Things were pretty quiet in Altona this morning.
It wasn't hard finding a park at the Altona boat ramp this morning.
The deserted Altona boat ramp.
After locking the ute I re-set the GPS and wandered off into the grey morning to see what I could see. First up this morning I was heading east along the shore line of Port Phillip Bay as I slowing meandered my way up to Kororoit Creek. Heading east first thing in the morning would normally mean dealing with the sun in my face although this morning was pretty overcast so the sun wasn't too much of an issue, actually rain was more of a worry this morning. After following a good shared sealed path for 15 minutes or so I entered the Altona Coastal Park and left the manicured suburban parkland behind for awhile. Reaching a dirt track branching off from my sealed path I wandered down towards the shoreline for a bit of a look, actually I was hoping that this track would take me across the flats to the old Williamstown Racecourse site however I found myself blocked by a muddy tidal creek so in the end I had to retreat.
I picked up the route where it crossed Cherry Creek.
Looking across Altona Coastal Park towards the Melbourne CBD.
Cherry Creek breaking into Port Phillip Bay.
As usual the light was quite good first thing this morning.
Altona Coastal Park - yes, we aren't talking wilderness out here.
I followed this grassy track... although it wasn't the one I was looking for!
Retracing my way back to the shared path I almost immediately arrived at the lone Palm Tree that marked the spot to leave the path for awhile and do a bit of exploring. Along with the Palm Tree there is also the crumbing remains of the old racecourse to check out here, the grandstand having burnt down during WW2 however there is still quite a lot of the stone work standing. Passing through the old racecourse site I arrived at a fence and a gate signifying that I was about to enter a coastal conservation area. Passing through the gate I found myself meandering through the Mangroves that line the outlet of Kororoit Creek. Mangroves are still pretty common over on Westernport Bay however they are a lot rarer on Port Phillip Bay so this spot is fairly important ecologically - which makes the surrounding heavy industry sites seem a little surreal.
After my false start I soon arrived at the old Williamstown Racecourse Grandstand ruins.
The grandstand burnt down during WW2.
This lone Palm Tree is a handy marker for locating the old racecourse.
After passing through the old racecourse I checked out the Mangroves near the mouth of Kororoit Creek.
Altona Coastal Park.
Eventually this creek stopped my progress through the Mangroves.
Altona Coastal Park.
Thankfully the grey sky this morning had come complete with a decent wind so I was able to emerge from the Mangroves without being eaten alive by sandflies. Re-joining the shared path I followed Kororiot Creek up stream to the Altona Road ford, this spot is a pretty good spot for checking out the waterbirds normally and this morning was no different - I'm guessing the vehicle based punters might feed them here? Following another shared path I parallel Altona Road for a few minutes before crossing over and following another sealed path west to arrive at the very busy Millers Road.
I was back on the shared path again now.
I was dealing with a few showers passing through this morning.
The Altona Road ford...
.... is normally a pretty good spot for checking out some birdlife.
Altona Coastal Park.
I followed this shared path up to Millers Road that ran behind the suburban house of Altona.
The showers had moved on for awhile.
Crossing Millers Road I started my counter clockwise circumnavigation of Cherry Lake, this was the spot where I'd walked last year so the territory was pretty familiar to me, although I was walking a different direction on this visit. The northern and western shoreline of Cherry Lake feature the most native bush and make for the best walking, Mt Cherry providing the closest thing to a grandstand view this morning. After dropping down off Mt Cherry I completed my circumnavigation along the more manicured southern shoreline.
There is a good shared path around Cherry Lake.
I'm about to summit Mt Cherry.
Mt Cherry has a nice view down to some wetlands on Cherry Creek.
Melbourne (in the distance) from Mt Cherry.
Cherry Creek Wetlands.
Cherry Lake.
The track passes through some nice Casuarina's on the southern shoreline of Cherry Lake.
Cherry Lake.
After leaving Cherry Lake and crossing Millers Road I walked this narrow reserve beside Cherry Creek back to the boat ramp.
Cherry Creek.
The Dirt.
According to my GPS I walked around 9.6 kilometres and climbed 48 metres on this easy stroll. Apart from my little excursion into the old racecourse and Mangroves all this walk is along good, mostly sealed shared paths. There is a lot of parking at the Altona boat ramp although be careful to park in the designated car parking section and not the sections for cars with boat trailers. Cherry Lake would be a good spot for a picnic, especially if you have children with you as there is a good playground there. I used the notes and maps out of Julie Mundy and Debra Heyes book Melbourne's Best River, Bay & Lakeside Walks on this stroll along with my GPS topos.
Relevant Posts.
It wasn't all Bin Chickens and Seagulls on this stroll. I managed I get a photo of this Spoonbill in Cherry Creek.
Arriving back at the Altona boat ramp I found it still pretty well deserted.
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