Little Adventures #4 – The other side of the bridge. August 2021

With only one more day to go before August finishes, I knew I had to think quickly to tick off this month’s Little Adventure. We’re still in strict lockdown in Melbourne, so I could only travel within 5kms of The Best House in Melbourne. Where could I go?

Then it dawned on me. The little woofs and I have walked along the river many times. But… was there a track that went under the bridge and kept going? I decided that we should explore. I drove to the top of the bridge, then we jumped out of the car to do just that.

Look at this! My memory hadn’t deceived me. Flushed with the spirit of adventure, we set off under the bridge.

As we walked under one set of traffic, the sound of running water was pretty loud.

Then there was a set of footsteps behind me. A guy in a tracksuit was walking near us. he kept back on our left, then suddenly walked quickly forward to veer off towards the river off the path.

Then I heard the jangling of a wire fence. He’d jumped through this hole so he could walk beside the river. Meanwhile, like law-abiding citizens, we kept walking on the gravel park, with a chain-link fence between us and the river.

Until, no more than 20 steps later, the fence ended. Made me wonder what the point of jumping through the hole in the fence was.

On my right was this view.

On our left. This is a water sports centre, I think.

The sun was out and the wind was blowing. This side of the bridge path was pretty well deserted. I kept looking back to keep tabs on the tracksuited guy. He’d stopped on the riverbank opposite the water sports place and was doing some sort of callisthenics. I didn’t want him to sneak up on us unawares… I’ve listened to too many episodes of Casefile! Better be safe than sorry; it’s not as if I’m walking with guard dogs, after all.

I thought this tree was pretty.

The sunshine was making the river sparkle. It was all very quiet and serene.

Judging by the tyre tracks in the gravel, walkers aren’t the only people who use this path.

Then, just as I was trying to get the little woofs to stay still so I could get a decent photo… WHOOSH!

We were overtaken.

After around half an hour we turned to head back to the car. This bridge is a lot lower than I ever realised when I was driving over it.

There are signs warning of possible flooding on the path, which isn’t surprising as you can see how close it is to the level of the river. This is Jeff giving a happy look back. He loves his walks.

And there’s the river leading back towards home.

I’m pleased I snuck this Little Adventure in – just in the nick of time.

I wonder what else I’ll discover within 5kms of home while lockdown exists?