One of the best ways to experience the Mornington Peninsula is on foot. The Mornington Peninsula is home to many walks, tracks, and trails covering all skill and fitness levels. Whether you're seeking a coastal view with coffee in hand or a bushland oasis with local flora and fauna, there is sure to be a walk that fits the bill. Not sure where to start? Here are our top 5 walks on the Mornington Peninsula.
One of the best ways to experience the Mornington Peninsula is on foot. The Mornington Peninsula is home to many walks, tracks, and trails covering all skill and fitness levels. Whether you're seeking a coastal view with coffee in hand or a bushland oasis with local flora and fauna, there is sure to be a walk that fits the bill. Not sure where to start? Here are our top 5 walks on the Mornington Peninsula.
With magnificent views in every direction, this track is a short and easy walk with a big payoff. The blowhole and surrounding cliffs provide endless opportunities for great photos, and there is the amazing backdrop of the wild surf of Bass Strait. Take the track down to the wooden boardwalk and stairway to the end of Elephant Rock to get to the blowhole. Check out Little Bird Rock named because it's the resting place for many sea birds. If you're lucky, you might catch a glimpse of a sea eagle soaring overhead!
Crossing from one side of the Mornington Peninsula to the other, the Tuckey Track takes you through a mixture of paved residential streets, undulating tracks, and the Tuckey Reserve. Steeped in history, it is believed that Lieutenant James Tuckey and the local indigenous people took this route to walk from Port Phillip to the ocean beaches. It starts at Sullivan Bay Sorrento taking you through to the Mount St Paul lookout. There are some steep stairs to tackle, but the top views are worth it - with the rugged coastline on one side and Port Phillip on the other. From this point, you can choose to follow the Coastal Walk or head down the boardwalk to the Bay of Islands.
If you’ve walked the Tuckey Track and looking to venture a little further, you can tackle the Coastal Walk. Covering the southern side of the Mornington Peninsula, the scenery is breathtaking, stretching from Cape Schanck to Point Nepean National Park. The Coastal Walk encompasses smaller sections of Ocean Beach walking trails if a shorter walk is better suited. You’ll cover all the best the Mornington Peninsula has to offer, from rocky ocean coastlines, dense coastal vegetation, and picturesque surf beaches.
While this walk can be done in either direction, the best views are when walking from Cape Schanck, as you’ll have the best vantage point to see along the length of the Bass Strait coast.
Devilbend Reserve is over 600 hectares of native vegetation and waterways. It's an oasis for waterbirds and walkers alike. The Devilbend Reservoir is the largest inland body of water on the Mornington Peninsula, and it’s best explored via its surrounding walking tracks. There is a system of trails, including all-ability access to the shoreline, fishing platforms, and the boardwalk.
Many of the tracks will lead you around the water, where you'll have perfect vantage points to take in the view and try and spot some of the local waterbirds. The Reservoir is recognised as an 'Important Bird Area' by BirdLife Australia as globally crucial for conserving bird populations. If you're lucky, you might spot a Blue-Billed Duck, which is currently endangered, or a White-Bellied Sea Eagle, with the Reserve being the only known nesting site on the Mornington Peninsula!
Gunners Cottage, built in the early 1900s, originally housed military personnel stationed at Fort Nepean. It is the furthest point you can drive to within Point Nepean National Park. From here, make your way down to Observatory Point via the historic Point Nepean Cemetery and what remains of the former quarantine cattle jetty.
At Observation Point, there is a nice picnic area which makes a great place to stop and refuel whilst you take in the fantastic views over Port Phillip, back towards Melbourne, and the length of Point Nepean.
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