Last 52 ks of the Great Ocean Walk.

[Lamont]

I thought there might be some interest in a variation on the GOW. Of course you take your chances with this sort of plan.
Parked at "Castles" (Castle Cove) with the intention of busing/hitching back here on Wed. Had a fallback in that the bus would stop at Princetown on Wed.10.40 and hoped to convince the driver to chuck me out at Castles even tho' it is not a scheduled stop.-
Left Castle Cove Monday at 8 and set off for Ryans Den -arrived 3pm.
Left RD next morning at 10.40 am -arrived Devils Kitchen 2.45pm.
Left DK at 8.10am and arrived at Princetown for the bus 9.55am. I did not wait for the bus but..
Left Princetown 9.55am, arrived 11.55am Wednesday Twelve Apostles Visitor Park -end of walk.
52ks all up I think

Some things I gleaned
-There are some profoundly boring stretches of road
-There are some utterly stupendous views
-coming up and around the corner and seeing the rock formations around the Apostles made me gasp-they weren't there, then they just were
-I surfed at Castles in the early 80's and at Gibson Steps in 85 and I didn't recognise them at all
-There are f_____n' tissues dumped everywhere, right on the track in many places, after urination and defecation, and yes, as you know, you can tell
-Some sections are a wee bit harder than I anticipated which was nice
-Found two European (teutonic accents?) 30 somethings "travelling free"-bloke going wrong direction, lass hiding in tent arrived in the dark, got a few words
next morning
-Utter drivel scrawled on the walls in the 2 shelters needs a drill with a wire brush and 10 minutes to fix
-people are great when you need a lift, within 10 minutes a young French lass offered- but not going far enough, bloke offered -but going wrong way and then
two champion Kiwis let me sit in the back of their van all the way (45 mins) back to Castle Cove.
-I can eat two (Timboon bakery) pies in succession-did it at the 12 Apostles!
-It is possible to take a chance and rely on the kindness of strangers- thought it was too early to wait for the bus so off I went to the 12 to hitch.
-If I started walking at about 6 am I could have got to the bus at the 12 Apostles 10.30am.
-Car was as I left it just outside the accommodation there
-scorpions can move b____y quick
-leeches can not
-mice galore at the DK site.
-toilet paper from use (and some faecal matter) strewn around the toilet on the ground at DK site.
-I would perhaps try this again mid week and set off for the 10.40 bus at the Apostle centre if I had the chance
EDIT forgot to add
-I wore INOV8 Trail Talons "from the box "-weigh about 320gms and they were perfect (my second pair) again with no pre-walking/breaking in
-carried max of 9.5 kgs maximum- food, 2 litres water plus all other gear in total when setting off at Castle Cove-and this weight was just so easy
-the light "shirt I reviewed for keeping your cool" did not smell after 3 days (52ks in mild to warmish weather) use-there was dirt and dust all around the collar and cuffs but NO smell of sweat! I kid you not.
All in all, recommended but I really only did this as I knew the bookings were very light. I had Ryans Den to myself!

[mypace]

Thanks Lamont, brings back memories. Great to hear of kindness of strangers - I hiked with a group so we car shuttled (sometimes tediously). How crowded were the Apostles!!! Pretty crazy there after the peaceful trail. Did you hear any timeline for the proposed extension past the Apostles?

[ribuck]

... NO smell of sweat! I kid you not.

After a few days on the trail you can't rely on your own nose - you have to check with someone else

[Lamont]

G'day Ribuck-didn't say I trusted "my own nose'"-you assumed.
G'day mypace, I have hitched a few times now with a multi-day rucksack and never waited longer than 15 minutes.
I have some simple strategies tho' to ensure people don't feel like a I may be a problem, perhaps they work?
Sorry, I don't know what they plan next, I'm sure they will look to milk every last gram of silver from the whole thing.
Cheers

[Ms_Mudd]

Great report! Very thorough indeed. Listing your walk timings is particularly helpful too.
I imagine it would have been very chilly that time of year.
Very disappointing that people leave tp/tissues about the place. Gross.

Nice work on your shirt. Do tell the brand! Was it it's first outing? Is it still not stinky? Tell me about this magical piece of clothing?

Was throwing about all sorts of ideas for walks in Spring and $49 airfares to Melbourne sealed the deal for me- GOW it is. All locked in. Now I get to trawl old threads, plot, plan and research away. Such fun!

[Lamont]

Hi ho,
viewtopic.php?f=63&t=27240 --this one!
Go to amazon US and buy the ugliest colour that you can tolerate and you can get them for about $35AUD delivered!! Link below.
Or BCF for about double that and only two colours, the pale dove grey is nice-join up for the discount (are you a Charles Dickens/David Copperfield fan? Remember, I am Uriah Heap's cousin Colin)
-It is easier for me as I now know my size-bought two more off Amazon in recent months. I want the orange one or the beet one but the rotten thing never drops in price! Snagged a nice Footscray (Western Bulldogs) blue tho"!
I cut off the tails front and back (and hemmed them), and they look like normal shirts. Still enough to tuck them in-they can be quite long if that bothers you.
https://www.amazon.com/Columbia-Offshor ... s_ap_1_fbt LINK-but trawl thru all the colours for the best price.
Fwiw I am M and 1.79m tall and about 103cm chest. They are very roomy.
It is perfect. I also use it in the cold over or under my light Peleton (150grams) fleece easily to around a couple (2-4?) of degrees (or below) -active. Or even under my fauxdini to about 6-7 degrees -active.
Feels really excellent on the skin!!
Not stinky at all-don't know if this will alter over time- but really brilliant for now.

No, it was hot-midday temps from memory about 25-27 degrees, yes, warm to hot--WTH! - about 32-34 in the sun!
Got home and the weather cooled dramatically. The cool change stalled.
I was walking without too many stops, none really but for 9.30 smoko, lunch, arvo snack, if that affects your plans, and my times reflect this.
Also, were there a next time I might park at the visitor centre and hitch back to Castle Cove.
It's fair old drive from the airport (Tulla?) and the roads are clogged with tourists -
If you plan on hitching and the weather is foul you'll likely struggle to get a lift. TTOOUURRIISSTTSS are all you will see on the road and they don't give lifts.
Anything else sing out
Cheers
G

[Ms_Mudd]

It's fair old drive from the airport (Tulla?) and the roads are clogged with tourists -
If you plan on hitching and the weather is foul you'll likely struggle to get a lift. TTOOUURRIISSTTSS are all you will see on the road and they don't give lifts.
Anything else sing out
Cheers
G

I nearly hired a car from the airport as it all seemed a bit hard to get to Apollo Bay, but have worked out public transport to get me to Geelong to catch the V-LIne bus. Husband and my two youngest kiddos will then fly down, hire a car, pick me up from the Apostles. Hopefully, I can get myself a more magical shirt than the ones I normally wear, for the sake of my family and the car ride we will share.
Planning a little holiday together for a few days before all returning back to our home in much less touristy rural NSW.

[ChrisJHC]

Get the hubby to bring scented wet wipes and deodorant!

[Ms_Mudd]

Get the hubby to bring scented wet wipes and deodorant!

And a high pressure hose?

[ChrisJHC]

I once got into a taxi at the end of a 5 day, 120 km hike in summer.
I apologised in advance to the taxi driver, but he explained that he'd worked in an abattoir all his life and it was unlikely I'd smell as bad as that!
Once I got back to my own car, I did have to drive for quite a while with the windows open.

[Bulli]

-Found two European (teutonic accents?) 30 somethings "travelling free"-bloke going wrong direction, lass hiding in tent arrived in the dark, got a few words
next morning


What is the concern, going west to east on the GOW ?? If you pre book and pay for the campsites you intend to use, is there really a problem ??

[Lamont]

-Found two European (teutonic accents?) 30 somethings "travelling free"-bloke going wrong direction, lass hiding in tent arrived in the dark, got a few words
next morning


What is the concern, going west to east on the GOW ?? If you pre book and pay for the campsites you intend to use, is there really a problem ??

I forgot all about this and my pie eating prowess! Two pies in quick time.

You may need to read what I typed again. All the people I referred to were not paying in my estimation.

If you are asking a humble clown like me Senor Bulli about the direction that paid people have to travel, stuffed if I know.
It's best to ask Parks or whomever runs the whole shebang, not my rules.

Now if you want to know which pies to get or how to convince someone to give you a lift when you look a bit down at heel-I'm your man!

Last edited by Lamont on Mon 04 Jan, 2021 4:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[ChrisJHC]

I understand it’s to manage the numbers on the walk so the facilities don’t get overwhelmed.

[Lamont]

I understand it’s to manage the numbers on the walk so the facilities don’t get overwhelmed.

Bingo, bango..

[CraigVIC]

Because it's all booked it easier if everyone goes the same way as each group is naturally leaving a camp as those following want it, as opposed to constantly competing for sites if going both ways making it very difficult to book a string of nights when busy. That's the theory as I understand it anyway.