Further Information Bookings and entrance fees For Your Safety To prevent overcrowding and damage • At all times, stay on defined tracks and Mornington Peninsula Parks Victoria to the fragile environment, no more than within areas open to the public. Other Information Line Ph: 13 1963 600 people are permitted in the Point areas may contain unexploded shells www.parkweb.vic.gov.au Nepean area at any one time. or other ammunition. National Park Bookings are essential for groups, • Observe warning signs and fences. Point Nepean Visitor Centre and entry fees are payable. • Both ocean and bay beaches at Point PORTSEA 3944 Telephone (03) 5984 4276 for further Ph. 5984 4276 Nepean are hazardous because of Point Nepean Visitor Guide information and bookings. strong currents, undertows, unexpected Parks Victoria District Office There are fee concessions for groups, big waves and deep water. P.O. Box 400 senior citizens and families. (Conditions Point Nepean was opened to the public in December 1988. Before that it • All native plants and animals are ROSEBUD 3939 apply) Ph. 5986 9100 protected by law. This applies to both had been out of bounds to most people for more than 100 years. marine and land flora and fauna. It still has an air of mystery. Peninsula Visitor Disabled Access Information Centre Point Nepean caters for people with a • Fires are not permitted in the Its associations with early settlement, shipping, quarantine and defence Point Nepean Road Mornington Peninsula National Park. give it great significance and its natural features are diverse. DROMANA 3936 range of disabilities. There is a sealed Ph. 5987 3078 walking track to the Observatory Point • Firearms are prohibited. Access is possible by walking, cycling or on the transport provided. beach from Gunners Car Park suitable • Access to the park by boat is Entrance fees apply. for wheelchairs. All upper areas of Fort prohibited. Nepean, Fort Pearce and Eagles Nest • Swimming, diving, surfing, fishing and entering the water is not permitted. are also suitable for wheelchairs. The Location and Access Discovering Point Nepean Transport also is able to fit wheel chairs • In case of emergency, please call Point Nepean is 95 km from Melbourne Private cars and buses are not permitted on board however please notify staff at the Visitor Centre for assistance. via the Peninsula Freeway and Point beyond the Gunners Car Park, 2.5km the Visitor Centre. Phone 5984 4276. Nepean Road (formerly the Nepean from the Visitors Centre. Highway). You can travel by train to Electric barbecues, picnic tables and Cycling to Point Nepean Frankston and bus to Portsea. Telephone toilets are available at the centre, which Cyclist may use the section of road (03) 9617 0900 for Met information and houses displays and audio-visuals. between the Visitor Centre and Fort times. Pearce. Vehicle and passenger ferry services • Please obtain entrance ticket before To reach Fort Nepean all visitors must operate between Sorrento, Portsea and riding. walk from Fort Pearce. Queenscliff. • Cycling is not permitted beyond Fort To reach Fort Pearce and features Pearce. of interest along the way, transport is • Bicycle racks are located at Fort provided or alternatively you can walk from Gunners Car Park (total return Pearce, Cheviot Hill and Gunners Car Park. Parks Victoria Ranger 7km). • Cycling is prohibited on walking tracks. Cycling from the Visitor Centre (total Caring for the return 10km) or Gunners Car Park (total • Cyclists must wear an approved helmet. THE RIP environment Victoria has all the outdoors PORT return 5km) to Fort Pearce is permitted. • Motorised bicycles, scooters, or similiar PHILLIP you could wish for mountains, POINT NEPEAN Nepean 4 not permitted. Fort Nepean BAY Help us look after this park forests, beaches and bushland, Rock by remembering these Fort Walk • Roller blades, scooters and other rolling Observatory Point Pearce all preserved in our parks. Nepean Bay guidelines: Barracks devices are permitted and must adhere BEACH The Bend Our natural landscapes have CLOSED 3 k rac Take all rubbish home with to the same regulations as bicycles. T Cemetery 1 Eagles Nest Coles been here longer than anyone Fort (Radar) you Petriana Reef Pearce Defence Gunners knows, and together we can P Car Park TICONDEROGA BAY 2 Keep to the formed Walking make sure theyre here forever. BASS walking tracks Cheviot Former Quarantine Station Visitors to the park may walk from the Hill Road 30 KP Visitor Centre or Gunners Car Park on H Swimming, fishing and Police Point WEEROONA other water activities are any day. Entrance fees are payable. Cheviot Beach Gun Junction BAY not permitted 30 The total return distance when staring at KPH Gunners Car Park is 7km and includes 4 For more information STRAIT VISITOR Portsea Dogs, cats or other call the Parks Victoria 1 km self guided walks shown on this leaflet. CENTRE domestic pets are not Information Centre P permitted Drinkable water is only available at on 13 1963 or POINT NEPEAN Borg Rocks Gunners Cottage and the Visitor Centre. Mornington Peninsula Portsea All native plants and visit our website at National Park Low Water Mark Golf Course animals are protected Toilets are available at the Visitor Centre, www.parkweb.vic.gov.au Port Phillip Heads Rock Platform Sierra Nevada Rocks Marine National Park BEACH CLOSED Gunners Car Park and Fort Nepean. Cliff Face Thames Tunnel N May 2004 Commonwealth Land (Timms Tunnel) Please leave the park as (No Public Access) Gate, No Public Access LONDON BRIDGE 0 500 you found it. Please come prepared for the weather. No Public Access Walking Track, Sealed Scale of Metres Walking Track, Unsealed Walter Pisterman Heritage Walk This one kilometre return walk starts Walter Pisterman At Observatory Point there is a at either the Cemetery Transport (1914 - 1989) picnic area with tables. A boardwalk W Stop or Gunners Car Park, and leads Walter Pisterman was dedicated to gives wheelchair access to the through coastal vegetation to the Port protecting the natural and cultural water’s edge, from where you Phillip Bay shoreline. environment of Portsea. can see the Port Phillip Heads. A The track has a sealed surface He was born in Switzerland and Adjacent are the remains of a cattle and gentle gradients suitable for trained as a textile engineer, quarantine jetty, built in 1879. As L wheelchairs. emigrating to Australia in 1939 and an alternative to returning to the Allow 45 minutes for the return working in the textile, packaging and Cemetery you can take a sandy walk. insurance industries. track (Coles Track) running parallel K The track and associated facilities Although he lived in Melbourne, he to the beach westwards towards were built in 1991 with funds donated and his family holidayed at Portsea Point Nepean. Walking is permitted to commemorate the contribution of and were committed to many local along the bay beach but may be Walter Pisterman to the community. volunteer organisations and involved difficult at high tide. This track joins Along the way, informative signs with local environment issues. Defence Road near the Cheviot explain the changes that have taken Hill Transport Stop. Visitors may 1 place over the years since Edward walk from Defence Road via Happy Transport Hobson, the first European settler, Stop Valley to Cheviot Hill. arrived in 1837. Battery Observation Post Cheviot Hill Discovery Walk World War 2 View over Lookout No. 3 About a kilometre along Defence Road from BASS STRAIT Signs beside the track and at the lookouts the Cemetery, a track leads to the top of identify landscape features and introduce W Cheviot Hill. At 54 metres above sea level, Gun Emplacement Point Nepean’s Aboriginal history, natural World War 2 this is the highest spot at Point Nepean, and vegetation and defence significance. there are extensive views. Lookout No. 2 A The walk takes about 45 minutes return. To continue to Fort Nepean catch the The first part of the track (to the first lookout) Sketch only Transport provided at the shelter to Fort Not drawn to scale is moderately steep but accessible to people Pearce. Alternatively visitors can walk L Lookout No. 1 with disabilities. The remainder is steeper the two kilometres to Fort Nepean via the and includes steps. Machine Gun track and Fort Pearce. This Boundary Fence K Cheviot Beach, where the vessel Cheviot section of roadway provides magnificent was wrecked in 1887 and from which former views of Port Phillip Bay and the ocean. Prime Minister Harold Holt disappeared in NO ENTRY 1967, can be seen from the summit. (Commonwealth Land) Transport Stop So can the Rip, where many ships have been wrecked since the early days of Happy Valley 2 European settlement. Walking track WALK 3 Please remain on the track at all times. Defence Road 1km WALK 1 1.5km Fort Pearce and Eagles Nest Heritage Trail Fort Pearce and Eagle’s Nest, once important parts of Port Phillip’s defences are now Port Phillip Bay W abandoned, wild and windswept vantage points. They were harsh places for those who served them. A The Heritage Trail begins at the track leading to Eagle’s Nest. (Pearce Barracks is closed for safety reasons). Some sections of Fort Pearce To Fort Nepean L are also closed, but you can view the fort from WALK 4 boardwalks and lookouts, or descend the concrete ramp to its lower levels. To Cheviot Hill and Portsea K Allow about 45 minutes to explore the area. WALK 2 Highlights • See the site of Australia’s largest Disappearing Gun at Eagle’s Nest. • Enjoy spectacular views of Port Phillip and the ocean beaches at the Battery Observation Transport Stop 3 Post. • Find out about early 20th century fortifications, the era of decline and neglect, and the recent rehabilitation works at Fort Pearce.