobtrusively as we picked up the boardwalk heading into the coastal scrub (near the bins).
Almost immediately the track skirted around the side of the children's playground (incidentally, if you have children then this is an amazing playground I think).
It was 8:30 when we set off this morning and thankfully the Covid crowds had yet to escape from under the doona (thanks for that one Slowmo) so Dave and I were able to amble along the boardwalk fairly slowly without creating a roadblock. After following the boardwalk south to its end we crossed the busy Nepean Highway and then walked the footpath until we arrived at Liddesdale Avenue a few minutes later. Liddesdale Avenue was the spot where we left the coast for awhile and headed up the valley of Sweetwater Creek, and from here until we re-emerged onto the Nepean Highway in an hour or so this was all new territory for me.
The Frankston Foreshore Boardwalk was pretty quiet when we set off this morning.
Early morning on Frankston Beach, with Olivers Hill in the background.
Frankston Foreshore.
There are some flash houses lining the Nepean Highway in Frankston South.
The Sweetwater Creek Walking track branches off Liddesdale Avenue a few metres from the highway and straight away the walking improved immeasurably. As the name suggests the walking track heads upstream staying fairly close to Sweetwater Creek. What was a little surprising along here was the amount of walking infrastructure in place to help ease peoples progress up the fairly steep valley. There are long sections of boardwalks, staircases and even a suspension bridge...who knew? Being a urban type of stroll then signs of suburbia were never too far away, apart from the houses higher up the sides of the valley the introduced weeds around the creek were also a bit of a give-away.
Sweetwater Creek.
Sweetwater Creek. I was a little surprised...
...by the amount of walking infrastructure along here.
There is even a suspension bridge spanning Sweetwater Creek in one spot.
After climbing for awhile and using a little guess work, Dave and I arrived at another surprising feature, a nice little cascade called The Granites. With the slightly tannin stained water flowing over some big granite boulders as it made it's way towards Port Phillip Bay it was a pretty and peaceful spot. Leaving The Granites Dave and I continued upstream for a little while, utilising another long section of boardwalk along the way before eventually picking up a track heading south, just before we would of emerged onto Baden Powell Drive.
The Granites on Sweetwater Creek was also a little bit unexpected.
The Granites.
After leaving The Granites we followed another long section of boardwalk through some Tea Trees.
The track we followed south back down beside the creek mostly contoured high up the side of the Sweetwater Creek Valley, quite often along the back fence line of the suburban houses. The day had got fairly overcast by now so the long distance views along the way were a little washed out unfortunately however it was still a pleasant enough stroll, After climbing some stairs and walking yet another boardwalk Dave and I were deposited into the suburbs onto Grange Street in Frankston South. Walking suburban streets isn't exactly an optimal outcome on a walk normally but hey - we are in a pandemic remember!
Heading back down Sweetwater Creek we kept to a track that stayed high up on the west side of the Sweetwater Creek Valley.
There were some bigger views from up here although the overcast skies weren't doing a lot to help the photos this morning.
We even managed to find a decent map for the small reserve. We basically followed the redline up the valley and the green line back down... kind of!
To leave the Sweetwater Creek Reserve we picked up this signposted track...
... walked another section of boardwalk...
... and then climbed up the quiet Grange Street.
After a short stretch up Grange Street Dave and I crossed the Nepean Highway and headed towards Olivers Hill. I've driven and ridden down Olivers Hill thousands of times over the years however this morning was the first time I've ever walked down it. Now I don't know if we were lucky or if this goes on more often however just as the extensive views over Port Phillip Bay started to open up Dave picked pod of Dolphins feeding on a school of fish off shore... and with that our suburban stroll went from good to wow! With the Dolphins slowly disappearing into the distance we resumed our journey back down to the pier. Passing through the car park at the bottom of Olivers Hill I was slightly surprised to see how many punters were out and about making the most of their two hours outside, the walk from there back to the Frankston Pier was through a steady stream of walkers, riders, joggers and dog walkers.
Approaching Olivers Hill decide the busy Nepean Highway.
We were lucky enough to be able to watch a pod of Dolphins feeding in the bay as we dropped down Olivers Hill.
Unfortunately this is the best I could do with this lens.
In clear conditions this view up over Port Phillip Bay from Olivers Hill is a stunner.
Despite (or maybe because) of our Covid restrictions the the car park below Olivers Hill was heaving.
It looked like most of the punters were keen to get their morning coffee into them.
The Dirt.
According to my GPS we walked around 6.2 kilometres and climbed about 104 metres on this easy stroll. Having lived around here my whole life I was a little surprised with the Sweetwater Creek section of this walk, I never suspected that the little sliver of green on my map would make for such an interesting little walk. The walk predominantly along walking tracks, both sealed and un sealed, as well as long sections of boardwalks. There is a short section along the quiet suburban Grange Street however it was only around 400 metres. Assuming we are not in any lockdowns then there are quite often food vans as the base of Olivers Hill and there is a nice café near the pier at the start of the walk in Frankston. I used my GPS maps for this stroll after checking things out on Google maps before I left home.
Relevant Posts.
We saw more people on the last few hundred metres of the walk then we had on the previous six kilometres combined.
Frankston Foreshore Boardwalk.
This was the spot where Dave and I finished this stroll. With a little research it's easily possible to walk along paths and walking tracks all the way to Melbourne from here - although it'll take a day or two.
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