...to the Ocean

So with Mountain to Mouth 2018 underway (see Friday's walk here) and after a few hours rest, we once again gathered at Johnstone Park in darkness for the short stretch to the next station near the boat sheds on the Barwon River. This station is always a little different from the others as Canoe is timed to arrive in darkness, meaning the art installation on this occasion involved a display of lights.

An "eel" at Station 6, just as dawn was breaking

Within minutes of our arrival however, we found ourselves in daylight. It always surprises me how quickly the sun comes up. At this point, there was just enough time for a quick coffee before beginning the long slog up the hill to Leopold and Station 7.

"Coral Consequences" invited participants to consider the effect of climate
change on coral reefs in Queensland which are the spawning ground for the
Short-finned Eels which inhabit the Barwon River

Upon arrival we were greeted by more artworks, incorporated in the permanent walking circle located in parkland at Christie's Rd. The theme of this piece was the "Borron Birds", highlighting the role of birds in the environment.

Birds on canvas, Christie's Rd, Leopold

Walkers were encouraged to leave a leaf (and a wish for the planet) in a "nest", to be burnt with Canoe in the final ceremony.

Take a leaf and make a wish

From here, it was a relatively gentle walk to Station 8 at Drysdale where we were greeted by "Sounds from the Earth" performed by local singers and children beating stones in time. Also present were two large gowns, representing local pioneering women of the 1840s and '50s, Anne Drysdale and Caroline Newcombe, after whom the town and suburb were named.

Echoes of the past: Anne Drysdale and Caroline Newcombe

From Drysdale, walkers and Canoe faced the longest, driest section of the walk. With almost 50km already completed, this was probably the hardest stretch to walk. A second coffee at the Marine and Freshwater Discovery Centre was more than welcome as we were entertained by the tramways re-enactment group and took in the concepts of "The Caretaker is in - the grounding" which looked at the concept of care between strangers and invited participants to write about a care or concern.

Station 9

With the arrival of Canoe, it was back on the track for a short and - by contrast with the previous section - pleasant walk around the waterfront.

Performance art on the sand

 Our destination was Station 10 at Point Lonsdale where "In Motion" - a sculptural piece brought together land and sea and our tram conductors provided us with tickets for the next stage of our journey.

"In Motion", Point Lonsdale foreshore

In contrast to the previous two Mountain to Mouth walks in 2016 and 2014, this section involved only a short walk to the lighthouse car park, followed by a bus ride (for both Canoe and the walkers) to Ocean Grove. In previous years, we instead walked around 6km on the beach to Station 11 at Ocean Grove, on this occasion however, high tide prevented any beach access, so we had to settle for a short walk behind the dunes to the Surf Life Saving Club where Station 11 awaited us and we were treated to the small-scale but quite stunning "Blue Gold" installation featuring hanging ice drops melting into the sea.

Ice, sea and sand

Then finally, it was time for the last - mercifully short - stage into Barwon Heads.

Performance on the bridge

Once there, and with the final page in our "passport" stamped to confirm our completion of the journey, we awaited the spectacular fire on water ceremony.
This year, performers on the shoreline were bathed in lights whilst indigenous elders made their way back across the bridge.

Sound and lights on the foreshore at Barwon Heads

As in previous years, the Gathering of the Elements Ceremony, culminated with Canoe which had accompanied us the entire way, set alight and drifting out to sea and into the darkness.

Canoe's final journey

Mountain to Mouth 2016: 80km of extreme arts

My previous post on Geelong's Mountain to Mouth 2016 described our participation in the Gathering of the Elders ceremony at Big Rock in the You Yangs before a 30km walk to the Geelong Waterfront for the Gathering of the City ceremony. This post will look at the rest of the walk (50km) which took place the following day beginning at 6am Saturday morning, whilst the walking circles and installations we passed at stations along the way are shown here.

Under cover of darkness, "Canoe" prepares to depart the Waterfront

Carrying "Canoe" up Moorabool St with a one-man police escort

Unlike the previous event, the weather was clear and perfect for an early morning walk. We departed the Waterfront punctually, and made our way up Moorabool Street to the Barwon River and the sixth station - an interpretation of Eugene von Guerard's famous painting of the river and naturally of particular interest to me.

Centrepiece of the sixth walking circle

With the coffee van arriving late and a rapidly growing queue, I elected instead to walk the circle, snap some photos and depart slightly ahead of "Canoe". Somewhere during this 15 minute or so period, the sun came up and we walked the short distance along the river to Swanston St in daylight.

Following "Canoe" along the banks of the Barwon River

From there, it was onto the Bellarine Rail Trail for a long slog to Leopold and Station 7 at the top of the Leopold hill. As I have noted before, those of us who regularly use the trail are fortunate that steam trains did not like steep inclines.

On the trail

I was hoping I'd be in better shape than this truck by the time I finished!

Once at Christie's Rd, I finally got that coffee and a "Killer Python" (I needed those carbs for energy!). As I watched some of the walkers taping their blisters, I was very pleased I had taken the precaution of taping my feet before I started walking.

A bird in its nest - part of the Christie's Rd installation

Flag bearers ready to leave for Drysdale

And then we were off again. The section from Leopold to Drysdale was relatively short with some spectacular views along the way.

A mere 27km away from our starting point...yet we'd walked 50km...

In the distance I could hear the train ready to take a special service to our next stop at Swan Bay for those who preferred to give their feet a rest. Tempting! But I was walking the whole way!

Art and music; the centrepiece of the Drysdale walking circle

For the rest of us, it was back on the trail for the longest section of the whole walk - around 14km -between Drysdale Station and the Marine and Freshwater Discovery Centre at Queenscliff.

Not everyone was interested in an extreme arts walk...

...and these guys were sitting on the fence too..

Unfortunately for those of us not taking the train, it was also the hottest part of the day and probably the section with the least shade. The marshals on their bikes were keeping a close eye on those of us walking ahead until we finally made it to Queenscliff.

At this point the train was beginning to look like a good option!

The road ahead...

My feet were definitely beginning to feel it by now, but a quick rub and we were off to Point Lonsdale.

Basalt Banjo Ray walking circle at Queenscliff

 After the long, hot stretch to Queenscliff, the short walk around the foreshore to Point Lonsdale and the tenth station was relatively easy by comparison and I was provided with distraction in the form of a fellow pilgrim who was happy to chat as we walked.

A sand sculpture en route to Point Lonsdale

The Point Lonsdale Village station is unavoidably short on for space, so rather than a walking circle there was a sand sculpture to welcome us on the boardwalk and an installation which according to the description has "continual interaction of wind, sun, clouds and sea".

Sculpture to the left as "Canoe" and the flag bearers arrive at Point Lonsdale

At this point, "Canoe" and the walkers diverged slightly as we wove our way through the ti-tree and "Canoe" continued up the road, before we converged once again for the climb over the dunes to the beach.

The "path" ahead

Whilst the scenery on this section of the walk was spectacular and the soft sand under sore feet was initially somewhat of a relief, I knew from previous experience that this was not going to be easy. We had around 8km of sand to cross and an incoming tide to beat as well and sure enough it soon became a trudge, however eventually, I was greeted by the cheerful volunteers at station eleven: Ocean Grove.

Ocean Grove and the end of the sand at last!

After a short break as "Canoe" was delivered to the walking circle at a run by the Ocean Grove Harriers running group, we were off on the final 3km stretch to Barwon Heads. Just as dusk was falling, we tramped across the Barwon via the William Buckley Bridge and made our way around the final walking circle headed for the tent and that last stamp on the M to M passport which said for some of us, that was had completed the entire 80km.

"Canoe" arrives at Barwon Heads

All that remained then was to find a suitable vantage point and watch the final Gathering of the Elements ceremony played out on the the banks and the waters of the Barwon.

The ceremony begins

Actors and dancers took their places as shoals of "fish" with glowing eyes lit the sands and a lone boat paddled across the river. Uncle Bryon Powell, cloaked in traditional possum skin, handed over the water which had been carried from Big Rock and it was again returned to the ocean before "Canoe" once again took centre stage in a fiery finale which saw it set alight and left to drift on the waters of the Barwon towards the heads and the ocean beyond.

Fire on water

"Canoe", set adrift on the Barwon, floats out to sea

Mountain to Mouth 2016: walk this land

Mountain to Mouth 2016: ephemeral art

M~M 2014: the end is nigh

On Friday and Saturday the 9th and 10th of May, I participated in the 2014 Mountain to Mouth extreme arts walk from the You Yangs to Barwon Heads. Parts 1 and 2 of the journey are described here:
M~M 2014: the journey begins
M~M 2014: across The Bellarine
Having endured the rain and the blisters, enjoyed the sunshine, listened to the music, seen the displays and walked the first 10 circles, we were nearly at our journey's end. A mere 11.5km or thereabouts remained. Nothing really, considering the distance we had already travelled. Right? Well, except that 8 of those kilometres were across sand.
After a brief stop at Point Lonsdale, we formed up once again and trooped out in the direction of the Point Lonsdale Surf Lifesaving Club. After a short walk along the road behind the dunes, it was up and over for our assault on the beach.

The flag-bearers departing Point Lonsdale

Throughout the journey I had heard murmurings from the walkers about tide levels, concern that it would be too high to walk and mutterings from the organisers that those who fell behind would be bussed to the next station (something I was determined to avoid by this stage). Fortunately, everything went to plan, we stayed on schedule and hit the beach with enough sand to walk on albeit with a clearly rising tide.

Heading to Ocean Grove

By this time, an 8km slog over a semi-solid surface was challenging to say the least, but we soldiered on. The weather remained picture perfect as sunset began to approach but whilst some of the travellers may have struggled with the sand, one did not:


The canoe getting a lift

On a custom-designed trailer, the canoe made its way across the sand towed behind a surf rescue vehicle, with its bottles of water from the wells at Big Rock still safely intact. And then finally, we had reached Ocean Grove.
The flag-bearers passed through the circle and I was greeted by my family who had arrived in time to walk the final section with the group.

Centre piece of the Ocean Grove walking circle

 We also walked the circle and had our "passports" stamped to mark our presence, after which I glanced around only to discover that the flags and the canoe were nowhere to be seen!


The canoe passes through the walking circle

A quick scramble - it could hardly be called a jog at that stage - ensued before I once again had the canoe and flags firmly back in my sights. I hadn't walked 77km only to miss the big arrival!

The final approach across the William Buckley Bridge at Barwon Heads

The final stage was a short one over firm ground and with a definite air of elation we crossed the William Buckley Bridge at Barwon Heads to be greeted by around 1,000 spectators who had come to join the festivities and watch the closing ceremony which was tipped to be a belter!


Flag-bearers walk the final circle at Barwon Heads as darkness descends

So, with darkness now upon us, we also walked the final circle and then took up position for the grand finale.

M~M 2014: across The Bellarine

Part 1 of the adventure: M~M 2014: the journey begins
On Friday evening we had arrived at our overnight destination in mild, clear conditions. Not so the following morning when the walkers reconvened to begin the final day of our adventure - a 50km walk through Geelong, down the Bellarine Rail Trail and along the beach to Barwon Heads.
In the pre-dawn darkness and with rain falling steadily, we gathered at the Waterfront before setting off at 6am on the shortest leg of our journey; a 2.7km trek up Moorabool Street to the banks of the Barwon where breakfast was available for those who needed it.


Walking circle at the Barwon River, Geelong

As we formed up again and headed out along the river, dawn was just beginning to sneak in. The rain continued to fall and coats and pack covers were a must.


The Barwon a dawn

This was one of the longest stages of the walk, covering over 10km up the hill from Geelong to Christies Road in Leopold along the Bellarine Rail Trail. By the time we arrived, the weather had finally cleared and the Leopold Football Club had the snags on the barbie so I had a sausage in bread and sat down to attend to the crop of blisters I was already cultivating on my feet.

The living walking circle at Leopold

The next step was to make my way through the walking circle - which I did at each of the twelve stations on the journey. The circle at Leopold is a permanent one, built in to the garden which can be walked at any time. The canoe arrived a little after I did and was handed over to a group of scouts who were to carry it to the next station.

Scouts who carried the canoe from Leopold to Drysdale

From Leopold, we covered the 7 or so kilometres to Drysdale where another walking circle awaited us in the form of an amazing display of local produce.

Drysdale walking circle

Centre piece of the Drysdale walking circle

 This was a brief stop and we were soon on our way to Queenscliff - the longest stage of our journey. Whilst the rail trail is a great path to follow and I have run and ridden this section on many occasions and love its views and scenery, as a walker, I found it dragged. My blisters were gaining some serious momentum and we just seemed to take forever to get to the ninth station at the Marine Discovery Centre in Queenscliff.

Walking circle at the Marine Discovery Centre, Queenscliff

Once there however, there was time to dress my blisters once again - a process which it seemed was of interest to at least two photographers!
And then we were off again. This time the canoe was being carried by a group of crossing supervisors - the only group I am aware of who came with a name.


Lollipop Lollipop carrying the canoe to Point Lonsdale

This section from Queenscliff to Point Lonsdale I have to say, was a treat. Possibly my favourite part of the whole walk. Maybe that was because it was short, or because the weather by this stage was sparkling and the views are expansive.

The mayor of the Borough of Queenscliffe and flag-bearers heading to Point Lonsdale

However, it seemed like no time before we were at Point Lonsdale where the crossing supervisors handed over to lifesavers and we stopped to regroup and I was able to see perhaps the most unique of all the walking circles.


Surf lifesavers prepare to escort the canoe to Ocean Grove

This one was on a different scale altogether and with around 11km to go, it was just what I needed - a circle which you walked with your finger!

Point Lonsdale walking circle

This miniature walking circle we were informed, was carved from limestone quarried at Fyansford and a close examination would reveal fossils still embedded in the stone. But once again, having stamped our "passport" to prove we had been there and done that, it was off to Ocean Grove...