Bay Walk: Middle Brighton and North Brighton

Alright, before I begin babbling about my latest (and only) hike, Imma treat ye wee hikers with a freshly caught riddle.

What is a Little Penguin’s favourite thriller show?

-10 if you say Shark Tank.

-20 if you say something like Whale Wars.(Or The Aquarium)

+100 if you say Bay-ts Motel.

Disclaimer: This blogger is not responsible for devices thrown into your nearest water body….

Oh, you wanna throw the blogger into the nearest water body….

hehe.

Melbourne, as I’ve said before, is a very walkable place and while planning my trip, I intended to make good use of the pedestrian-friendliness, so when I discovered that there is a trail between Brighton Beach and St Kilda Beach, I immediately made up my mind to walk the whole trail.

Of course, this was one of my super “castle-in-the-air” sort of ideas, so I wasn’t actually sure of what I was getting into, but castles in the air are magical, and this post is proof why you should not hesitate to build castles in the air because, in Gen Z lingo, the act is called….

hehe.

The trail between Brighton Beach and St Kilda Beach passes through four locations. First up, a little away from Brighton Beach, there’s Middle Brighton, then North Brighton, then Elwood and finally Elster Creek, which leads to St Kilda Beach. All in all the walk is about 6km long. The trail is really easy to follow without using a map, because there are signs along the way, but in case one get too taken in by the natural splendour of the place and misses out on the signs, this blog post will keep you on track, since I have included some iconic landmarks that can really help in identifying the place one is at. One piece of advice, though, is to stay on the trail. The walking path is clearly marked by symbols and even the look-out points are pretty clearly indicated, but moving away from the walking path can take you to a completely different location and that can be a little scary since the ocean is mostly the only company one’s got out here.

Right, safety instructions: √

In this post, Imma cover Middle Brighton and North Brighton, showcasing all the landmarks and iconic places that mark the Bay Trail.

So, without further ado, let’s get hikin’ by the bay.

A few steps away from the Brighton Beach, I turned back to see if I could still catch a glimpse of the Beach Boxes, but I was greeted by this instead. I was literally awed by this scene, and the sheer peacefulness that it exudes. The rainbow had formed a nearly perfect arc and it stood out so clearly against the overcast sky. I love how all the seven colours are seen and I even tried to look for the pot of gold at the end of it, but the rainbow ends in the ocean, so perhaps, there’s a pot of gold hiding in there.

hehe.

Another unique thing here is that if it wasn’t for the ocean, the scene would look like a desert or a scrub landscape. The indigenous scrub-like vegetation grows along the entire trail and it really feels like a desert leading into the ocean. The contrast is so beautiful and I was really struck by how some of the bushes were shaped. They look like a mix between corals and ferns which gives it a sort of an extra-terrestrial vibe and it feels as though I’ve stepped onto some mystical planet:)

Sea pools were one of the most adorable things that I came across on the trail. They are just like baby versions of the ocean and I loved how the ocean simply rushes into the sand, carving its own path like a little diva, and forming a pool for little ducks to splash about in:)

I did catch a seagull trying to wade into this pool and there were other pools too, where tiny duckies swam around in circles. Some of the pools even had sea weed, and that was pretty cool, even though the green leaves resembled tentacles.

Sea pools take me right back to those fantasy bedtime stories where one finds a mermaid or a sea sprite living in the pool. I did try to look for a mystical creature in the pools, but all I managed to see was my reflection.

Maybe I am a mermaid, living out a generational curse on land.

hehehehehe….

Here we have the first major landmark along the trail, i.e The Baths in Middle Brighton. It is a restaurant and also a very classy wedding destination, near the Royal Brighton Yacht Club.

The place looked very retro and I felt like I was transported to the 1960s, where I could perfectly picture myself dining here after a fun day at sea.

The place also has a health club, so one can easily spend a day here, with a full itinerary of splashing in the ocean, eating, splashing again, eating again, and probably marrying a handsome stranger to top it all off.

hehe….

Needless to say, here’s another addition to my list of potential wedding destinations.

Who’s gonna match my freak?

hehe.

The Royal Brighton Yacht Club was one of the most fascinating things that I came across on the Bay Trail. Now, I have never seen a yacht club before, so seeing so many yachts, all together was really something that I’d only seen in movies or magazines. The Club also offers lessons so I do have that on my bucket list for the next visit.

Here we have a view of a whole fleet of yachts, bobbing upon the ocean. This reminded me of a posh version of The Pirates of the Caribbean, where everyone owns a yacht instead of a giant ship. I have always associated yachts with everything posh, so seeing this really brought out my inner “Material Girl”:)

There’s a pier which can get you closer to the yachts and I went as close as one can get. The ocean here is also a sort of feeding ground for ducks and sea gulls, so it was really fascinating to see tiny ducks dive into the waves and pop back up. It is incredibly hard to photograph these ducks because the moment you aim the camera, the little been dunks into the waves, and trying to photograph one is like an impossible game of whack-a-mole.

The sight of the yacht fleet is a good landmark for the trail, as you can get a glimpse of it as you go further and it can tell you how far you’ve come, so looking for the yachts is a good strategy to keep yourself on the trail.

Here’s a glimpse of the Melbourne skyline, as seen from the Yacht Club. The outline of the buildings are definitely clearer, than what can be seen at Brighton Beach.

The beach just beyond the Yacht Club is quite good for swimming. The ocean is warm and gentle, and I even saw a person training for the Iron Man. The competition seems to be really popular in Australia, as I came across four people training for it. That was pretty inspiring to see, as the competition really tests one to their limits.

One thing that I noticed here in Australia is that people really prioritise fitness. I saw people working out at any time of the day and I really liked how everyone puts their wellbeing first. It is really something that I would love to inculcate, but, it’s gonna have to wait….

Till tomorrow.

hehe.

This is a shot of the path that I had travelled, up till the Yacht Club. It looks so serene, with the clear sky and the gentle waves. The houses are so pretty and the people staying there would have such a lovely view. It is a good place to frame a very Agatha Christie-esque mystery, and it did remind me of ‘And Then There Were None.’

Disclaimer: This blogger does not hope to induce similar thoughts in others doing a solo hike along this path and causing a random wave of panic.

Did I scare myself into a state of paranoia?

hehe….

No.

This sculpture, of a dog with goggles, really made me giggle. I love how dashing the pup looks, like something out of Speed 2, hehe.

His name’s Roo, btw. Roo, the cool pooch:)

The sculpture is actually called Summertime, and it is very close to a dog-friendly beach, along the trail.

Here’s some glimpses of the ocean as I move away from the Yacht Club.

Seeing submerged rock piers on the beach, really brought home the fact that the ocean can be as powerful as it is gentle. There’s many points along the trail, where I got splashed by the sea, even though I was on the path away from the beach and it was really fun, almost like a water-splashing ride in an amusement park.

The vegetation along the Bay Trail was truly fascinating. There was scrub, mingling with some shrubs and small trees, and the wind made the branches settle into really fun angles, giving the vegetation a very sci-fi look. The scrub vegetation is really well preserved and looking at it takes one back to a time when this trail held footsteps of the First People, living in harmony with the wildlife. I think that any place close to nature holds a very sacred essence, which comes from all the gratitude that it holds, owing to Nature nourishing every living being and this trail really exudes that sacred, gentle power.

Walking the Bay Trail is a very enlightening experience, where there’s lot of time to introspect and be at one with Nature.

A lot of the scrub vegetation is home to Aussie marsupials like wallabies and bandicoots. They are super shy and infinitely adorable, so they rarely come out onto the trail but keeping a look out for them is always exciting!

The trail along Brighton is also called The Indigenous Trail, owing to its scrub vegetation and certain Aboriginal beliefs associated with the area. This mural is at a view point along the trail and it shows an Emu, carved in stone. This viewpoint also has an interesting sign board which talks about the Journey of the Eel.

The months of February and March were known to the Boon Wurrung people as Wygabil-ny-ewin which is translated to ‘Old man sun’. This season also marks the beginning of Eel season, where eels migrate to the river and return to the sea at the beginning of Spring. The number of eels that undertook the journey and returned was seen as a sign of prosperity by the Boon Wurrung elders.

The area is also known to be home to the Rakali or the Australian Water Rat. They are usually seen in rocks that jut into the ocean, but like all Aussie furries, they are shy and don’t show up very often.

I love the tiny bit of the Melbourne skyline that can be seen in the picture. It really feels like a whole different world, when seen from the trail.

Here’s a view of the ocean, taken from the Emu view point. On the far end, one can see the Yacht Club and the houses, all engulfed in a beautiful silence.

The Bay Trail is an area of complete solitude, so most of my walk was just me with the waves and Nature for company. There’s no noise for miles and the sense of detachment is immaculate. This trail really made me slow down and breathe in the ocean-tinged air and just feel the essence of being alone amidst nature and it was one of the best feelings that I’ve ever experienced.

Here we have a pier, almost at the end of the Brighton stretch of the trail. The Melbourne skyline looks a lot closer from here but it is just a little more than halfway to St Kilda Beach.

This is a picture of the sea and the skyline taken from the ocean end of the pier. I actually had the ocean splashing at my feet while taking this shot and it was so exciting.

I absolutely love the metallic effect brought in by the sun, shining upon the waves. It was actually raining when I got this photo, so the weather was on absolute fusion mode.

hehe.

Here’s a picture of me, moving on from the pier. This was taken about two minutes after the picture above and needless to say, it was bright sunny.

The weather in Melbourne dances to its own tune. I wonder how hard it is to report the weather here, because one moment, you are sending alerts for a rainy day and the next moment, you are cautioning people against sunburn or frostbite.

It’s exciting to see what the sky throws at you. It could be rain or, it could be meatballs.

Or apple pies….

Cloudy with a Chance of Apple Pies….

hehe….

This is a picture of the trail travelled up until the end of North Brighton. The yachts are just a speck now, and the trail transitions to a more beach-centric scenery.

This graffitied pier marks the end of the Brighton Stretch of the trail. Beyond this, the trail goes through Elwood and Elster Creek, which I will be talking about in the next blog.

Elwood is known for its pet-friendly beaches, so there’s a lot of doggy pugmarks lining the beach.

There’s something so poetic about footprints left in the sand. Especially prints of a chihuahua gone wild.

hehe….