It was cloudy and gloomy Easter Monday. It was raining from time to time but we decided to risk it and go to Mornington for a walk.
We started from the parking lot near the Dava Hotel.
The rain stopped. It was nice to walk and be sheltered from the wind by the thick bushes.
The plate reads:
MARKER ONE – LANDING AT BIRDROCK
Lieutenant Matthew Flinders, in command of H.M.S. Investigator, came ashore here on April 29, 1802. He walked two miles towards Schnapper Point, the furthest part of the shore that he had seen from Arthur’s Seat, and took observations.
We enjoyed great clifftop views.
The trail ended after about 2 km. We walked on the Hawker Beach next.
We reached Balcombe Creek and had a pleasant lunch at the Mount Martha Fine Foods.
We headed to Balcombe Estuary Boardwalk next.
The sign reads:
Balcombe Estuary Reserves
Wominjeka
Welcome, you are entering Balcombe Estuary Reserves
Follow the boardwalk and walking tracks to explore the diverse bushland along Balcombe Creek. The main walking track from the beach to The Briars is 2.5 kilometres long and takes about one hour one way. There are a number of entry points along the way that link to surrounding streets.
The sign reads:
Thriving in salt
Below the dense Swamp Paperbark scrub fringing the creek is a rich understorey of saltmarsh plants.Saltmarsh communities play a vital role in the estuarine ecosystem, providing spawning grounds for fish, shelter and food for juvenile fish, and habitat and food for many waterbirds. They depend on intermittent flooding with saltwater at high tide when the creek mouth is open. Then, when the mouth is closed, the plants are gradually inundated by fresh water flowing downstream.
We walked on a quiet street to get back to the Mornington – Mt Martha Foreshore Reserve.
We walked 12 km total. It took us 4 hours to complete the walk, including lunch break.