The Gurdies Nature Conservation Reserve Walk - November 2021

There was a surprising amount of wildlife on this walk.

I've driven past The Gurdies many times as I've motored down to the more exotic Phillip Island however I'd never really considered stopping here, actually I'd never even realised there was a network of walking and 4wd tracks radiating out through the forest. With only a few hours to spare today I was scrolling through Alltrails looking for something fairly short and reasonably local when I noticed a little icon hovering over The Gurdies. Clicking on the link it looked like the walk could be a goer, although as with a lot of Alltrails walks, working out the exact legality of the whole route would only come once I was actually walking it. So anyway that's how I found myself parking the ute at the small picnic area beside the Bass Highway at Pioneer Bay fairly late in the afternoon on what had been a pretty damp Melbourne day.

There is room for about 10-15 vehicles in the small carpark at the start of this walk.

Thankfully by the time I meandered off into the scrub and away from the highway the showers had more or less passed through. After crossing into the park I headed right (south) for about a minute before picking up a signposted walking track on the left that headed gently up hill and further away from the traffic noise. The sandy walking track soon arrived at another signposted track junction where I swung left and started climbing a sandy 4wd track as I headed deeper into the park. The forest here is mostly stringybark with an understory of bracken and judging by their numbers it seems to be a popular place for the local roos... and mozzies. I'd already diverted off my Alltrails route by now as I explored the middle of the park (the Alltrail route pretty well follows the outside boundary), although after a bit of freelancing and a short off piste section I re-joined the Alltrails route as it passed by a sand quarry.

This walking track starts a few metres to the south of the picnic area - heading off the 4wd perimeter track.

The Gurdies Nature Conservation Reserve.

The tracks here are mostly well signposted.

Nice easy 4wd track walking.

 Today's attempt at an arty wanker blogger shot!

After a fairly wet winter the bush was looking good today.

Once back on the official route I climbed up to the highest point on the walk at the Dunbabbin Road Picnic Area where there are some nice views down over Westernport Bay. I now started a fairly long and gentle descent down along the southern boundary of the park to the historic Grantville Cemetery, swatting away the mozzies every time I stopped for a minute to take a photo. While sections of this track were pretty damp underfoot the sandy base meant that mud wasn't much of an issue, and for much of the descent the long range views compensated for any hardships. Arriving at Grantville Cemetery I spent a little time exploring the old graves, this was one of the first areas settled by Europeans in Victoria and there are quite a few grave sites at this cemetery dating back well into the 1800's.

The late afternoon view down over Weternport Bay from near the Dunbabbin Road Picnic Area.

Leaving the Dunbabbin Road Picnic Area there was a couple of slightly overgrown sections. 

While the weather was dry for the most part there was still a lot of weather around. 

Someone had gone to a lot of trouble to tape off this tree fall - a thirty second scrub bash got me easily around it.

The sandy base...

...meant that I mostly kept my boots dry.

Although this section tested my boots!

Still dropping down towards the cemetery.

The Gurdies Nature Conservation Reserve.

With yet another light shower scudding in off Westernport Bay I climbed the fence (near the Bass Highway) and picked up another sandy 4wd track that looks like it's both a fire break and an access track for The Gurdies. This sandy 4wd track parallels the Bass Highway as it heads north-east back towards Pioneer Bay and with the busy highway only 100 metres away through the scrub the traffic noise was fairly constant along this section, although to be honest it wasn't overly obtrusive. Now anyone who has driven the Bass Highway between Pioneer Bay and Grantville will know that there isn't much in the way of hills, however following the 4wd track meant that I had a few soft sandhills to slog my way up and over and with me still carrying quite a few extra Covid kilos I felt it a bit on this section. By the time I arrived back at the ute thirty minutes after leaving the cemetery, the showers had once again passed through and the scrub was bathed in a soft, golden afternoon light - quite a nice way to finish off what had been a fairly nice stroll.

The historic Grantville Cemetery. 

French Island from Grantville Cemetery.

The side fence is barbed wire - the fence along the Bass Highway is easier to climb.

Moss and Paperbark. 

This sandy track parallels the Bass Highway but features a bit more climbing...

... and descending than the highway.

The Dirt.

According to my GPS I walked around 8.3 kilometres and climbed about 163 metres on what I'd call an easy-medium grade stroll. While most of the tracks are clear and fairly well signposted (mostly) I did improvise one short section which required a bit of an off track scrub bash for a few minutes which pushed the rating up a bit - if anyone just follows the Alltrails version of the walk then I'd call it an easy stroll. There is a picnic area at the start of the walk and one at the eastern (top) end at the Dunbabbin Road Picnic Area - I dind't notice toilets or water at either of these spots. The Granville Cemetery may have water and a toilet although once again I didn't go out of my way to look. I used the Alltrails map along with my GPS topos on this stroll.

Relevant Posts.

George Bass Coastal Walk, 2016.

Churchill Island Walk, 2021.

By the time I finished the walk the sun was out again.

The picnic area could do with a little love - I'm thinking that we need to utilise this small park, as with sand mines each side I'm sure there are people keen to exploit it.

Over crowding won't be an issue here I don't think.

Looking at those dark clouds I'm thinking that I finished just in time!