Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Merricks Beach - Clifftop and Coast Hike





Merricks Beach is a small seaside village on the eastern side of Westerport Bay, about 65 kmn asouth of Melbourne.

It is one of the few coastal places within a 100 km radius of Melbourne that has been basically untouched by development. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Mornington Peninsula.

An interesting fact about Merricks Beach is that all of the streets in the area are still unsealed and it has experienced little change since the 1960s. Because of this the area is very rustic and many Manna Gum and Pine trees line the side of these streets.

The area also has a significant Koala population. This particular population has been able to survive in this area because of the lack of development which has occurred here.

I visited Merricks Beach on Tuesday September 29, 2009, undertaking a 3 km hike which started at the small car park at the end of Merricks beach Rd. My route was along the western beach, then up a staircase to the clifftop, passing through bushland, and along the main walking track.

Side tracks to two lookouts yielded superb views across the Bay, and east towards Balnarring and Somers.

It was then a descent down a narrow winding foot-track through the foreshore reserve to the beach.

The tide was out, exposing beautiful reefs and rock pools, which were explored!

Then, a walk back along the beach to the car park.

See the full set of Photos which show the scenery, the tracks, the beaches, the views, the seabirds, and some "candid camera" shots of activities on the beaches!



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