*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: 3 (7th November 2024) 20km

The sky was far duller as we roused ourselves before sunrise for our 3rd day on the GOW.

A far cry from our first afternoon in Apollo Bay, this morning the clouds, especially those out above the sea looked far more menacing, and heavy with rain.

Neither of us could really face breakfast at the time, so we added some water to our cereal, resealed its Ziplock pouch and got underway, figuring we’d find somewhere nice to sit and eat (and hopefully dry if the heavens played nice) a little later.

We had a decision first up. Take the more direct route through the drive in campground to reach the trail proper, or take a more indirect approach along the beach.

It was the Great Ocean Walk, so the beach was for us, a no brainer!

The going was pretty easy to kick things off.

A dry, gently undulating trail, although there was one I’m sure funny as hell moment when I did have small slip whilst focusing on filming, neglecting where my feet where going.

After a quick breakfast stop as the sun emerged (where we also shed some outer layers), it was onwards, and eventually gently upwards as the bush scrub began to give way to a forest of trees.

The trail was hard as concrete, and we even ditched our packs for a short while to take a detour to the Point Lewis lookout. Along the way, we had to limbo around some fallen trees, but it was only a short diversion, a little under 200m off the main track.

There was a picnic table which would have been the perfect spot for our already consumed breakfast, and it did allow some nice, if partially obscured views back down the coast.

It was a gradual, upwards trail at this point, winding its way through some very Australian forest, eucalypts that looked all twisted and bent, where I had to lead the way as chief cobweb catcher (usually across the face if I dropped my guard).

I can only assume we were the first on the trail at this point!

The trail had gradually wheeled us away from the coast, but it eventually came back into view, just as we began our descent towards the Parker River and a possible beach river crossing.

If the tide was higher than we’d planned for, this could mean a boots off wade… but by now the sky was clear, the sun was out and our hiking through the bush had us nice and sweaty, so at least we weren’t facing the prospect, already cold!

The descent revealed to me that I had, for the first time on the hike, an uncomfortable boot, and at the base of the stairs down, where we were faced with out first boot cleaning station (there are plenty along the complete walk, a tool to help combat the spread of Cinnamon Fungus which is devastating to a lot of the local flora), where a perfectly placed bench seat allowed me the chance to properly address the matter.

Now, as you can see above, before us lay a small creek. Not really wide enough to trouble us and thus, easily crossed.

Piece of piss!

But the Parker River Inlet held a surprise. You see, the beach here was shaped somewhat similarly to the shark egg case from the start of the day. One of the pointed tails of the beach form by this small creek, the other, by the wider Parker River, which we’d discover, this was not!

We had not quickly and easily traversed our second river crossing!

The beach, we did not have to ourselves, as a quartet of figures made their way towards the rocks that fringed the small bay.

Our focus was on the river, which here flowed to the sea, and we needed to identify where best we could cross, and whether it would require boot removal.

Ultimately, with a little pack laden long jumping it was overcome.

Disappointingly, the remains of the Eric the Red shipwreck were at this point in time, buried in the sand, so without them as a distraction, we simply continued on our journey.

We were obviously now at sea level, and our trail onward took us past the Parker Hill Campground… so yes, this meant a hill!

In this case, the climb was long, and our first proper workout for the morning.

300, oddly spaced and carved slabs of rock which served as steps. At least it wasn’t wet!

We met a family with 2 small girls making the descent from the other direction. With no small amount of pity, we imagined how long it might take them on their return journey!

At the top, a sign suggested the Cape Otway Lighthouse (roughly the half way point of todays hiking), was now a little under 5km distant.

We’d marked it as a point for a break, looking forward to a warm cuppa (tea) and some scones with jam & cream from the on site cafe!

It was a largely flat stretch of the trail that proved to be a bit of a wildlife bonanza, with a Gang-gang Cockatoo, Swamp Wallaby with a Joey, and even a Koala! Really cool indeed!

The Gang-gang Cockatoo, as they are on the cusp of endangered, with much of their habitat lost to land clearing (apparently they’ve lost about 65% of their population over roughly the last 20 years) was quite the surprise, it’s distinctive grey/black plumage & pinkish head a delight to see.

After only a kilometre or so, we even got our first glimpse of the distant lighthouse, with the trail winding its way through some low scrub long the coastal trail.

We passed a turnoff to Point Franklin, where I later learned rests an anchor from the aforementioned Eric the Red shipwreck, however, being our first through hike and as yet unfamiliar with the trail or our abilities, we weren’t really too eager to engage in side trips as I mentioned in an earlier post.

The lighthouse gradually grew larger in the distance, and whilst clunking our way down some wooden stairs and boardwalk, spied our first true mob of Kangaroos, distant in an a paddock adjacent to the trail.

I’m sure I’ve mentioned it already, but the weather was glorious. Blue, clear skies, a sea breeze and not too hot.

And the views up and down the coast. Well, this is why we’d committed to the walk in the first place!

Now, we’d heard whispers that Great Ocean Walk hikers were allowed free access to the Cape Otway Lightstation… whispers which were both false and true at the same time.

It turns out entry is NOT free for GOW walkers, however, it was once upon a time… long before our time it would seem.

Of even greater disappointment, was the discovery that due to staff shortages, the cafe was not actually open at the moment, so our dreams of jam and cream slathered scones was shattered.

The small entrance/ticket office sold cold drinks, snacks and I think a few packaged sandwiches. The lady on duty kindly said we could leave our packs there whilst we explored the grounds, so we paid the entrance fee and grabbed ourselves a couple of ice-creams in lieu of our desired scones!

It was a nice way to break up our walk, with the station featuring an old telegraph station, obviously, a lighthouse, an old WWII bunker from when it served as a radar station, and even an anchor from that ever elusive Eric the Red shipwreck!

We may or may not have flipped the bird (given the middle finger) to the former Assistant Keepers residence as we passed, which these days serves as the disappointingly closed cafe…

Access to the lighthouse itself has also been closed since 2023, after an earthquake resulted in the need for repairs. There was no indication of works taking place whilst we were there, or when it might re-open…

We reapplied sunscreen and shouldered packs ready to continue, a brief walk through the carpark reconnecting us to the trail (after we utlised the bathroom facilities), shortly after which we encountered our first other hikers for the day.

They motored up behind us, striding at quite a fair clip, bedecked in wide brimmed hats, plenty of lycra, hiking poles, and the pièce de résistance, individual fly/mosquito nets around their heads!

They certainly put our mix of K-Mart & Kathmandu gear to shame!

Moments after their passing, we had our second snake encounter, and first on the trail itself, as decent sized Tiger Snake slithered away moments before my feet would have reached it.

It was startling, but surprisingly, didn’t generate the fear I’d have expected.

Given how recently the fast duo would have passed by, I couldn’t figure out if they’d disturbed it, or somehow missed it!?

We also took a brief 50m detour off trail to check out the small Cape Otway Lighthouse Cemetery, home to around half a dozen deceased, at least based on the headstones alone…

Journeying on, as you can imagine, the lighthouse sits atop an elevated bluff, so the walking took us along a very scenic clifftop path, with wonderful views up and down the coast in each direction.

Every time we thought we’d found a nice open section to break for lunch, we discovered it occupied by a group of school kids on an outdoor education excursion (not the same group that turned up at Blanket Bay), so we decided we’d just keep on trekking until we either found a free spot, or hit camp.

Eventually we came to a decision point.

Continue on the clifftop path for the final 5 and a half kilometres to camp, or descend for a beach walk, which would be quite spectacular, but add 500m to the overall journey.

Ultimately the decision was made for us, as the tide was high and seemingly rising, so rather than get stuck down there and have to backtrack, we figured we had a guaranteed beach section tomorrow anyway, so we’d play it safe!

That’s not to say there wasn’t any regret, especially when we learned that we’d also missed the Rainbow Falls (we didn’t know what they were at the time, talking about not utilising the guidebook until too late)!

It was getting a bit cloudier as the afternoon wore on, and at times the sun even disappeared completely.

The trail itself was a lot sandier, fine in sections where roots from the scrub kept it firm underfoot, and a bit of slog where it became loose and soft sand.

A reappearance from the sun seemed to coincide with Aire River and the river mouth coming into view, and we could see from our elevated vantage, where it appeared we would have exited, had we been able to tackle the Station Beach walk.

Even though it appeared close, the track took a hard left, and soon became a vegetation tunnel, which, when combined with the cloud, was also quite humid.

It seemed to snake back and forth forever, the only excitement being another Swamp Wallaby encounter.

Finally, the track did start to descend towards the river, but there was still a ways to go, and the trail itself again became a soft sandy mess.

Finally, it gave way to a road of hard packed gravel mixed with sand, it’s path taking us right along the shores of the river itself, which had in sections, burst its banks and claimed the very road on which we walked.

Gently, we skirted these sections, finally hitting tarmac/bitumen, just before the main road crossed the river, the wind threatening me with the loss of my hat as we made the crossing ourselves.

There are campgrounds on either side of the Aire, with the west campground spread before us as soon as we crossed the bridge.

This however, was not where we’d be pitching our tent, as the hiker campground was set a little further back, and higher up the hill.

A small scattering of cars and caravans were spread around the grounds, but it was largely empty (there were maybe 3 or 4 campsites occupied at best).

The toilet block serves both camps, however it meant for our use, we’d need to descend, then scramble back up, a very steep wooden path.

Finally getting into camp we discovered the place empty, so we had the pick of the sites, opting for one close to where we’d rejoin the trail in the morning, spread our tent fly across a table to dry (after discovering it was still wet with morning dew after being packed this morning) and finally sorted ourselves out for lunch (wraps with Cheese, Salami, Cherry Tomatoes, Spinach & Mushroom… the same as yesterday and the days to come)!

The sun was glorious, but again, it didn’t last too long, and by the time another large group arrived at the adjacent groups section of the hiker campground, it was actually threatening to rain!

It turns out that these late arrivals, were the same posse of students who’d turned up at Blanket Bay the evening before.

From a Catholic College in Melbourne’s west (the name escapes me), their hike would only be taking them as far as Johanna Beach, so 2 nights camping, and for tonight, it would be the students who’d had to shop and plan their own meals.

It made for an amusing and fascinating watch, as well, along with a about 13 or 14 students and teachers huddled in the communal shelter as the rain started to fall.

We were impressed by some of the meal planning. Other meals in the work, whilst we were curious, seemed less appealing!

They set up their Trangia stoves and the teacher gave them each some fuel, and we got to our meal prep show with anticipation.

A trio of young girls brandished a packet of pasta, a jar of Dolmio Carbonara sauce and a tin of spam… cooked it all up to make prepare their crime against Italian fare, only for there to be a twist in the tale. One of the trio was fussier than most, so it was actually dinner for two, as she’d be having pop noodle!

There was greater promise from the three boys who emerged with pre cooked rice, some oil, peas, soy sauce (seriously, one kid was lugging a full, glass litre bottle) and some pre cooked egg to whip up some fried rice.

However, the tinned hot dogs they tried to add to it as their protein failed miserably, but I think became a bit more palatable after fried separately in a by now black frying pan.

Good luck to whoever was on cleaning duties!

In one corner, a pair of young ladies had an almost tame in comparison to the other crazy delights, Burritos. They seemed surprisingly competent at their immediate task…

To our left, another kid was burning some meat skewers to his Trangia… he followed up this feast with an entire loaf of bread, smothered crust to crust in Nutella, all washed down with 6 pack of Up & Go protein drinks!

Our own dinner was also not without issue.

Sarah was adamant that our gas canister, full when we’d left home and barely used was not going to last the trip, so we were attempting to ration it now.

As such, we’d briefly gotten some water somewhere near a boil, before adding it to our home made Honey Beef Stir Fry.

The result of this underheated water, was a tepid soup, with rice needles that needed a longer soak. The flavours were there, but a warming, noodly delight it was not!

* 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)

* Entrance into the Cape Otway Lightstation was $19.50 per person

Jump back to Day 2 of our Great Ocean Walk Adventure HERE

Continue to Day 4 of our Great Ocean Walk Adventure HERE