Maits Rest Walk, Great Otway National Park - April 2021

The Maits Rest Walk should be suitable for most people.

Maits Rest hardly counts as a walk really, it came in at around 1 kilometre on my GPS however most of the stuff I've read has it coming in at around 850 metres... either way we are not talking a strenuous outing here. This is a walk that's best done when you are in the area already, and as I was passing by the start of the track this afternoon and had a bit of spare time I decided to drop in and check things out. I haven't walked this little track for many years, since I'd last been through it had been closed for a while with some kind on storm damage - although I can't remember exactly what type of disaster befell this little walk.

This walk is well furnished with information signs.

Leaving the ute I grabbed my camera and GPS, slipped on the hiking Havaianas and disappeared into the wall of green. After a few metres I branched left and started to drop down into a gully that came complete with a gently trickling creek. The vegetation here makes you feel like you are traipsing through a jungle somewhere exotic, not ambling around tourist walk in Havaianas a few metres from the Great Ocean Road! There is a dense understory of ferns and bracken along here with huge old Mountain Ash trees towering above, a lot of these old mountain ash trees have had their tops lopped off by storm damage however they are still magnificently tall and impressive trees.

Almost as soon as leaving the car park the track dropped down into a damp gully.

It's a world of green down here.

Now I could enlighten everybody on the names of all these ferns... yes, I could if I knew them myself!

Once down in the gully most of the walk is along well constructed boardwalks which makes it pretty easy to concentrate on the scenery and not worry to much about where your feet are being placed. The track eventually arcs around and starts climbing back up to complete the circuit, the higher (relatively) the track climbs the drier and more open the bush became. There are also a few openings along here where some of the big Mountain Ash have come down and created a clearing in the dense canopy which somewhat ironically provided the best views of the other still standing Mountain Ash Trees. 

There was a trickle of water flowing down the gully this morning.

I find that I really struggle to capture the essence of these stunning forests in my photos unfortunately. 

Maits Rest, Great Otway National Park.

I'm thinking that strollers and wheelchairs would be a possibility on this walk.

It was around twenty minutes after setting off that I emerged from the wall of green blinking into the afternoon sun. It might not be a long walk however its still well worth doing, especially if you are with some non walkers. Jumping back into the ute this afternoon I slipped off Havaianas and set off for home after what had been a great day out - I'd done this little stroll on my return journey from a bigger walk down at Cape Otway.

When there is a break in the canopy you can get a bit of an idea of how big and majestic these old Mountain Ash Trees are.

Gee, I got lucky with the weather today.

After crossing the gully again the track started to climb.

The stumps of the fallen trees sometimes give you a better perspective on the size of these giants - and something for the kids to play on!

The Dirt.

As I mentioned earlier this is a short walk, according to my GPS I walked around 1 kilometres and climbed about 84 metres on this very easy stroll - and these figures actually feel a little over the odds. This walk is suitable for most people, the track has no steps so wheelchairs and strollers are a possibility although there are some solid grades to negotiate. I'm sure Parks Vic have some free stuff online about this walk and the track itself is well furnished with information signs. The Julie Mundy and Neil Fahey book Best walks of the Great Ocean Road book has a description of this walk along with a map, I just used my GPS topos this afternoon though.

Relevant Posts.

Cape Otway ~ Rainbow Falls Circuit, Great Otway National Park, 2021.

Skenes Creek Circuit, 2019.

Maits Rest, Great Otway National Park.

Climbing back up to the ute the views continued.

I visited Maits Rest early in the afternoon on Good Friday, even at what I'm guessing is a very busy time I didn't have any trouble getting a park.

I'm thinking that my GPX track might be a little dodgier than normal on this little stroll due to the thick tree canopy interfering with my GPS signal?

Altona Coastal Park & Cherry Lake Walk - April 2021

Things were pretty quiet in Altona this morning.

Last year I managed to re-walk the short Cherry Lake stroll and having enjoyed that little outing I've been looking for another opportunity to head west and check things out again. With Sam and I spending a couple of days in the nearby Williamstown it provided the chance for an early morning visit to Altona. Not being as silly as me I left Sam asleep in bed this morning as I made the very short drive over to Altona, parking the ute at the almost deserted Altona boat ramp car park just off Altona Road.

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.

Reaching the Cherry Lake outlet I left the lake and once again crossed Millers Road. After climbing over a fence I followed the grassy bank of Cherry Creek, first past a soccer oval and then along the back fence line of some of Altona's suburban houses. This bit of Cherry Creek, whilst not looking particularly pretty actually had quite a bit of bird life this morning and I mucked around trying to get a decent photo of some Spoonbills - hey, it's better than the usual Seagulls and Bin Chickens I reckon! After climbing over another low fence I crossed the railway line and arrived back at the carpark off Altona Road, it was time to head back to Williamstown and head out for breakfast.

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.

Cherry Lake Walk, 2020.

Altona Wetlands Walk, 2019.

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.