Moonee Ponds Creek Walking Trail (Strathmore Heights - Strathmore)
A pleasant 3.5 kilometre walk (one-way) with Boeing Reserve as its base, the Moonee Ponds Creek Trail is a nature lover's delight. The Creek is home to a variety of bird life and many different types of vegetation. It also has an interesting history, having provided surveyors with parish boundaries and pioneers with the water necessary for their settlement's survival. The 1874, local butchers Gargill and Butler were ordered to move their slaughter house from the banks of the Moonee Ponds Creek because the residents of Broadmeadows were drawing drinking water from the creek.
This walk follows the Moonee Ponds Creek Trail along a lovely, semi-natural section of the creek. The trail winds north through undulating landscapes and a variety of native vegetation.
The creek is home to a wide variety of birds, frogs, reptiles and other wildlife. Growling Grass Frogs have been recorded upstream of the Men's Shed so listen out for them in the summer. Moonee Ponds Creek is an important flyway for birds such as Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos. There is a birdlife to spot year-round.
Difficulty: Easy
Surface: Bitumen
Limited wheelchair access: This trail can be accessed from the Boeing Reserve car park. The trail is bitumen and suitable for people using wheelchairs.
Bus information: For bus information on the return journey see map or 'getting home again' section.
Moonee Ponds Creek Walking Trail Map
Moonee Ponds Creek Walking Trail Notes
1 Boeing Reserve
A major feature of Boeing Reserve is the presence of the Essendon Airport to the South. If you rest on the grass or a bench for a while, you should be able to see some aircraft taking off or landing from the North-South Runway. Essendon Airport opened in 1921 and has grown steadily over the years until it reached its current dimensions in 1970. Due to a lack of space, the airport was unable to cater for large passenger jets. This necessitated the building of Tullamarine Airport and Essendon's future as a secondary terminal. There is a playground, water tap, BBQs, tables and toilets in Boeing Reserve.
2 Strathnaver Grassland
The Strathnaver Grassland is in an area of native vegetation that has managed to survive human activity. Thanks to a careful revegetation and management program, walkers will be able to gain an appreciation of what this area looked like before white settlement. The original vegetation in the area would have been a few red gums, many shrubs, and grasses, mosses and lichens beneath. The predominant lichen growing in Strathnaver Reserve is estimated to be up to 100 years old. This area has managed to survive clearing and mowing because of the rocky escarpment on which it is found.
3 Strathnaver Reserve
This part of Moonee Valley City Council is part of a vast lava plain that covers a large part of Victoria's and Melbourne's West. This lava cooled to form basalt, a rock which has figured prominently in Victoria's architecture. The basalt in this area of Moonee Valley is about 16-23 million years old. Western Victoria was dotted with many active volcanoes. These volcanoes laid down extensive lava plains which account for the flat landscapes and rocky outcrops that characterise Victoria's West.
Across the creek is JP Fawkner Reserve which has an off-leash dog area, a playground and public toilets. Take a detour via the footbridge to get to the reserve.
Lebanon Reserve
Lebanon Reserve marks the end of the Moonee Ponds Creek Walk. The track you are following continues on along Moonee Ponds Creek beyond Flemington to Footscray Road, although the creek is concreted for a large part of the journey to where it meets the Yarra River in Melbourne's docklands. This is a long way from where the creek's origins near Greenvale in Melbourne's north. There is a playground in the reserve.
Getting home again
The most obvious way to return to the starting point is to walk back up the creek. However, should you be a little leg weary, a less strenuous way to return to Boeing Reserve is to walk along Melissa Street, turn right at Lebanon Street and walk to Fenacre Street. From there, you can catch the Number 501 bus to Boeing Road and Boeing Reserve where you commenced the walk.
Access for Dogs:
Dogs are permitted on leash.
Location
2 Boeing Road, Strathmore Heights 3041 Map
Web Links
→ Moonee Ponds Creek, Strathmore (Walking Maps)
