It was a magical morning when the 17 people who had registered for our walk met at the Moggs Creek Picnic Ground at 10am ready to spend a few hours in this great area. It was cool, pleasant, no wind and an ideal day to be outdoors. We were pleased that some of the Melbourne people who had been in lock-down were able to join in the experience. As we had too many people to participate in one group according to the Coronavirus Victoria regulations, the group was split in two with the decision being made to do the same walk with the second group doing the route in reverse.
The tracks took us through a variety of vegetation communities where we were able to admire many of the small plants that were growing along the track edges.
Walking through the grasstrees
Some of the small plants we observed included:-
Blue-bottle Daisy
Cut-leaf Daisy
Common Fringe Lily
And the special Flying Duck Orchid
Once we reached the coast there were amazing coastal views from the track and the Ocean View Look-out:
Panoramic View of the coastline towards Lorne
Where the bush meets the sea – the magic of Moggs
It was necessary to take care as we walked down the steep coastal track as the gravel was a bit loose and it was great to see so many Short Purple Flags peeping out from the green vegetation.
Group walking down coastal track
Short Purple Flag
It was interesting to visit the seat presented to the Friends of Moggs Creek by Parks Vic in recognition of the group’s conservation work over 25 years.
Resting on the special seat
Both groups spent some time on the beach with Group 1 having lunch there while Group 2 ate their lunch in the Ocean View Look-out enjoying the spectacular views.
Group 1 enjoying lunch on the beach
The sign on Ron’s Bridge honoured an earlier resident of Moggs Creek who was keen to see a link between the two small settlements on either side of the creek.
An interesting little swampy area close to the creek enabled us to view a few of the small plants that like to grow in damper areas.
Two of these were the Swamp Mazus:
Swamp Mazus
and the Matted Lobelia:
Matted Lobelia
An interesting little plant Smooth Solenogyne was just ready to come into flower.
Yes it was a great walk exploring this special area within the Great Otway National Park and one that we enjoyed sharing together.
Margaret MacDonald