Tulum Beach - coastal hike Balnarring Beach to Somers Beach

These pictures were taken on Saturday afternoon January 15, 2011, on a 5 km (return) coastal hike on Tulum Beach, 80 km SE of Melbourne, on Westernport Bay.

Tulum Beach extends from Balnarring Beach in the west to Somers Beach in the east. It's a popular destination for beachwalking, swimming, paddling, snorkling, yachting, kayaking, kite-surfing, hound-walking, canoeing, fishing, boating, photography, rockpooling and suntanning.

Cricket matches were in progress on the beach!

The Merricks Creek Estuary flows into the Bay at Somers, and can be easily crossed at flow tide.

The Coolart Woodlands are adjacent to the beach, on the opposite side of the Creek, reached by footbridges.

Lots of action on a hot summer's day!


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Coolart Homestead Woodlands hike

These photos were taken on December 29, 2010, in the Coolart Homestead Woodlands, 80 km south of Melbourne, in the Somers and Balnarring districts.

My 4 km hike started at the car park at Balnarring Beach, then continued in the Foreshore Reserve, past the Yacht Club and camping area, then along Tulum Beach.

I then took the unsigned track to the footbridge over the Merricks Creek Estuary, entering the Coolart Homestead Woodlands.

I proceeded along signed Loops 2 and 3, passing the Lagoon, crossing Home Creek, and then along the beach, and back to the car park.

There was plenty of action on the beach, with several kiteboards, as the wind was strong and coming across Westernport Bay from the south.

There are four signed Loop Tracks in the Woodlands, 1 to 4, and all offer interesting hiking through coastal bushland.

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Balnarring Coast and Coolart Woodlands

On Saturday October 31, 2009. I went down to the Balnarring Beach Foreshore, (also known as Tulum Beach) about 80 km south of Melbourne, on Westernport Bay.

From the main carpark, I walked along the beach, reaching the unsigned boardwalk/footrack leading to the bridge over the Merricks Creek Estuary.

This took me to the signed Woodland Walk, then along the north bank of the Estuary, then uphill to the boundary of the Somers Camp for Children.

From there, I continued to the big Suspension Bridge over the Estuary, then back along the beach to the carpark, a total distance of about 5 km.

A weird natural phenomenon had occurred along the beach. This was a massive grey fog, which had blown in from the direction of Phillip Island. I have never seen anything quite like this before! A gale force wind accompanied the Fog, reducing visibility to about 50 metres!

Strangely, the fog vanished at the western end of the beach!

It was a hot day, around 30 degrees, with many visitors swimming, paddling, beachcombing, sailing in small boats, or working powered craft.

There was excitement along the beach, due to Land Boarders and Kite Surfers with their colorful kites.

Kitesurfing (also known as Kiteboarding) is a surface water sport that uses wind power to pull a rider through the water on a small surfboard or a kiteboard (similar to a wakeboard). Generally kiteboarding refers to a style of riding known as freestyle or wake-style, whereas kitesurfing is more "wave-riding" oriented. These two styles usually require different boards and specific performance kites.

A kitesurfer or kiteboarder uses a board with or without foot-straps or bindings, combined with the power of a large controllable kite to propel the rider and the board across the water. In 2006, the number of kitesurfers has been estimated at around 150,000 to 210,000, with 114,465 inflatable kites sold that same year.[1]

The sport is becoming safer due to innovations in kite design, safety release systems, and instruction. Riding styles have evolved to suit riders and conditions, such as wakestyle, waveriding, freestyle, jumping, and cruising.

Land Boarders sit on a wheeled "board", using the wind and kite as the power source. This activity is usually done on flat beaches, or over snow!

See the full set of Photos of my visit!