It was a beautiful sunny Melbourne day on Saturday, so my son and I went for a bike ride that included a trip on the Westgate Punt across the Yarra River.
We did a U turn and rode back to the small pier where the punt was waiting patiently at the end of Lorimer Street. Kids under 10 ride free so it was $6 dollars return for me and our bikes (bargain) which also included a couple of very good maps.
If you didn’t know, a punt is basically a flat-bottomed boat with a square-cut bow, a ferry of sorts. I had it in the back of my mind that the punt service had stopped operating, but Alex who now runs the weekend service explained it was only the weekday service that had stopped.
Its a short trip of maybe 5 minutes to the Spotswood side of the Yarra close to the front of Scienceworks Museum. We then rode down the Hobson Bay Coastal trail, past people fishing, walkers and other cyclist to the memorial in Burgoyne Park. Hot and thirsty called for a pit stop, so we rode up North Road to a milk bar (corner Douglas Pde) run by the friendliest ladies you will ever meet.
We sat in Newport Park (opposite) and polished off our icy poles and drinks before jumping back on our bikes for the return journey to the punt. When we got there, the punt was on the other side so I called Alex on his mobile and he said he would be over in 15 minutes. We continued riding down to the West Gate Bridge memorial dedicated to the men who died when the bridge collapsed during construction in 1970.
Then back to the punt for the journey home after a marvellous day and ride.