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Published: April 28th 2011
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With a long weekend coming & with the rare occurence of a good weather forecast in Melbourne, it only made sense that my friends and I go for a good bush walk...
Being an absolute beach person, I was keen on doing a walk that involved the ocean...preferably one with spots where taking a dip in the ocean or rock pools would be possible. It took some research on the Internet to find a good coastal walk that was blogged/reviewed to detail. While the information that I could find on the Bushrangers Bay walk didn't do justice to the walk itself & to be honest could be more descriptive, it did provide a fair bit of information (So firstly thanks to all you bloggers who share their experiences). Hence why I decided to blog for a change (I am usually a lurker and don't usually get up to writing) & provide as much info as possible so someone out there can benefit from my experience....
The trip started off with rounding some good friends, picking a good day (weather wise) and making sure everyone was good to do a 11 km walk (Bushrangers Bay-Cape Schanck return). Now, my group
of friends (including I) have varying fitness and enthusiasm levels & it was important to choose a walk that wasn't going to kill any of us but at the same time wasn't a walk in the park. I must say Bushrangers bay - Cape Schanck (And back) was probably an ideal walk for us....I would grade it as Easy-Medium.
So we drive down from Melbourne to the Main Creek car park on Boneo road. Note: You have to go down Boneo road past the Boneo Road- Cape Schanck road intersection.....Once we were at the start point, people spent some time having a drink, slapping some sun screen, smoking a few darts, etc. We noticed some company in the car park with a few minimally dressed men getting ready for the walk too....little did we know what was to come.
THE WALK..
A flat-ish terrian was welcoming at the start and this was how it stayed for atleast 1 km. The view to this point were ok, with some shrubs, trees, birds, etc. Beyond the 1 km mark is when we started to ascend a little bit and the view kept getting better and better. Rolling plains, grazing
lands and a blue sky were complemented by the pleasant temperature/weather. The temperature at this point was about 25-26 degrees. About 1.5 kms in and we could see glimpses of Bushrangers Bay amidst trees and the sight was simply breathtaking. As we closed in (at 2kms) the sights became more and more beautiful with the clear blue sky complementing the sereness of the bay. I guess what enticed me more about Bushrangers bay was the clean blue colour of the water & the fact that there weren't too many people on the beach. At about 2.6 kms, there was a sign in the direction of the descend to the beach.....I must say it ranks right up there in the nicest little beaches I have been to. A little stream of water leading to the ocean was a good spot to have a little play....The backdrop is all hill and hence provides shelter from the sun if required. Some of the rocks aginst the hill also provided a good place to hang out/rest.
At this point all I could think of is taking a dip in the ocean. Bushrangers bay is a really pretty, sandy beach with some rocks on
the sides. It probably ain't the safest beach for a swim so to speak but is ideal for a dip. After some time in the water, it was time to explore the bay a bit more....We could see some people far away in the corner of the bay amidst the rocks jumping into what looked like rock pools....The closer we got, we realised that they were the same 'minimally-dressed' men we saw in the car park; however this time it wasn't 'minimally' any more. While I dont have anything against skinny dipping (to each their own), I was a bit dissappointed that they had taken the best rock pool on the bay & didn't care about the fact that it was quite confronting. Anyway, my friends and I went exploring further looking for other rock pools & while we had success in finding them, they probably weren't as good as the previous one but were pretty good nonetheless. We stayed here for a while, climbed a few rocks, sat in a few rock pools & headed back to the beach. It was time to continue the walk to Cape Schanck..
The walk to Cape Schanck was mostly flat with
some sections of ascent and was an easy 3 kms. At some point you can actually see glimpses of the light house at Cape Schanck which was the target. The scenery along the way was extraordinary with views of the coastline & rugged hilltops. We got to the light house all in good shape & raided the little shop selling ice candy, drinks, food. There are a few more walks from Cape Schanck leading to pebble beach and some other spots which we weren't quite keen on. The temperature at this point was probably around 30 degrees & all I could think of was walking back, getting into the car and driving to the nearest pub for a well deserved pint of beer. That being the motivation, we all headed back to the starting point...
There were some amazing views of the coast, sheltered walking tracks & good company which made this walk great fun. A return walk from Bushrangers bay - Cape Schanck is 11 kms in all. Even today, I am still keen on getting back to the bay and getting into that rock pool which I missed out on 😊...
And yeah, the beer in
Bushrangers Bay
Somewhere in between the rocks you can see are the rock pools.... the end was epic!
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