An American in Australia: Last Great Ocean Walk Post

I really have to catch up on what I've done the last two and a half weeks, but I'll have this last post as a place to collect my thoughts about the Great Ocean Walk. It was the longest backpacking trip I’ve done at 6 days and 100 km. Going into the hike I thought I could probably do it in 5 days, but now I would not recommend doing it in any less than 6 if you’re carrying all your gear and food. The track is deceptively hilly and hiking on the beach is not as easy as it sounds. Walking in the sand worked different leg muscles than normal terrain and really tired out the calves. Plus on the shorter days (which were 14-15 km) we would just spend an hour or two lying on the beach.

I really enjoyed this hike and it’s nice to know it will only get better. When I did it there was a fair amount of walking along roads, but Parks Victoria is working on a couple realignments that should be done soon, if not already. The trail wasn’t crowded at all either. I can almost count the number of groups we saw on one hand: the father and son team, the elderly crowd, the school group, the army patrol, and the four ladies. There were a handful of tourists at the more accessible points as well, but for most of the time we had the trail to ourselves. The campsites were mostly empty as well. We didn’t reserve any sites and with the exception of Johanna Beach we didn’t have a problem showing up and claiming a spot.

At Cape Otway, Day 2 campsite

From outlook above Ryan's Den, Day 4 campsite

The hike also reaffirmed my belief that the best views don’t come from viewing platforms, but are off the beaten track. And there’s no railing in front of you either. In addition to great views we also saw a lot of wildlife. Here’s my list of the animals we saw: