Port Phillip Bay

[Dr P]

This may seem a strange question to put to a bushwalking forum but is there any information available about walking around the entirety of Port Phillip Bay?

[Bill P]

Dunno ' bout walkin' but theres a bike ride each year! Bill P

[Earwig]

Back to basics and check a map. Melways would probably be a good start and show you bayside tracks and possible accommodation options. 250 km is a fair walk.

[Neil Grose]

I'm not sure that you would be able to walk around it - to get over the Yarra you'd need to go over the West Gate Bridge, and they don't allow pedestrians on there.

I guess it depends on what you define as 'walking around' Port Phillip (it is a port, not a bay) - if you wanted to walk the actual shoreline I suspect you might struggle under a combination of mud, private property and thugs!

Good luck anyway.

Cheers

Neil.

[Bill P]

Aw. Maybe you'd catch the Queenscliff-Sorrento ferry to avoid pack rafting or swimming The Rip. And there's other walkable bridges across the Yarra & Maribyrnong Rivers besides Westgate . I reckon it's doable. Bill P.

[Dr P]

Was thinking of doing it in sections as day walks. The tricky bit is trying to work out the west side of the bay. Was thinking of the Williamstown ferry may get me across the Yarra

[jcr_au]

There's certainly a bike/walking track from Werribee around to the eastern suburbs.

When you get to williamstown the track follows the Yarra up to Footscray where you can cross on a couple of bridges. There also used to be a ferry from Williamstown to Stkilda but I'm not sure if that still runs (not the old North Rd ferry that closed in the 70's a newer one)

There's also a rail trail from Quuenscliffe to Geelong

[Bill P]

You've got me thinking now. Have you seen this article Dr P? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bay_Trail Bill P

[jcr_au]

I had been thinking of this "one day" but now you've got me a bit more interested as well.

Just looked up the crossing of the Yarra for bikes & walkers

http://www.onlymelbourne.com.au/melbour ... p?id=17495

[north-north-west]

Ummmm, I'm just going on memory here, but there is a formal route encircling the Bay, with a guidebook. I just can't remember the name, but I have seen the book in Bogong and one or two other shops. the Map Shop in Hawthorn will probably have it.

[Patto]

There is now information available about walking the entirety of the Port Phillip Coast. It's conveniently packaged in my book Coastal guide to nature and history: Port Phillip Bay. It takes a trip around the bay from Point Lonsdale to Point Nepean looking at aspects of nature (animals, plants, geology) and human history along the way. It provides guidance for access to lesser-known spots. I've walked every kilometre of the 260 km journey except where it's illegal. e.g. Point Wilson and the Point Cook RAAF Base. You can buy the book for $30 at book shops, newsagents and tourist information centres around the bay or from http://www.coastalguidebooks.net.au. It should soon be available at the Bushwalk Australia shop. A companion volume covering Mornington Peninsula's ocean shore, Western Port, Phillip Island and French Island is due for release in November 2014.

[Bill Korrun]

I and 4 other friends attempted this on the weekend. We employed a mixture of walking and skateboarding when we could. They flew in to avalon and I met them at Lara station.
We were able to walk into Corio (we didn't start walking until 10:30pm) and slept at Alan Rinaldo Dias's Jetty in North Geelong.
Day 2 we walked through Geelong and straight down the Bellarine Highway in the pouring rain. Euphorically cruising into Queenscliff completely soaked and unknown to us at the time with feet covered in heinous blisters. We got the last ferry across to Sorrento, and made our way up into the hills beyond where we slept at a large water reservoir.
Day 3 we awoke to discover our injuries to debilitating to go on, we made it as far as Blairgowrie and had to give up and catch the bus.
Our souls were crushed but our hopes are not, WE WILL BE BACK.
do you have any recommendations for our next attempt?

Thanks Bill K.