Before we begin our penultimate hike route, here’s a pictorial story about how Elster Creek got its name.

After years of presiding over elemental forces and ruling the kingdom of Arendelle, Elsa and Anna decided to retire and live out their old age in a more southern climate.

Armed with sparkly gowns and Sven, the sisters sledded their way past latitudes and found themselves in Australia.

hehe….Anyway, they reached the Bay Trail and decided to walk along it, hoping to catch a glimpse of human life.

They walked and walked, aided solely by Elsa’s ice powers protecting them from sunburn, but as they neared a patch of ocean, bounded by scrub and gushing under a tiny rust-coloured bridge, Elsa began to tire out and her icicles began to crack.

At that moment, Anna turned to Sven and began to frantically blabber the words, ‘Elsa creaks, Elsa creaks, Elsacreaks, Elsa Creak!!’

Unbeknownst to either sister, a geological party, commissioned to name the place they were in, heard Anna’s frantic cries, and their woes vanished, for they found a name for the place where they stood.

Elsacreak, which, over time and phonic modification, became Elster Creek.

Disclaimer: This blogger does not claim responsibility for electrical devices “creaking” on impact with hard surfaces.

hehe.

If Disney needs a plot for Frozen 3, here’s where they can find it!

In the last blog, I spoke about the first half of the Bay Trail, covering Middle Brighton and North Brighton, along with all its lookout places. In this post, Imma take ye wee hikers through the second half of the trail, through two beautiful places, namely Elwood and Elster Creek(Elsa Creak, hehe). Again, this blog will definitely act as a guide to keep ye folks on trail, from Elwood to St Kilda Beach:)

So, without further ado, let’s get walkin’.

 

Piers are significant landmarks that demarcate the start and end of each major area, along the Bay Trail. Elwood Beach starts with this pier, and compared to the piers in the Brighton trail, this one was more solid. Owing to its concrete base, the pier found itself as a canvas for artistic beings, and became a mosaicked runway for the wee seagulls and the occasional flying-haired hikers.(hehe) The seagull in the picture is called Gooseberry, btw. Make sure you say hi!

These are the mosaic tiles along the pier at Elwood Beach. They depict various scenes from the seaside, right from the old times to the present era. The triangular mosaic on the top fuses Renaissance art with Australian vibrancy, depicting a mermaid drawn in the style of Botticelli’s Birth of Venus. The middle mosaic in the bottom row depicts lifeguards or life savers.

Elwood Beach has a Life Saving Club, which trains lifeguards, and the mosaic is a nice tribute to the Club, which was established in 1912. The Club is an important landmark along the trail, and we will see a glimpse of it later in the blog.

I absolutely loved the idea of having mosaics along the pier. It adds a classy touch to the rustic surroundings and it feels like walking in the footsteps of so many happy beach goers, enjoying the ocean since the beginning of time. There is a comforting sense of warmth, when one thinks of how a place has stood the test of time, and it brings in an energy, that is a fusion of the vibes carried by people visiting the place in each bygone era. Standing on that pier, I felt that the Bay Trail is such a happy place and it carries the echoes of laughter from so long ago, like a permanent footprint in the sand, getting more deeply imprinted with each passing era.

Here’s a close-up of Gooseberry the seagull, posing for the camera, and another shot of a gull(Cranberry), poised to dive in for his lunch.

Whenever I see a bird, I make sure to take pictures of it in the manner of someone who has never seen a bird before. I have twenty pictures of these two seagulls, in the exact same stance. I will 100% do the same thing when I next glimpse a bird.

hehe.

Moving on from the pier, here’s a picture of the trail leading forward. The vegetation here is very alpine, unlike the scrub vegetation along the Brighton Trail and it feels as though two different worlds, one mountainous and one coastal are colliding to form some cosmic fusion. The contrast is very subtle and walking past the conifers is very soothing, especially when its alpine scent mingles with the ocean breeze.

The beach at Elwood is covered with footprints and paw marks. It is a pet friendly beach and I did see a few people playing with their dogs on the sand. The beach is also called ‘Dogwood’, owing to its doggy-centric vibe and it was really fun to see adrenaline fuelled pooches, head-butting into people and each other, with not a single thought passing through their fuzz brains, except for an unending stream of happiness.

I was really fortunate to be able to pet three dogs, along the way, and somehow, the whole scene got me thinking of how cats would act when brought to this beach, especially since I started missing my kitty back home.

According to my brainstorming, cats here, would either be rolled up into a ball, alert at every rush of the breeze, or they’d chatter at seagulls or they’d see the whole place as a giant litter box.

hehe….

Or they’d hiss at Great Danes….

hehe:)

Walking along the beach, the next landmark on the Bay Trail is the Elwood Life Saving Club. I had never seen such an establishment before, and I was really impressed with all that the Club does to ensure safety upon the beach.

Established in 1912, the founding fathers of the Life Saving Club wanted to push for Open Sea bathing and ocean access for men and women together, instead of limiting people to slots in Bath Houses. The Club, at the time, ensured treatment for drowning, assuring the authorities about safety while swimming in the open ocean.

Fast forward a century, the Club now caters to safety while surfing, swimming and even treats people who get stung by jellyfish. They have various programmes that train children and adults to be life savers and I think its really noble yet silent work. The ocean is an enjoyable place and establishments like the Life Saving Club ensure that there is respect for the ocean and all the living beings that live in it, and are crucial in maintaining a harmonious balance.

The Club reminds me of Baywatch, and I assure you, I hung around outside the Club doors to see if a Zac Efron-like lifeguard emerged with a surfboard under his arm.

Maybe I should have run headlong into the ocean.

That would be one wild Disney Princess story, with the princess landing up in New Zealand for all her efforts to be a distressed damsel,

hehe.

Here’s a cute little stand that offers paddle boards for rent, right across the Life Saving Club. I would have been so tempted to rent one, had the shop been open. I was a little early for the shop, but the next time I’m here, I’d definitely like to paddle in the Southern Ocean.

Here is a glimpse of the trail travelled up till the Life Saving Club. I love how the yachts from the Royal Brighton Yacht Club can still be seen as a speck in the distance, against the cloud on the left.

The yachts are like a constant companion through out the trail. They get smaller and smaller, yet no matter how far you go, they always have your back, telling you that you are on the right track and I think such an affirming presence is vital on a rather solitary hike like the Bay Trail.

The ocean is definitely more lively at Elwood, as there’s a few sailboats out on the waves. It is a popular place for water sports with a lot of people training professionally as surfers or sailors.

The ocean gets frothy towards Elwood and there is quite a bit of sea foam upon the beach. I am an ardent follower of the school of thought that believes sea foam to be the manes of horses, riding the Sea God’s chariot, so whenever a particularly foamy wave crashed upon the shore, I found myself peering to see if the horses would run aground.

Apparently Neptune was holding his horses.

hehe.

As we come towards the last leg of the Elwood Stretch, here’s a fish and chips place and a loo for a bit of a rest along the trail.

I love the blue and white designs on the walls, and it reminds me a bit of the blue domes at Santorini. The colour scheme matches so perfectly with the sky:)

The vegetation here, transitions back to the scrub desert flora, which is so fascinating. I love how each contrast exists so harmoniously along a single trail and it really brings home the importance of coexisting in the circle of life.

Very Lion King coded. Very philosophical.

This pillar here, shows a picture of Point Ormond, which is a lookout point, a little off the Bay Trail. The point is on a bit of an elevation and it is a good place to rest and maybe have a tiny picnic, before resuming the trail. I did not go to Point Ormond this time round, but I’d definitely like to have a nice picnic here, the next time I’m on the trail.

Here is the trail leaving Elwood and entering Elster Creek. The Melbourne skyline looks so much closer at this point and somehow, the weather becomes more temperate on leaving Elwood.

I feel that the points on the Bay Trail symbolise each season. Middle Brighton felt like Spring, with its wedding destination vibes and the Yacht Club, epitomising all things classy. North Brighton was like Autumn, with its beige-hued vegetation and alternating gusts of cool wind followed by a mellow warmth.

Elwood symbolised all things summer, despite its alpine vegetation, and had a very energetic vibe to it, and Elster Creek symbolises winter and walking the trail in the area is a very poetic experience, engulfed in tranquility.

The Elster Creek Trail is like a miniature doll house, with little bridges and canals and tiny shrubs along the walkway. When I began talking about walking the Bay Trail, I had mentioned Robert Frost’s The Road Less Taken and Elster Creek is the exact setting which I had in mind whenever I’ve read the poem.

The bridge and the ocean rushing along the trail is something straight out of a coastal fairy tale and it feels like walking through a time when fairies roamed the coast.

I was in complete solitude while walking the Elster Creek trail and the feeling was surreal. It all feels very dream like when I think about the place now, but I was so fortunate to be able to experience the Bay Trail and carry its memory with me.

The bridge across the canal at Elster Creek had this adorable line of locks on its bars. Some were promises of love, some locks were for personal goals and some were simply a mark left behind by a happy traveller. I love the concept of locking one’s promises. It is so subtle yet so endearing and it drives home the fact that humanity still thrives on promises, love and hope.

Here we have the last stretch of the Bay Trail, leading to St Kilda Beach. The path is narrower and the wind literally blows stronger and I had my heart racing as I walked this stretch, partly in excitement that I was nearing the end of my hike and partly in disbelief that I’d actually done the walk and literally made my castle in the air materialise.

hehe.

Finally, we come to the end of the Bay Trail, as the St Kilda parking lot and boat bay appear upon the trail. The feeling that grips anyone who completes the trail and gets to this point is truly immaculate and I’ve personally never felt so triumphant about anything before.

I was so engrossed in my victorious mood that I ended up taking a turn into a boat repair area and reached a dead end. This is the picture of the said dead end.

I did make my way to the St Kilda Beach eventually, but that is gonna happen in the next blog, which will be the last post in the Bay Walk series, summing up the only hike I’ve ever hiked.

hehe.

I think that sometimes, one must simply follow their wildest idea to the last word, without thinking of its eccentricity, and it can lead to some really fabulous experiences.

And that is a wrap,

Until Next Time.

hehe.