It was an absolutely stunning Autumn day for this walk. After tackling the Kokoda Track down the Eliza Scarp from King's Park we crossed Mount's Bay Road (not as difficult as we thought it would be) to walk along the shared bike path.... Note the bikes come up behind you silent and fast but most of the path has grass to one side which means you can safely walk and stop to take photos....oh so many photos of this beautiful stretch of water!
If you don't want to cross Mount's Bay Road at this point you can walk along the escarpment side until you get to the Old Swan Brewery where you will find a walkway above the road.
From the Brewery it is about a 30 minute walk to the UWA Boatsheds on Hackett Drive.
We could hear plenty of birds along the way even over the top of the weekday traffic. Walking alongside the water we spied plenty of jellyfish (so mesmerizing watching them move!), some cormorants and other water birds, several fish, a blue crab and a bride at the Blue Boat House. There was plenty to keep the kid's attention on this section while we enjoyed the magnificent scenery.
We spied the cubbys and hammocks on the Crawley foreshore where the kids from the Educated by Nature groups were enjoying their school holiday playouts. Then it was time to open up the Nature Play WA app and head to the trail section to follow their Matilda Bay Discovery Trail. This trail has now been replaced with an interpretive map featuring photographs and additional information about each point in the Every Kid in a Park app which you can download here.
We didn't manage to see any dolphins or seahorses but saw plenty of Maali as we wandered along this lovely reserve enjoying the beautiful trees and the even better views! The Trail instructions helped us to discover lots about the history and wildlife in this area and we scored 10 out of 10 in the quiz!
The Crawley foreshore at Matilda Bay is a fabulous place to have a picnic and spend the day on or in the water or just messing around on the river beach under the shady trees. There is a Cafe and toilets nearby and plenty of parking, although this is in high demand!
From here we headed back across Mount's Bay Road, passing St George's College and other high rise apartment buildings then up Crawley Steps back into King's Park as that was where we started our circuit. Inside Kings Park the Swan Car Park on Forrest Drive is the closest to Crawley Steps.
You can also park at Matilda Bay Reserve or at one of the smaller car parks on the river side of Mount's Bay Road (fees may apply). Walking from Matilda Bay Reserve to the Old River Brewery and then return will take about an hour, or you can do a shorter section depending on the time you have available.
We have also explored this area on our UWA Art and Architecture Trail
and as part of the Karda Bidi- a Whadjuk Trail
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In the spirit of reconciliation Out and About- Family Nature Connection acknowledges the traditional owners of the Wadjak boodjar (Perth land) and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and emerging and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.