Great Ocean Walk

Early in February, I undertook the famous Great Ocean Walk; an 8 day walk along Victoria’s spectacular coastline from Apollo Bay to the Twelve Apostles. I thought it would be a good solo mission, as the track is extremely well defined, the signage is awesome, and there is road access to many of the campsites (just in case things went wrong!)

Luckily, this ended up being a perfect trip! The weather was phenomenal, with hot days, overcast mornings, and pleasantly cool nights.

Day one involves a pleasant stroll through Apollo Bay for about 4 km before you hit the trail proper.

The campsites are absolutely stunning along the way. This is the view from Blanket Bay (campsite 2), which is not only beautiful, but was probably one of the best swimming beaches along the entire walk.

Looking back east over Parker’s inlet. In general, the track is relatively flat and the grade is fairly mild, but every now and again, there is a steep hill (like the one I climbed to get this photo!)

It almost goes without saying, but the coastline is absolutely stunning.

Campsite three is just beyond the Cape Otway Lighthouse. It is very surreal to be walking for three days, only to walk directly into a car park filled with campervans! While I did not enter the lightstation complex proper, I did take full advantage of the Mars Bars and ice cream sold in the entrance building. More bushwalks should have ice cream available at the halfway point.

Campsite 4 gave me a break from the endless ocean views, and is located on the edge of the Aire River with a beautiful reed-filled estuary and TONS of birdlife.

I never tired of the beautiful vistas (and the thoughtfully placed benches for morning tea!)

This was is the view over breakfast at the second-to-last campsite at Ryan’s Den. It was hard to tear myself away from this view to keep walking.

The first glimpse of the Twelve Apostles – marking the end of the Great Ocean Walk.

The end! And what a spectacular view to be rewarded by (not to mention even more ice cream available in the visitors centre!). I have to say that this is an awesome walk; it’s long enough to make it challenging, but the distances each day are extremely reasonable (10-15km), the scenery is spectacular, the campsites are beautiful and well equipped, and you get plenty of time to sit and enjoy this unique corner of Victoria.

You can get a map of the entire Great Ocean Walk at Bogong or online.