Advice for out of state-r - Great Ocean Walk

Victoria specific bushwalking discussion.
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Victoria specific bushwalking discussion. Please avoid publishing details of access to sensitive areas with no tracks.

Advice for out of state-r - Great Ocean Walk

Postby eddie the eagle » Thu 29 Apr, 2010 7:27 pm

Hi All,

Firstly, a bit about myself. As a kid and up until I got married (26,) I was out every weekend chasing animals and/or walking in rough, untracked country. I'm more than familiar with a map and survival/shelter techniques. The country used to include two or four rugged hill climbs of at least 500m (Brindabella ranges) per day. I'm now working at a school and am running a leadership/personal development programme for city kids with very low socio-economic background. It pays off with massive dividends. (yes, it is the Duke of Ed, but don't hold that against me - I make sure that they're prepared properly and trail them at a distance of 50m in the event that they do something silly. The young adults are mature and respectful/high amount of self-discipline and drive)

I'm looking to find them a challenge for their silver programme, where they have to spend seven hours per day walking/breaking camp/setting up camp (not resting,) but somewhere where I have phone contact in the event of emergency. (Sat phone rental is out of the question - $$$.) I also have a personal EPIRB and SPOT device. Total trip length is to be six days minimum.

The students are also familiar with coastal conditions, having spent up to a week overnight walking in these conditions.

Thinking laterally, I have identified the Great Ocean Walk (GOW) as a possibility. I can do it on the cheap through school minivan/contacts/sleeping in school halls overnight on our way there and back (16 hours travel to get to Apollo Bay/Port Campbell,) etc..., but need to do the following to meet the needs of the programme:

THREE DAY PREPARATION WALK - looks as though it's Apollo Bay -> Johanna Beach where they do the walk with me close by, and show them finer points where needed, particularly river crossings. Overnight camps = Elliott Ridge and Cape Otway

ONE DAY REST - planning for the kids on the final three days of the hike occurs/ then rest day.

THREE DAY QUALIFYING WALK - Johanna Beach -> Princetown/Twelve Apostles. Where the students do the walk completely, with me as a shadow 50m away. Overnight camps = Ryans Den and Devil's Kitchen.

I've got some questions if I may:

(1) Is there anything in particular to look out for on the walk re: safety? anything else? Thunderstorm season?

(2) How much water is available? (I carry a MSR gravity filter, spare cartridge, iodine and puritabs as backup, gotta love duty of care as leader.)

(3) I'm looking at the first week in Oct to do the walk, after the Vic school holidays finish. Looking at the BOM site, is the weather drizzle one day out of two??? Need for extreme cold gear???? What sort of gear should kids have to get them through safely - my key priority (did I also mention that their average household income is $24K p.a. so new expensive gear is not an option?) I don't have the local knowledge on how unpredictable and cold the weather can be

(4) Parks and Wildlife told me that snakes can be an issue (probably more near the fresh water - tigers & copperheads, I'd be guessing.) Are they scaremongering? [and yes, I am familiar with snakes - tigers are one of the few that can get aggressive first, as you know.]

(5) I've driven the Great Ocean Road twice, but not walked the GOW. Looking through the Parks VIc notes (the only tracknotes that I can find,) they quote 5 hours to do 14km. Is the track that steep/difficult?

http://svc015.wic028p.server-web.com/resources/mresources/gow/gow-faq.pdf

(6) Is there anything else that I should know about? The one thing I do not have is the local knowledge.


I know that the track itself if simple and nowhere near as challenging as those that we do now for personal enjoyment, but I'm setting up the students so that they can succeed/meet their goal with the right amount of challenge. (I may also have our 2011 school leaders with the group as well.)

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

WIth Best Regards,

eddie

ps: packs and tents are all ex-hire, One Planet tunnel/hoop tents and Outgear packs.

pps: [edit] yes, I did do a search before I posted this.
Last edited by eddie the eagle on Sun 30 May, 2010 5:32 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Advice for out of state-r - Great Ocean Walk

Postby Greybeard » Fri 14 May, 2010 12:39 pm

Hi eddie. Basically the GOW is a good choice for your purpose although less remote than places like the Wilsons Prom circuits. It is important to check the tides data for your target dates as there are a few 'decision points' where you need to manage risk carefully depending on tides and weather conditions, and the inland track options are often less attractive than the coastal routes. There is a good GOW website and a new map coming out. I suggest you get further advice from the Parks Vic people when you book the campsites.
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Re: Advice for out of state-r - Great Ocean Walk

Postby eddie the eagle » Sat 29 May, 2010 1:04 pm

Greybeard - Thanks for the info. Much appreciated.

eddie
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Re: Advice for out of state-r - Great Ocean Walk

Postby karl » Sat 29 May, 2010 9:14 pm

Hi Eddie

I completed this walk with my partner last july ( middle of winter) and just last week with a group of year 9/10 Outdoor rec students.

To answer some of your questions
1) Watch out for the river crossings......most are pretty straight forward but at johanna beach with a storm approaching we (partner and I) decided to try and cross the river when the waves went out. (We didnt want to take off our shoes as storm was approaching so we were rushing. This did not work with a big swell and tide coming in. We ended up getting saturated and nearly losing our boots. We eventually decided to take off our boots and as we were doing this a big wave came along and thus we became very wet. So make sure the students are aware of the dangers of the surf and if you are going to take off your boots that you are right away from the incoming tide!!!

The storm wasn't too bad, lots of rain, thunder and lightning. The weather in October I am predicting will not be as wet or cold. Snakes at the time of the year would be very rare. Other than that it is pretty safe just be careful when taking the beach option. Again make sure the kids don't have there backs to the ocean. Very hard to get lost as it is well signed.

Oh I forgot to add leeches......we had a student not even notice and I have never seen a leech so fat before. Her leg was bleeding for ages. We had to tape it up!!

2) Water, there is tanks at each campsite but it is untreated. On the most recent trip I did not treat the water and I was fine. there should be plenty of water in October after winter. There is some places along the track where fresh water is accessible. Students from my most recent trip used some of this water and were fine. Personal choice. The first time I did this trip I treated all the water. There is also a shop at Cape Otway were you can get drinks and chips!!The kids loved an ice cream and a coke!!!

3) Rain: expect rain down that way. On my last trip with the students it rained everyday but was only a drizzle except for a downpour at night. The previous time we had gorgeous weather for the first 3 days then storms and constant rain where we found it hard to stop for lunch.

4) my partner and I completed the walk in 4 nights/5 days quite comfortably. We skipped some campsites. ( we met many people doing the same thing) So the recommended walking times are quite conservative. Even with the students ( we only completed a 3 day walk) we were well ahead of times. Mind you I found students didn't know how to pace themselves, they went flat out then had to have a rest, flat out, rest etc. The walk involves some small hills but nothing strenuous like the Victorian Alps.

5) Is a great trip and should challenge students. the walks on the beach usually take longer than going inland as walking on sand can be much harder and kids look for shells and take lots of photos. My students hated it at times (going up hills, the pain in their legs, bruised shoulders, rain). In saying that it was there first time bushwalking and wearing packs. The packs also were way to heavy for 3 days.....some bought full size pillows, 4 jumpers, make-up, mirror and cans of food!!!! On reflection most really enjoyed the experience and all have said they would watch what they pack next time.

Good luck,

Happy to answer any more questions you might have.
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Re: Advice for out of state-r - Great Ocean Walk

Postby eddie the eagle » Sun 30 May, 2010 5:30 am

Apologies to those that don't have to take others' children into the bush, as these questions look mundane and make me look as though I've never walked before.

It's not the case, I can assure you. I've got to explain conceivable risks in detail to the boss before we get the final OK, so that I can book camp sites, etc... while they're still available. The fact that the students will be 1600km from their parents adds an extra level of complexity.

eddie



Thanks Karl,

I appreciate the advice and was speaking to someone yesterday regarding the difficulty of the river crossings. A very timely answer.

As you could well appreciate, there's a lot of paperwork/risk management/due diligence required before taking students on this walk.

The students doing this hike are my silver Duke of Ed group. By the time they get to Vic, they'll have spent at least 3 nights and six days in the bush carrying a full pack, including the Coast Track near Sydney, so they're learning not to over-pack. The main reasons that I picked Vic, aside from personal interest, were:

(1) Warrumbungles/Blue Mountains/Morton National Park have intermittent reception in the case of an incident that needs base contact, but not triggering an EPIRB, Great Ocean Walk would have phone reception for >90% plus of the trip, except maybe the mountains above Blanket Bay. Parks Vic advise pretty well near full 112 emergency phone contact.

(2) Warrumbungles/Blue Mountains/Morton National Park are still sub-zero in Oct, with chance of snowfall in BM. No skin off my nose, I've got a down parka and a set of Onkaparinga hot work pants from my days of teeming ingots in Port Kembla (woollen pants about 5mm thick, sewn in blanket material,) but our students can't afford a set of sub-zero gear.

(3) These kids mature young adults are used to coastal walking. Navigation is not complex when you've got the ocean on the south, mountains on the north and you're heading in a vaguely Westerly direction - for this group, the challenge is actually the mental and physical challenge of finishing (only 103km to go, Apollo Bay is disappearing from view) as well as the adventure. If the group goes to gold, then I'll steer them towards choosing a Blue Mountains/local hike, maybe Oberon to Kangaroo Valley. This is a while on, yet, however.

I'll have a few more questions when we get closer to the date - I might even get the students to register and ask the questions themselves to improve their ownership (they''re meant to be planning the lot anyway, but ask Gen Y to plan in May for something in October... ... Planning's just started, shall we say.)

Thanks again for all your advice, it's greatly appreciated.

eddie
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Re: Advice for out of state-r - Great Ocean Walk

Postby rowan » Sun 06 Jun, 2010 7:23 pm

Another alternative you could think about is the Great SW Walk, or part thereof. Starting at Portland, It is not quite as challenging but I love it. It is a 250km walk through bush, coast and by the Glenelg river. Much of it has no phone coverage but since you have a SPOT that is not so much of a problem as you can send other non-emergency messages with it. Have to love that gadget.
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Re: Advice for out of state-r - Great Ocean Walk

Postby frank_in_oz » Mon 07 Jun, 2010 9:57 am

Eddie,
I see you posted this in April so I might be a bit late. We live near there and have walked around that area a bit. Happy to have a phone conversation about all this rather than a long email (of which most of the "good stuff" has been covered here anyway) Email me at gow@ourhikingblog.com.au if you are interested.
Cheers
Frank
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