Bushwalk Australia

Hello All,

I would appreciate if group members could recommend some good walks in Victoria.

I'm traveling to Australia this December for about three weeks. I'm looking for a walk of 3-6 days and a circuit would make logistics easier. Regardless, I'll have to rely on public transport or a shuttle service. Finally, I am mostly interested in mountainous regions. I live in Hawaii so resources on walking in Victoria or Australia in general are limited.

For some background, I will be hiking solo. I am fit and have fairly extensive experience hiking, backpacking, climbing in the western USA (Alaska, Rocky Mountains, and deserts), as well internationally in NZ, Scotland, and Latin America.

Thanks,
Brand

Hi Brand,

Australia is the lowest, flattest and oldest landmass on Earth and so doesn't have the sharp jagged peaks of the US or NZ that you're looking for. Instead it has well weathered rounded rolling hills. The highest peak is only 2000m ish (Mount Kosciusko). Doesn't mean it doesn't have great hiking tough. Wilson's Promontory has several stunning multi day circular hikes, the great ocean walk is also equally scenic and a shuttle bus provides return trip to complete the loop. There are a multitude of hikes in Alpine NP and the Grampians. However, with all of these you will struggle to find good public transport links. You can get to start of The Great Ocean Walk (Apollo Bay) by public transport and the Grampians (Halls Gap), but it take 5-7hours (Australia is huge).

Check out http://ptv.vic.gov.au for public transport links and http://www.visitvictoria.com/Things-to- ... and-hiking for Vic tourisms run down on hiking the region.

rbrand wrote:Hello All,

I would appreciate if group members could recommend some good walks in Victoria.

I'm traveling to Australia this December for about three weeks. I'm looking for a walk of 3-6 days and a circuit would make logistics easier. Regardless, I'll have to rely on public transport or a shuttle service. Finally, I am mostly interested in mountainous regions. I live in Hawaii so resources on walking in Victoria or Australia in general are limited.

For some background, I will be hiking solo. I am fit and have fairly extensive experience hiking, backpacking, climbing in the western USA (Alaska, Rocky Mountains, and deserts), as well internationally in NZ, Scotland, and Latin America.

Thanks,
Brand

Brand, there are many walks in Victoria from desert to Alpine.
A lot of the serious walks are not on well defined tracks, just a foot pad or no foot pad with occasional markers on a tree or rock.
Others are on a combination of forestry or fire access tracks and foot tracks.
I suggest you go through the Victorian track notes section viewforum.php?f=46 to get a feel for what there is and what to expect.
It would be worth getting one or some of the local walk books like these once you've decided on which areas you'd like to explore.
http://osp.com.au/?product=bushwalks-in ... orian-alps
http://osp.com.au/?product=discovering- ... s-gariwerd
http://osp.com.au/?product=melbournes-western-gorges
http://osp.com.au/?product=bushwalking-in-australia

The nearest walks to melbourne are probably the western gorges walks which are within an hour os so of the city.
The Alpine walks are at least 4 to 5 hours from the city or more.
The Grampians are around 2 1/2 to 3 hours from the city.

Good luck with your adventure.

The first point to note is that to travel to the mountainous areas of the state (the alpine region) by public transport may take the better part of one day out and another day back. So would you have sufficient time to add those two days to your three to six day schedule? Or would that need to be adjusted? I.e. become three to four days instead.

Another option is to ask whether it's possible to car-share with someone. That way you might reduce the travel time to roughly two half-days. Post to the Find Walking Companions or Arrange Transport forum here http://bushwalk.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=4

Hello Ethoen, Neilmny, & Peeigrinator,

Thanks for your response to my query.

Yes, Australia may be older and flatter than the Rockies, but I'm looking forward to experiencing the country. I'm a biologist, so the flora and fauna will be of particular interest. Wilson's Promontory looks interesting. It had not popped up on my radar. The transportation link will be very helpful.

Thanks for directing me to some guidebooks. I'll check out some of them out when I narrow things down a bit. It's also great to get a sense of the time that is required to get around. That will be helpful when planning.

I do have some flexibility to incorporate into my schedule with regard to getting to and from the trailhead. If I could arrange a Car-share that would be ideal and I'll definitely look into it.

Thanks again for the great info. I will likely have some follow-up questions as I delve into the suggested links some more.

Cheers,

Harrietville for Mt Feathertop: http://www.travelvictoria.com.au/harrie ... transport/

Mt Beauty for Mt Bogong: https://ptv.vic.gov.au/route/view/1912

The Prom :If you don’t have your own transport, you can take an organised tour from Melbourne or Phillip Island or take the bus from Foster run by Foster Backpackers Hostel. There is also a connecting bus to Tidal River via Fish Creek that meets the V/Line Coach service from Melbourne at Foster on Friday afternoons. A return service operates on Sunday nights connecting with the V/Line coach back to Melbourne, with an extra return service operating on Monday public holidays. Contact Viclink on 131 638 for details or see Wilsons Prom Bus Services

It's not in Victoria but I'd do the Overland Track.
This is the "best" walk in the country and is mountainous, our mini John Muir Trail if you like.
It's cheap to fly to Tasmania (120 return) and there is transport to each end.
It's about the same time as getting to the Victorian Alps but a much better walk IMO.

Otherwise give me a call when in Melbourne and I can give you a heap of other options 0412 063 453.