*This is one of our first entries since back in 2018 (pre Covid GASP). In the foreseeable future, posts will likely be a mix of entries, jumping around different trips across the past seven years*

Day: 1 (5th November 2024) 12km (plus approx 200km via public transport)

A bit of a preamble may be in order here (I hope that alone doesn’t bore you and turn you away).

Some during mid 2024 I sat in front of my computer, researching a destination for work (I remain working in travel, employed by a trekking company), the incredibly beautiful Cordillera Huayhuash in Peru.

Somewhere within my random Googling, I stumbled upon some Youtube video (of the Huayhuash), and before long, hiking videos became the background visuals during my day to day.

I’d type away at my laptop, and suddenly get a look at the Mont Blanc Massif, some epic trail in New Zealand, or similar, then duck back down into my work.

Over time, the videos became more local in content, and before long I was watching people tackle self supported, multi day through hiking.

The Larapinta Trail. The Bibbulman Track. The Overland Track. The Australian Alpine Walking Trail, and finally, the Great Ocean Walk!

It (the Great Ocean Walk) was relatively close to home, was only about 100km in length, and suddenly the seed was planted… “We could do that!!”

Sarah, both skeptical and supportive humoured me, and before she knew it, we’d even set a date (only a few months distant) in October of 2024.

I began to research, we visited Anaconda (a local outdoors store) and bought a pair of hiking packs and a lightweight tent. We even bought a dehydrator to prepare our own meals for the walk, and a single pot butane cooker (a knock off version of the Jet Boil for a fraction of the price), both from Kmart!

On the odd occasion, we even masqueraded at doing training (we’re fortunate to have some nice river trails close to home with a mixture of good and uneven terrain)!

Then in August (of 2024), we were both struck down with a bout of Covid, and unlike our first brush with the spicy cough, this round knocked us for six!

In the following days, well past the time that the general symptoms had abated, we were both hampered by a fatigue or lethargy like nothing we’d experienced before.

Our walk was postponed, and for some time, even the revised November date was feeling unlikely.

Still, we continued our prep, sourcing gear, and I dehydrating food to try and actually create meals to sustain us for the hike ahead.

It was with some shock (and delight given we had to carry it) to see over half a kilo of beef mince, mushrooms & spinach dehydrate up into two halves (for two meals) of less than 200g each!

Not wanting to purchase one ourselves (the outlay is quite high), we’d hired a PLB (Personal Locater Beacon) from Macpac a couple of days before departure, and with that important piece of gear, we had (hopefully) everything we needed (and hopefully some that we’d never need).

The night before departure day, Sarah advised me that she was quietly shitting herself after we’d finally packed and weighed our bags… full to the brim and over 15kg each!

Still, we were committed, with a V/Line rail and bus ticket to Apollo Bay booked, likewise for all the campsites we’d need, not to mention we’d already taken the time off work!

So, on a bright and sunny Melbourne Cup Day morning (yes, it was the 5th of November and a Public Holiday), after relishing our last proper wash for a week, we navigated our way via Tram to Southern Cross Station, from where our 9:10am Train would ferry us to Geelong for our onward connection.

The journey was comfortable and uneventful, with a 15 minute transit in Geelong, stretching somewhat longer with the bus running a little late.

Just after 10:30am we were away, deliberately opting to sit on the left side of the bus so as to enjoy the gorgeous coastal views we knew were to come.

It sure felt easy hiking when our bags were stashed below and we were sat in comfortable seats! The kilometres fairly flew by!

The day was glorious, with the blue ocean giving way to an equally blue sky.

We just hoped as the day got older, it wasn’t going to prove too hot for this pair of walkers burdened with packs!

We had the incredible luck to spot a pod of 6 Dolphins from our elevated position, as well as an unconfirmed sighting of 4 Penguins (given the time of the day, I’m not convinced my eyes weren’t making that one up), so it was with buoyant spirit that we were deposited in Apollo Bay, just outside the visitors centre, a little after 1pm.

Time to get our bearings, get some lunch, and be on our way!

I’d envisaged a healthy salad roll from a local bakery to see us on our way, but when Sarah suggested a Pie and a Snot Block (Vanilla Slice), there was no way I wasn’t going to get food envy, so a pie it was, before a liberal application of sunscreen before we got on our way.

The official starting point was back near the visitors centre (there’s even an artistic sign to help you get your bearings), so we retraced our steps, and so began our Great Ocean Walk!

Our destination for today was the Elliot Ridge Campground, a walk of around 10km, the first stretch of which we knew to be along a section of the coast road, before branching off at Marengo (indeed a lot of people choose to start at Marengo, especially if they’re catching the bus, as it can set you down there as well).

I’d seen quite a few Youtubers mention they’d not seen any trail markers until they hit the Marengo turn off, so it was something of surprise to pick one up, before we’d even left the grassy patch where the large Great Ocean Walk sign had seen us start our walk!

A few hundred metres on, as the road turned towards Marengo and we left Apollo Bay, there was another. These were clearly not new markers either, so I’ll put those misses by others down to being absorbed with the views, and not just being as blind as buggery (I’m being kind, the scenery doesn’t really ramp up until you hit the road headed towards Marengo)!

There was a brilliant breeze coming off the water, so despite the sun, it wasn’t as hot as we’d feared, and it was a pretty cruisy few kilometres to get us to the start of the trail proper.

A sandwich board advised us that some Hooded Plover chicks had recently hatched nearby (the Hooded Plover is an endangered, cute little endemic shore bird) which was some great news, as their eggs are especially vulnerable to human traffic as they lay them directly in the sand!

Our path finally veered away from the road, through the Marengo Caravan Park, and out the other side where the GOW begins to finally feel like a proper coastal walk.

With the long weekend coming to an end that same day, there weren’t a ton of guests, which meant there was zero traffic to dodge as we made our way through, although one older couple did wish us well on the walk ahead.

We resolved pretty quickly, that it was called the “Great Ocean Walk”, so where the option presented and the tides allowed, we would indeed follow the shore (there are a number of ‘decision points’ along the trail, where you may need to decide whether to stick to the sea, or head inland) whenever we could, and it wasn’t long before the views started to justify why we’d come here to attempt this!

The path was clear, dry and the walking was easy going, and again, thanks to the sea breeze, we were sweating, but nowhere near as much as we may have been otherwise… the going was also still extremely flat!

Eventually the path veered towards the beach, and we followed along, the walking nearer the water on firmer sand, which eventually gave way to rock platforms as we snaked our way along the coast.

We weren’t racing along, just keeping a steady pace and with only 5 or 6 more kilometres to go, we had no reason to rush.

The only wildlife spotted being a pair of naturists, who kindly enough moved themselves into the water as we passed, although it didn’t save us completely with good eyeful of wrinkly butt for our troubles.

As rookies, and feeling somewhat responsible should something go awry (given this was all my hairbrained scheme), or we somehow get lost on what had thus far been an extremely easy trail to follow, I was keenly keeping an eye out for where the path would again take us off the beach.

The turn when it came was well marked, the departure from the beach also being our first serious ascent up a sequence of large blocks of bluestone, arranged to form a stairway up the scrubby hill.

It was foliage we were thankful for, as it afforded a bit of shade and made the climb, much like the sea breeze had and continued to do, that bit more bearable given our still full packs.

We were likely overladen with water, but being our first walk, our first day of the walk (it was also our shortest, but hey, in hindsight we now know better) and there being a smidge of uncertainty over how much water the tanks at camp might have, we’d erred on the side of caution.

The uphill section was relatively short, quickly giving way to rolling hills and before long, we were afforded glorious views along the coast.

A strategically placed bench was very tempting, but we’d only been walking a short time, so really didn’t need to tarry longer than it took to soak in the views.

I had a sense of joy as we descended the hill, those coastal views, the wind off the ocean and the sound of the waves… this is exactly what we’d come here for and it was glorious!

We veered left, and a couple of short switchbacks had us headed back towards the sand and another beach section, again easy going, although this time there were no nudists frolicking on the shore!

The trail then veered back inland, the path well shaded and mostly easy going until we came to another decision point. Well, less a decision point, as it wasn’t an alternate route, but Shelly Beach was signed as 100m to our left, and our goal, Elliot Ridge Campground was a bit over 2km in the other direction.

Despite the hours of daylight, and the incredibly close proximity to the beach, even just to take a quick peek and see if it warranted more time, we chose to keep heading on towards camp.

We were comfortable with the decision at the time, but both Sarah and I felt some regret in the days that followed given we had so many hours of daylight to spare, were so close to camp, and when else would we be close enough again?

Still, immediately after that decision, the trail assumed a steep incline, walkers aided by a wooden, stepped boardwalk to guarantee a sure footing, even in the often wet Great Otway National Park (thankfully, for us, it was bone dry).

The next stretch was quite lovely, but very different. It was a gently undulating (after we’d climbed those wooden stairs) journey through fern filled gullies which, in the water months I’m sure would have had us passing over flowing streams, and underneath some lovely large gums.

It was certainly beautiful, and under that leafy canopy, lovely and cool

Eventually we began to descend again, for before the final push to camp, we had our first water crossing of the walk: Elliot River.

The ocean reemerged first, before the brush parted and we got our first views down towards the river itself.

A trio of hikers were already down amidst the river below, a father and his two 20-something year old sons as we descended the now rocky path which would probably be quite treacherous with a splash of rain.

Now when I say “amidst the river”, I don’t mean in the water per se, although plenty of splashing to cool down was being done.

The water level was low enough, and the amount of rocks plentiful enough, that whilst there was a clear series of larger stones placed to form a crossing when the river is higher (during the winter months), right now there were exposed rocks aplenty for us to be able to comfortably splash and cool off before the final ascent to camp.

There wasn’t far to go, but as far as stretches go on Day 1 of our walk, this was the most brutal.

It wasn’t a super steep gradient, but it was a long incline, a series of boulders forming a long stairway, followed by a scrubby, yet still uphill track once we hit the tree line.

This one certainly got us sweating before we finally hit the ridge, and a most welcome sign indicating we’d finally made camp!

The camp was lovely, surrounded by towering gums (Eucalyptus trees), it had a larger open camping area for groups, a fancy self composting drop toilet, a communal shelter and a collection of scattered individual campsites.

Campsite bookings come without a number, so you get to chose on a first come first serve basis. There were only 3 parties including us in total. The aforementioned family of 3, plus a couple from Northern New South Wales, so there was ample space.

The sons and their father had pretty much commandeered the camp shelter, but there was a large table beside our site where we were quite happy to let our packs ‘explode’ and prepare our meal, and enjoy the orange glow of the setting sun as we prepared (and consumed dinner).

As the hour got later, we were also privileged to be able to observe a Koala and her young in the trees above, a brilliant way to round out a surprisingly comfortable first day!

* Our V/Line tickets from Melbourne (Southern Cross) to Apollo Bay via Geelong cost $11.00 each

* Reservations for each campsite was made via the Parks Victoria website and cost us $18.50 per site (at present, all National Park reservations have become free, until at least the 30th June 2025 I believe)

Continue to Day 2 of our Great Ocean Walk Adventure HERE