“Solvitur Ambulando”- It is solved by walking. –St Augustine

Several years ago I bought The Artist’s Way books by Julia Cameron. She talked of using regular walks as a kind of creative tool to fill one’s eyes and mind with images, to work things through, and to stay in touch with nature.

She also talked of discovering great travel bookshops in New York, or Art supply shops or galleries. Random walking can lead you to find unexpected treasures.

“It is good to collect things, but it is better to go on walks.” – Anatole France

Then a year ago I acquired a large white fluffy Labradoodle called Bo, and my walks have become a daily and often a nightly habit. It’s boring to walk the same path every day so Bo and I have taken to exploring different paths along the Yarra River and the Merri and Darebin creeks.

Melbourne is criss-crossed with these river and bike paths and I have found myself slowly becoming a keen observer of birdlife and nature as the seasons change and I watch the small changes every day. There is a family of ring tailed possums that live in a tree outside my house and I follow their progress through the seasons. Last year there were three; a mother and two babies who would leave together every night silhouetted along the telephone wire. Later there was only one. Then last week I saw that one had had a new family with mum and dad helping two new babies along that wire.

One of our favourite walks starts at Dight’s Falls in Collingwood, and travels towards the city alongside Trenerry Crescent, past the Collingwood Children’s Farm and the Abbotsford Convent. This is a great walk because there is so much going on there now, in what was once a poor industrial working class area where factories were built along the river and waste was poured into it. Water birds on stilts love Dight’s Falls now that it is relatively clean, and long legged Ibis and Cormorants hang out in the shallows looking for tasty titbits. I’ve seen black swans there, ducks and a big white lone Goose who is quite a character and squawks noisily at me and my dog as we pass. If you walk this path at twilight on a summer night, you will see a profusion of bats (flying foxes) passing just above your head. You can almost feel the wind from their wings whoosh past your cheek. You can certainly hear them. Their wings flap up and down and make a different sound from bird’s wings.

Pass a giant Oak tree surrounded by huge boulders looking like the site is waiting for a pagan get together, and you’ll find the Collingwood Children’s Farm further along. It is open daily to provide a farm experience for city children. There are markets and a monthly family day and you can see Nubian goats, pigs, sheep, horses, chickens and a cow being milked. Children can hold small soft furry animals and stroke them. Dogs are allowed in on a lead but mine barks at the farm cat. There is an excellent farm café as well with very good coffee.

The Abbottsford Convent a bit further along, is where I usually end this walk, and you’ll find a plethora of things to do here as well. Formerly the Convent of the Good Shepherd, it is now a thriving and popular arts, cultural and educational hub with heritage buildings and a heritage garden, cafes, bars, a bakery, exhibitions and also craft markets such as the Shirt and skirt market on the third Sunday of every month. There is a slow food farmers market on the fourth Saturday of every month where you can browse and purchase fresh seasonal fruit, vegetables and herbs as well as olive oil, cheeses and other yummy things.

Yarra Bend Park around Studley park boathouse is another good walking spot with lots to do. You can have a picnic, hire a boat or have a game of golf. There are cafes and a restaurant too. Or you can just walk around looking at nature. On one hot night recently as the sun was going down I was crossing Kane’s bridge when I saw a Tawny Frog Mouth perched in the branch of a tree just above my face and intently ignoring me which I was glad about as they have the disturbing air of a bird of prey about them. It was getting dark and I could see it was time for the night creatures to emerge as we day dwellers left the park. Four Brush tailed Possums crashed about in another tree. I found a dead Flying fox on the ground, it’s red fluffy head peeping out from the black wings that made it’s own personal shroud. As Bo and I left the park the sky was turning a hot pink colour and a mass of Flying Foxes flew overhead and some flew under the bridge skimming the river water with their wings. Finally I heard a very familiar sound; the loud raucous laughter of the Kookaburra. It was time to go home and let the animals have their park back.

“Keep your sense of proportion by regularly, preferably daily, visiting the natural world.”- Caitlin Matthews

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Further reading we recommend…

Walking Melbourne by Helen Duffy and Ingrid Ohlsson (City walks) (Paperback)

The Artist’s Way books by Julia Cameron