Great Ocean Walk

Tuesday, 31 January 2006

Australia’s Great Ocean Walk only opened for business in late December 2005. So far only a handful of walkers have set out along this spectacular coastal walk. On the last two days of January 2006 I was one of them. The walk stretches for 96km from Apollo Bay to The Twelve Apostles, past Cape Otway on the western coast of the state of Victoria. If you were in a hurry you could probably do the walk in four days but five or six days is probably a more reasonable pace. I covered the first two days from Apollo Bay to Aire River, camping at Blanket Bay along the way.

 

 

The rewards? Beautiful coastal scenery, some long stretches of remote beach, an historic lighthouse and a lot of wildlife. We saw wallabies, echidnas (spiny anteaters, one of which just wandered into our campsite), a seal on Station Beach, a lot of koalas and a wide variety of birdlife including plenty of parrots.

For more information on Great Ocean Walk check the website www.greatoceanwalk.com.au . I’ll be back to walk the rest of the way later this year.