The Homestead at Point Cook, 25 km SW of Melbourne, is a beautiful old property with restored outbuildings and farm machinery, set in a picnic ground with many old pine trees.
It is part of the Point Cook Coastal Park, which includes the Cheetham Wetlands.
It may be accessed by a dirt road from the Pt Cook Rd, but a scenic alternative is to walk along the coastline from the foreshore picnic ground and return along the jeep track - about 4 km overall.
This grassy track will ultimately form part of the proposed extension of the Bay West Trail, a long shared track linking Williamstown with Werribee.
To the east of the Homestead, a sandy walking track goes to Point Cook proper, with the rocky headland jutting out into Port Phillip Bay. This track passes through stands of magnificent old pine trees which were planted by the original owners.
Point Cook was once part of the huge pastoral estate belonging to the Chirnside family, who built Werribee Park Mansion. The Homestead, stables, and outbuildings were the original Chirnside family home from 1857, before Werribee mansion was built, and are classified by the National Trust and included on the Government buildings Register of Historic Buildings. Restoration of the grounds and buildings was begun by the former Board of Works in 1978.
The beach is quite attractive, with no surf!
I did this circuit hike on January 6, 2007.
The full photo set is at
http://worldisround.com/articles/322785/index.html
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