Melbourne explorations part 4

I began the day by buying a new Myki card into which I would load the balance frm my old blocked one.  Nice try: have to wait to get an amount on the new card before that can be done!   Grrrrr!

I had decided we needed to put in time to real estate so wouldn't go out to the WTP which is a full days trip.  With very good guidance from my Bird A Day friend Elke we decided to go to Jawbone Nature Reserve near Williamstown, after checking a possibility in the real estate area near Williamstown.

Google Maps offered us 2 routes with one going over Westgate and the other dodging through 'burbs that could be accused of being part of Footscray.  Feeling adventurous we did the latter: with the number of turns involved I wouldn't have liked to try it without Google Map assistance.

Here is a shot of the first apartment block.  The low stuff in front is a row of town houses, that on Google Earth look like shipping containers.

The next image shows another block of apartments.

This is an adjoining street showing the amount of construction activity in the area.  
In essence, I suspect a bunch of developers with $$ in their eyes (and Councillors, to the limited extent there is any difference between those groups) are bunging up dwellings as fast as they can.  No thought being given to social amenities etc.    Here is an adjacent bit of 'older' Williamstown.
The area is in essence a former docks area with the bit between the blocks and the Bay now the Point Gellibrand Coastal Heritage Park.  The shore looked to be an interesting area, with lots of seabirds.

Going back through central Williamstown revealed quite a few nice old buildings but no free parking (see comment about Councillors and $$).

We then dodged through a few more bits of burb to get to part of Jawbone.  A surprising 29 species recorded here with Musk Duck and Great Crested Grebe the highlights.
We moved in the the mouth of Koroit Creek with more birds, including Pied Stilts and an overflying Swamp Harrier, generating fear and loathing in the gulls.
Final stop at Autobarn to get some surrounds for my new Mexican number plates.  They had many different styles mostly costing $50 a set.  There were also some very basic black jobbies for $15: we are saving for a new apartment so guess which I got!


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