Great Ocean Coast Walk: Point Danger - Bird Rock (my rating A)

This coast walk starts from Point Danger@Torquay, end at Bird Rock lookout@Jan Juc.  Dogs are allowed on the beach offleash (but not on the beach of Point Danger) on/after Mar 1, till Nov, except Easter.

According to the Surf Coast Walk brochure, the walk is 3.3km one way.  We walked on the walking track to Bird Rock, and on return, we walked mainly on the beach.  It took us about 3 hrs return, including rest and beach sand/water play.

We parked the car on the esplanade, there are ample car parks.  There are toilet facilities.

You won't tell how breathtaking the view is unless you're there, and reveal it with your own eyes.

The walking track is well formed, and the beach is just soft and smooth.  You must slip off the shoes, and walk barefoot on the beach, let the waves splash onto your ankle.  Jessica loved the splashes.

 

 (Beach@Torquay)

 

(Bird Rock lookout)

 (Jan Juc Beach)

 

(Jan Juc beach)

Somers Beach@Mornington Peninsular (my rating B)

Somers Beach@Mornington Peninsular, it's in Somers, near Stony Point, I had problem finding it on the council map / google map, because on the map, it's shown as "south beach".

According to the council website / offleash brochure, the "all year around" offleash beach is located :

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200 metres of sandy beach, east from bottom of ‘hundred steps’ - off street parking at top of 100 steps

map reference 194 F11
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I hope we went to the right one (east of the steps), I always have trouble telling the direction and compass.

The beach is rather small, compared to the ones on great ocean road.  But the water's calm and peaceful.

Jessica likes here, she went into the water with great ease and pleasure.  The kids love the rockpools too.

But the carpark is small, doesn't offer many spots.  It would be a worry in the summer / hot days.

Hastings Foreshore Reserve@Mornington Peninsular (my rating A)

The Hastings Foreshore Reserve is in Hastings Mornington Peninsular, only 1hr drive from Melbourne via M3 freeway / Eastlink.  There're 2 carparks within offleash areas, 1 small 1 big, enter via Marine Parade.

The Hastings Foreshore Reserve is a gem!  It's huge and neat!  When we were there today (late morning Saturday), there were only 3 cars parked including Amy, our car, guess probably because it's in the popular tourist area.

There's a bike track (must be long, judging from the google map and other bike riding books) running through the reserve.

The reserve overlooks the bay.

I was totally relaxed on the picnic rug while the kids were riding bikes and my Jessica was sniffing and exploring, thus I didn't really take photos.  And the photos below can't describe the beauty of this park at all.

Aireys Inlet Coastal Walk: Sunnymead Beach - Lighthouse (My Rating A)

Great Ocean Road Surf Coast Walk is still my favourite!  Not just because of the magnificent ocean view, but also because they have many dog friendly beaches!

Today, it was cloudy (with morning showers) and windy, 20'C, perfect for a coastal walk!

We started from the Carpark@Sunnymead Beach, finished at Lighthouse@Aireys Inlet.
The car park is at the end of boundary road (towards the coastline).

According to the flyer, the walk is 2.8km one way, it took us about 3 hrs return.  We did it at a relaxing pace, strolled to the beach, and back to the walking track, rested at the lookouts.......


It was high tide when we were there, thus unable to return via the beach.
 

 (View@Lookout)

 

(Well Formed Track)

(Well Formed Track)

 

(Step Beach)

 

(Step Beach) 

 

(This is the walk description - from Flyer "Surf Coast Walk")

 

 

(Walk Track #11 - From Flyer "Surf Coast Walk")

 

(The beaches in purple: Offleash between March - Nov except Easter, from Council Website)

Outer Circle Linear Park F @ Kew East (My Rating A)

Love this park and playground!  It is on the Outer Circle Bike Track,  near the cnr of Normanby Road and Campbell St.

I guess this playground is for the local, because there's no toilet facilities.

The area is offleash, green and peaceful.  The play equipments look new and fun.

Loutit Bay@Lorne (my rating B)

Lorne, certainly, is a popular town on Great Ocean Road, and Loutit Bay is a popular beach in Lorne.

Loutit Bay is an offleash beach between Mar 1 and Nov 30, except Easter (Purple Section).  It is a very nice and big beach, with facilities like toilets and shower.

 

(Picture from Surf Coast Local Council)

The only problem I found was parking.......  I would definitely give it A if parking was a bit easier.

Quarrie Park@Clifton Hill (my rating C)

Quarrie Park at Clifton Hill is a big park, part of the park (Wright Street) is offleash.  It has an adventure playground and toilet facilities.

My kids didn't enjoy the playground much,  but they did inline staking on the shared path, they had some fun.

There's a bmx track next to the playground.

There's no much shade though there are trees.

 

(On the little hill overlooking the playground)

 

(On-leash area)

 

(Off-leash area)