The Punt is a small boat that takes people and bikes across the Yarra river between Spotswood and the Melbourne CBD. During the week it only operates during peak times and is subsidized - $2 per crossing. However, weekends and Public Holidays, it operates from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm and charges $7 return or $5 one-way.
Mr Aggy and I had been to Williamstown recently and had struggled at that time to find a cafe that served a light lunch at a reasonable price. Most establishments we looked at seemed to be a overpriced. So rather than hassle around in Williamstown again, Mr Aggy and I decided to park in Williamstown, ride to the Melbourne CBD for lunch and catch the Punt back. (Any readers of this blog that can know a good spot to eat in Williamstown, please let me know.)
There was plenty of parking along the foreshore at Williamstown, even for an XTrail with the large Thule rack on the back. As you can see, lots of swans were hanging around where we parked. I had had a bad experience with one of these in Geelong when my kids were little, but these didn't seem aggressive.
We rode along the foreshore and checked out where the Punt would land on this side of the river. It's opposite Scienceworks in Spotswood.
![]() |
Mr Aggy checking out the Punt landing in Spotswood. |
From here we rode up and looked at the Westgate memorial. Hard to imagine the bridge collapsing - all those people killed.
And just a hop, step and a jump away from the Westgate memorial, we came across the start of the Maribrynong trail, well-signposted!
From there Mr Aggy and I skirted the docks and then basically reversed Jules and my ride of last week along Footscray Road.
We had lunch at the Riverland Bar near Flinders Street station. Jules and I went there a while ago and it was still just as good. However, it started to rain, so we didn't linger.
![]() |
Riverland Bar as seen from Princes Bridge |
Over Princes bridge and a nice ride down Southbank. I have made a mental note to eat there next time as some of the places looked very inviting.
Next, we headed to Station Pier down the Sandridge Rail Trail to Station Pier and from there continued along the waterfront to Todd Road.
Looking out to sea at Beacon Cove
He recognised the Gazelle as there is a lady in Williamstown who regularly brings one on the Punt.
![]() |
Battery under the back rack |
![]() |
Motor on the back wheel hub |
The Punt took about 10 minutes - excellent value - and then were back in Spotswood.
![]() |
The Punt at Spotswood |
A complaint: The restaurant had a nice coffee bar opening onto the bike track. However the tables were full of smokers. Why does every outside area have to be smoking? I would sometimes like to sit outside in the fresh air. We luckily had our coffee inside, but only as it was quite late and the restaurant was almost empty.
A nice fun day - easy riding and although we had a bit of rain, it wasn't enough to get us very wet.
Ride Details:
- Ride about 29 km, flat
- Not windy
- Used one bar of the Gold battery at 24 km.
- Rode quite a lot on Eco setting.
You can view the ride on Strava here.
Number of Replaced
Car Trips |
Total Distance
(km) |
44
|
235
|
No comments:
Post a comment