MARIBYRNONG RIVER WALK OCTOBER 2010

on the 27th of october, we headed out for an impromptu walk along the maribyrnong river. it was about 15km from the bus drop off point on buckley st back to the 510 bus at essendon station. you can see the map by clicking here. you can see all the photos of the day by clicking here. all in all it was a really lovely walk along a stretch of the river we hadn't seen before. given that it's one of the two major city rivers in melbourne, it's odd that we've only walked on it twice (once on the way down to williamstown). again, i don't have time to write this up in detail, so i offer you photos instead! hope you enjoy and are inspired to go for a walk there yourself.

this cat ran along the fence tops beside us for half a block or so as we headed towards the river.


note the maribyrnong river viaduct/quarter mile bridge in the background, and the ring road beyond.


you don't really get a proper sense of the scale of this valley from photos. it's lovely that it's undeveloped, but we think that there will be a nasty housing development going up on the opposite bank sometime soon.


solomon's ford, historic river crossing out to the gold fields.


j at the ford.


at the vietnamese quang minh buddhist temple in braybrook. i love this cheerful buddha statue sitting high on the valley wall, smiling out over the river.


river reflections.


at the tea gardens. it was a lovely place for a bite to eat. i imagined what it might have been like in the early 1900s or in the 1920s with gentlefolk picnickers!


"Originally installed in 1909, The White Lady was an icon of the Riverview Tea Gardens. Following her disappearance more than a decade ago, her whereabouts remain unknown. The White Lady standing here today is a replica and has been produced from turn of the century photographs taken by the original Riverview Tea Gardens owners, the Hicks family."


enjoying the sunshine!


view of the city across the river. i think this was from the lookout near prospect st? ammo/explosives manufacturing plant (iirc) in the middle ground.


footbridge over the maribyrnong.


tea and biscuits before heading back up to the bus.