Kananook Creek entering Port Phillip Bay beneath Mile Bridge in Frankston.
There is a bit of parking near the Long Island Tennis Club.
The trail is well signposted heading off from Gould Street.
Crossing Gould Street I almost immediately arrived at Kananook Creek and turned down the signposted Kananook Creek Walking Trail towards Frankston. Even a lot of locals don't know of the existence of this quiet walking track so I wasn't surprised that the ducks were out numbering the people this morning. The good track initially follows the western bank of the creek as I headed south, the small lineal reserve running along a narrow corridor beside the sluggish creek. There were a couple of spots where it would of been possible to cross the creek and head up towards the Nepean Highway however the go is to stay on the western side until the track finishes and there is no choice but to cross the creek.
Kananook Creek Trail.
Kananook Creek.
Tea Trees along Kananook Creek.
I wasn't totally alone this morning.
Once over the bridge and on the eastern bank the nice walking continued for awhile as the track meandered along through the Tea Trees, sometimes along nice boardwalks and never far from the creek. All too soon I emerged from my tunnel of bush and arrived onto the back streets of Frankston's CBD. Now the walking from where I emerged into suburbia at Wells Street to the mouth of Kananook Creek was definitely not a bush walk it was still pleasant enough. Kananook Creek is tidal for much of it's length and with low tide approaching this morning there was a decent flow of water heading down the shallow creek.
The Kananook Creek Trail crosses to the eastern side of the creek here.
Kananook Creek.
Once on the east side of the creek the trail follows a long section of boardwalk...
... before emerging from the bush into Frankston.
The creek is very tidal and shallow by the time it passes through Frankston.
Kananook Creek, Frankston.
After passing behind the Pier Hotel my walk once again improved as I approached the mouth of Kananook Creek. This is a popular boat launching spot on Port Phillip Bay although the mouth of the creek needs fairly regular dredging, and at low tide it's easy to see why the authorities need to keep the dredging up. Arriving at Mile Bridge I crossed over Kananook Creek and started my journey north back up to the ute.
Kananook Creek, Frankson.
Mile Bridge, Frankston.
Kananook Creek breaking out into Port Phillip Bay.
Olivers Hill, with Mt Eliza in the distance.
Initially on my stroll back to the ute I followed a long section of boardwalk along the foreshore as it passed through the Frankston Foreshore Reserve until I arrived at Waves on the Beach café. Once at the café I had to drop down to water level and walk the beach for the rest of the distance (actually it is possible to avoid the beach walk by walking the very suburban Gould Street). I've mentioned it before however Melbourne's bay beaches can be pretty hit or miss when it comes to walking on them, although thankfully this morning I scored a hit, with plenty of firm sand to walk along.
Port Phillip Bay was looking good this morning.
Heading north I followed a nice boardwalk initially.
Frankston Foreshore Park.
Wandering down to water level I headed north along the extensive series of sand banks that had been exposed by the low tide. Whereas the Kananook Creek section of the walk had been pretty quiet as far as people go this morning my beach stroll on the other hand was super busy. Heading north now I was weaving my way through a mix of dog walkers, joggers and others like me who were just out enjoying the beautiful Melbourne Autumn morning. As I started to pass by the flash beach side houses of Long Island I knew that the walk was getting close to the end now. When the beach houses lining the foreshore were replaced by natural bush it signalled the spot for me to pick up the sandy beach access track that would take me up to the ute. After trudging my way past the Long Island Tennis Club along the softest sand of the walk my nice easy mornings stroll was complete and it was time to make the short drive home for a late breakfast.
Hitting the sand it looked like I had some nice and firm exposed sandbanks to walk.
Progress is being made - Frankston Pier is getting further away.
Port Phillip Bay, Long Island.
Boat Sheds at Long Island.
The Dirt.
According to my GPS I walked around 4.4 kilometres and climbed about 17 metres on this easy walk. The Kananook Creek Trail section of the walk is all along a shared path so it's pretty easy going, the difficulty of the beach side return walk will depend a lot on the tides and the swell, it was super easy this morning though. As far as I know this walk has never been published although I'm sure that there would be something floating around on-line about it. I had a bit of a look at Google Earth before setting off and used my GPS topos on the stroll, that said just about any map should get people through safely as the walk follows a substantial creek, a beach, and the busy Nepean Highway is never too far away.
Relevant Posts.
If the temperature wasn't hovering around 4˚ there might be a chance.
My last look out over Port Phillip Bay before heading up to the ute.
The last few metres of this mornings stroll provided the softest walking for the day.
No comments:
Post a Comment