Melbourne's Best Outdoor Adventures | Week 37 · Sep 2026

Uncle Lionel from Living Culture hasn't led a public guided walk in a few years. This Saturday he's back on the McCrae foreshore, and his invitation is a good one: "Come and see this beautiful land through my eyes".

We experienced this when we joined Hudson from Living Culture on a guided walk a few weeks ago, learning about the local flora and fauna that surround us and how they come together as an ecosystem. There’s a certain wonder that comes with seeing the familiar through a new perspective, and we’re leaning into that this week.

Get outside, and take new eyes with you.

See you out there
Stella & Chris

Slow down and the foreshore starts talking. Uncle Lionel (pictured above) walks the McCrae coast at an easy pace, reading the banksia, clematis and flax lilies, and sharing how the vegetation has provided food, medicine and tools for the people of this land for millennia. He'll show you where cascading waterfalls once filled the rock pools before spilling into Nairm.

Then a yidaki (didgeridoo) meditation to sit with what you've just learnt. Slow by design and open to all.

📅 Sat 12 Sep, 10 to 11:30am 📍 McCrae Lighthouse
🎟️ Book your spot now

There's a moment on your first Grade 2 rapid when the river stops being scenery and becomes the whole world. Kelly and Paddy spend the morning getting you ready for it: boat craft, paddle strokes, reading the water. Then it’s down the Thomson through the gorge, feeling it all come together.

Sun dancing on the water, spray in your face, and an exhilaration you’ll take home.

📅 Sat 12 Sep, 9am to 3pm 📍 Thomson River, near Walhalla
🎟️ Book your spot now

Williamstown looks different from a board: yachts in Hobsons Bay, the working port, the skyline sitting low behind you. This Saturday, you can pick your paddle. The 5km is beginner friendly and launches from the Williamstown boat ramps. The 10km starts under the West Gate, crosses the shipping channel and weaves through the sailing fleet on the way in.

Both crews come together for coffee at Gem Pier, with the best view of the city thrown in.

📅 Sat 12 Sep, 7:30am (10km) or 8:30am (5km) 📍 Williamstown & Port Melbourne
🎟️ Free to join, more info here

Coffee at Merricks Store, then onto the old railway line as the farmland opens up on both sides. The Red Hill Rail Trail is the kind of walk where you’ll find good chats and beautiful views at every turn: 13km return through paddocks and bushland, easy underfoot, and a late lunch and wine tasting to finish.

Come for the walk, stay for the lunch.

📅 Sat 12 Sep, 10am to 3pm 📍 Merricks
🎟️ Book your spot now

An island in the middle of Western Port with thousands of koalas, almost no cars and the ferry as the only way in. This is the overnight hike for people who have never done one: packs on for the first 5km only, then camp goes up and you explore the island's tracks with just a day bag. Ferry, permits, guides and home-cooked food all included, and TSA will lend you a tent, mat and rucksack if you don't own them.

Your first night in a tent should be this easy.

📅 Sat 12 to Sun 13 Sep, 9am to 1pm 📍 Crib Point
🎟️ Book your spot now

Pope's Eye was started as a fort in the 1880s and never finished. Nature completed it instead: a horseshoe of bluestone boulders now home to seals, gannets, cuttlefish, and clouds of fish. The centre is shallow and clear, which makes it an approachable way to see the wonders Port Phillip keeps under the surface.

Perfect for snorkellers and divers just starting to explore the bay.

📅 Sun 13 Sep, 2:15pm 📍 Queenscliff & Sorrento pick ups
🎟️ Book your spot now: Queenscliff · Sorrento

A few more this weekend + the ones to lock in over the coming weeks
🚶🏻‍♀️ Get HikeFit · Darebin Parklands · 12 Sep
⛰️ Guided Nature Tour · Mount Buffalo · 12 Sep
☕ Albert Park Loop & South Melbourne Market · Albert Park · 13 Sep
🥾 Warramate Hills Hike · Gruyere, Yarra Valley · 13 Sep
🧗‍♂️ Rock Climbing Falcons Lookout (Beginners welcome) · Werribee Gorge · 13 Sep
🧭 Navigation Retreat · Halls Gap · 17 to 19 Sep
🏞️ GPT Huts Walk, 3 Days · Grampians · 18 to 20 Sep
🌊 Great Ocean Road Experience · Great Ocean Road · 26 to 27 Sep
🛶 Wilderness Packraft Expedition · Mitchell River National Park · 3 to 4 Oct
🌳 Warburton Wilderness Hike & Forests Weekend · Warburton · 17 to 18 Oct

Plan your next escape 🌏
🚴🏾 Tour de South Australia Vineyards · South Australia · 18 to 24 Sep
🥾 Three Capes Pack-Free Walk · Tasmania · 18 to 20 Sep
🐳 Whale Week Australia · Sunshine Coast · 21 to 27 Sep
🏕️ Spring Nature Immersion Weekend · Sydney · 3 to 5 Oct
🏝️ Solomon Islands Expedition · Solomon Islands · 5 to 14 Nov

Disclaimer: We do our best to curate accurate and helpful information but we can't guarantee there won’t be errors. Event details can change so please confirm directly with the organiser. All bookings are with the organiser and participation is at your own risk. We accept no liability for any issues arising from booking and attending any of these activities.