The Mornington Peninsula is covered with acres and acres of bushland, and is criss-crossed with hiking trails just waiting to be explored. One of the longer trails is the Two Bays Walking Track. At 16 miles long, it connects Port Phillip Bay to the north with Bushrangers Bay and the Pacific Ocean to the South. During our time on the peninsula, we decided to take on the challenge of walking the entire Two Bays trail.

Hiking the Two Bays Walking Track

Start – Dromana, Victoria, Australia

End – Cape Schanck

Distance – 16 miles (one way)

Although it is absolutely possible to do the entire hike in a single day (a race of the entire track is held every year), I had no intention of doing so. Instead, I’ve broken it up into  more manageable pieces, with my thoughts on each section below. There are beautiful views, quiet picnic areas, and historic light houses along the Two Bays trail, with possible animal sightings including Eastern Grey Kangaroos, Koalas, and Echidnas! If you are backpacking Australia or just visiting the peninsula, this is a must-do hike.

The official map breaks the trail into four sections. I’ve broken it down a little further to limit my hikes to three-hour long, easily digestible, round-trip sections. The entire 16 mile journey took five trips:

• • Arthurs Seat State Park ♥♥
  • Rosebud South ♥
  • Green Bush North ♥
  • Green Bush South ♥♥♥
  • Bushrangers Bay ♥♥

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Arthurs Seat State Park

Start – Latrobe Parade Car Park [Map]

Turn Around – Seawinds Car Park at Arthurs Seat

Distance – 5 miles (round-trip)

Duration – 2.5 hours

The Latrobe Parade Car Park is a small dirt lot located right off of Bayview Rd in Dromana on the Mornington Peninsula. Across from the entrance and up the hill are signs for the Two Bays Walking Track. This section of the trail intersects with several other hikes. When we followed the Two Bays trail signs, it had us completely skip Arthurs Seat. It made the hike a little dull, so I strongly suggest taking the Seawinds Gardens hike, then catching back up with the Two Bays Walking Track from there.

Optional Adventure – Seawinds Gardens and Arthurs Seat

This optional side hike was the highlight of this section. From the top of Arthurs Seat, we had a view of the entire Mornington Peninsula. There were free public bathrooms, wildlife information, sculpture garden, and plenty of kangaroos. There is also a sculpture garden in the Seawinds Gardens park for those with a taste for art. 

If you don’t wish to hike up this hill, take the Arthur’s Seat Eagle Gondola instead. The rest of this hike will be much flatter by comparison. 

♥ Read about where we lived for FREE on the Mornington Peninsula. ♥

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Rosebud South Street Section

Start – Seawinds Car Park at Arthurs Seat [MAP]

Turn Around – Browns Road 

Distance – 6 miles (round-trip)

Duration – 2.5 hours

This was my least favorite section of the hike. We cheated a little bit and parked at the free lot at Seawinds Gardens on Arthurs Seat, then picked up our hike where we left off from there. There was an abundance of kangaroos and lorikeets while on the mountain, but the wildlife was lacking on the lower part of the hike, mostly because the track runs along a paved road through a suburb. While it was nice to see the neighborhood, this section wasn’t an ideal “nature hike”.

♥ Check out my bird watching sightings while in Victoria, Australia.  ♥

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Greens Bush North

Start – Browns Road [MAP]

Turn Around – Lightwood Creek Intersection

Distance – 7 miles (round trip)

Duration – 3 hours

The majority of the Greens Bush section of the Two Bays Walking Track lies within Mornington Peninsula National Park. The trails and surrounding area were well-kept and included several informational signs along the way.

We parked in a grassy patch near the trail sign on the corner of Browns Road and Purves Road. From there, we hiked along a lightly trafficked dirt road through a farming community before reaching the national park. If I were to hike this section again, I would have chosen to drive this portion and park at the national park entrance instead. The walk to the entrance was lovely (especially at sunset) and included plenty of kangaroo sightings, but I would have preferred to spend that time exploring more of the park, instead.

Once we reached the park entrance, this portion of the Two Bays Walking Track took us through bush land and overgrown valleys. Our turn-around point was the Lightwood Creek Camping Area intersection, which is a free campground that doesn’t require reservations and included a large, clean bathroom directly off the trail! This put us about half-way through the Mornington Peninsula National Park.

♥ Read about our visits to the Mornington Peninsula breweries. ♥

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South Greens Bush

Start – Bushrangers Bay Car Park on Boneo Road [Map]

Turn Around-  Lightwood Creek Intersection

Distance – 5 miles (round trip)

Duration – 2 hours

We parked at the Bushrangers Bay car park on Boneo Road and started our walk back to the bathroom at the Lightwood Creek Camping Area intersection in the Mornington Peninsula National Park. This was, hands-down, our favorite section of the Two Bays Walking Track. It had the most varied landscape out of all of the trails and was where we had the most wildlife sightings.

The walk started with a small, winding trail between farms that was intersected by game trails at regular intervals. These were frequented by kangaroos of varying size, who were very active. At one point, I had been talking to Josh and therefore didn’t hear the typical thumping of a nearby roo. This four foot kangaroo and I nearly collided with each other as we both blindly crossed each other’s paths! Thankfully, it was just as startled as I was and hopped off without any confrontation.

Once through the farmland, we weaved through some hills as we followed a stream. This allowed for plenty of bird sightings and some fun bridge crossings. Despite the lack of rain that day, the area was wet and lush. It was also the least trafficked portion of our hike; we crossed paths with only three people on this section.

♥ Love walking? Check out my self-guided walking tour in Guilin, China! ♥

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Bushrangers Bay Section

Start – Cape Schank Lighthouse Reserve Car Park [MAP]

Turn Around – Bushrangers Bay Car Park on Boneo Road 

Distance – 6 miles (round trip)

Duration – 2.5 hours

The Two Bays Walking Track begins/ends at the southeastern corner of the car park at Cape Schanck. There are a couple of side trails, but the main walk was easy to follow and well signed from the car park at Cape Schanck to the car park on Boneo Road.

Although the Two Bays trail runs along Bushranger Bay, there are very few ocean views. However, what few lookouts there are provide amazing views of the bay and cape. The main views from the trail are of the inland bush, as well as the stunning green rolling hills of the nearby Mornington Peninsula farms. We didn’t encounter much wildlife in this section of the walk, but the farmland views still made the Bushranger Bay Section a highlight of our Two Bays Walking Track adventure.

Optional Adventure: Cape Schanck

Technically, the Two Bays Waling Track ends at the car park, but I strongly suggest spending the extra time and effort to visit the cape. The walkway down is narrow and can be a little slippery, but is otherwise a beautiful walk with photo opportunities at every turn. 

♥ Read more about our walk through Cape Schanck. ♥

Optional Adventure: Bushrangers Beach

A little over halfway through the hike, we made the steep climb down to Bushrangers Beach. It is a small cove with lovely views of the coastline, cape, and farmland. Despite the fact that it was the off season, and that it was not accessible by car, there were still quite a few people at the beach. It seemed odd to visit a beach that was so well hidden away and challenging to visit, just to be joined by a dozen other people.

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And that concludes our Two Bays Walking Track adventure in Victoria, Australia! All in all it was a great way to spend our time on the Mornington Peninsula. The views of the ocean and bushland were incredible, and we got to see a ton of the local wildlife. There are many other trails on the peninsula as well, but if you only have the time to do one, choose the Two Bays Walking Track; you won’t be disappointed!

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