Bushwalk Australia

enlightened0ne wrote:@Eremophilia I would like to take more time to do it but I can only take the weekend off work, so I don’t really have much choice.

I wasn’t having a go at you, enjoy your walk and I too look forward to your trip report.

Re campsites not having views, I think they’re designed to be well sheltered from the winds which are rather prevalent in the area.

@enlightened0ne did you go through with your plan? I am planning something similar and I'd like to know how you found it or anyone else who has done it over two nights.

Hey all, just thought I'd ask here instead of a new thread, but would I need sand/snow pegs on the GOW?

Cheers!

Definitely not. Just gaiters

When are you going?

Eremophila wrote:Definitely not. Just gaiters

When are you going?

For snake season? I'm only doing a couple of sections... Apollo Bay to Aire River. Start walking on Dec 3rd.

Pretty wide open track all that way, should see the snakes from a mile off. Don't miss Rainbow falls if the rain continues through December.

Eremophila wrote:Definitely not. Just gaiters

And some other clothing, please. You are representing the entire Bushwalk.com community, after all.

With all this rain there's likely to be plenty of growth.

north-north-west wrote:

Eremophila wrote:Definitely not. Just gaiters

And some other clothing, please. You are representing the entire Bushwalk.com community, after all.

Trying to come up with a good snake pun, or at least a G rated one. It would be enough to scare them off at least! Or perhaps not.

The Naked Hiker: https://www.facebook.com/thenakedhiker/

Quick question for any that have knowledge of the area. Me and my friends have a booking for some of the GOW. One has come down with a head cold (not covid hooray!), and would love an extra day to rest before we leave. I was just checking out some maps online for an alternate way to get to Blanket Bay campground. Any reason we can't park at Maits Rest, follow the main road for a bit, and then head down the Sandy Ridge Track? Or if parking would be an issue for a few nights, Uber / Taxi it there from Apollo Bay? Anything about that route that we should be aware of?

Cheers!

Would it be easier to park at Shelly Beach? You could take the alternate and avoid the steps but either way it's pretty easy walking from there.

Edit, arguably it's not even worth doing the walk to blanket bay, which is just an average forested walk, and you could just as easily drive to and start there.

I suspect CraigVIC could be right, but I've never been tempted to do that section of the GoW. I've only visited parts further along the track.

If you did want to get to B Bay as described, there is plenty of room to park beside the B100, just c. 300 m north of Sandy Ridge Track at Cannans Track. There could possibly be space at the head of Sandy Ridge Track, but the satellite and street images at that point are inconclusive. I have walked a few short stretches of the B100 and it was a tad scary. Some drivers think they're on a racing track. I wouldn't fancy doing it from Maits Rest.

Thanks Craig,

Can you clarify what you mean about drive to, and starting there?

The issue is we have campsites booked for specific nights so just trying to catch up to where we are meant to be on that night. We don't have the time to do all the walk so are finishing at Aire River. Elliot Ridge was night 1, Blanket Bay night 2, Cape Otway night 3, then finish at Aire River where a car will be left. I know they aren't big walks but the other two rather that.

We are leaving Melb and car shuffling before heading to Blanket Bay, so just looking for the best way to do that without walking all the way from Apollo bay. Especially with one trying to recover from a head cold, that would be too much.

I would have thought a walk through the Otways to Blanket Bay would be really nice?

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peregrinator wrote:I suspect CraigVIC could be right, but I've never been tempted to do that section of the GoW. I've only visited parts further along the track.

If you did want to get to B Bay as described, there is plenty of room to park beside the B100, just c. 300 m north of Sandy Ridge Track at Cannans Track. There could possibly be space at the head of Sandy Ridge Track, but the satellite and street images at that point are inconclusive. I have walked a few short stretches of the B100 and it was a tad scary. Some drivers think they're on a racing track. I wouldn't fancy doing it from Maits Rest.

Cheers! Yeah I did wonder how safe walking next to the road would be. Good to know. Maybe a taxi or Uber from Apollo Bay to the start of the track is the best option.

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If you start from the Shelly Beach carpark you can skip your entire first day then walk as planned on day 2. The extra distance (from Shelly Beach carpark to Elliot ridge) is approx 1.5km and it is very achievable walking from Shelly to Blanket bay being mostly well graded and open walking.

My other suggestion was to simply start from blanket bay. It is a good spot to spend a lazy afternoon poking about in the tide pools and having a swim if the weather suits.

CraigVIC wrote:If you start from the Shelly Beach carpark you can skip your entire first day then walk as planned on day 2. The extra distance (from Shelly Beach carpark to Elliot ridge) is approx 1.5km and it is very achievable walking from Shelly to Blanket bay being mostly well graded and open walking.

My other suggestion was to simply start from blanket bay. It is a good spot to spend a lazy afternoon poking about in the tide pools and having a swim if the weather suits.

Ahh right! That makes sense. I didn't know you could park near Shelly Beach. Do you think you'd have any issue leaving the car there?

I'd rather do some kind of walk to Blanket Bay, otherwise two sections will have been removed from our already short schedule. Is there also car access to Blanket Bay?


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There is good car access to Blanket Bay. There is a large car based campground immediately adjacent to the hikers camp. It's common for car based campers to make use of the hikers site. There's also a day visitor area.

There is plenty of parking space to leave a car at Shelly Beach. It should be no worse than anywhere else on the GOR to leave a car.

Awesome thanks Craig! I think starting off at Shelly Beach sounds like a great idea. Cheers!

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Do you have the official map? That makes planning a little easier.

Eremophila wrote:Do you have the official map? That makes planning a little easier.

Great idea to get the map. You can get it from the Apollo Bay information center for about $15

No not yet, but will definitely stop in at Apollo Bay and grab one. I did see some screenshots online and it looks well worth it. I've been planning out our days on Base Camp. The car park at Shelly Beach and Blanket Bay doesn't seem to be listed on the map and so didn't know they existed. The roads are labelled as roads but assumed they weren't there for public vehicle access.

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You could also start from Marengo, which isn't much further back from Shelly Beach. There's a public carpark on the foreshore and a caravan park adjacent to that, which you walk through. We started from there in September and the WC's in the caravan park were open, good place for a pre-walk stop.

Pity you're not going on to Johanna Beach, the views from the hike-in campsite there are lovely. But Blanket Bay is nice.

It's all up in the air right now. One of the crew still not well. She has indicated that she could try and meet us further along, I also don't want her to just endure it all rather than enjoy it. We might just head straight to Blanket bay, do an over nighter somewhere and head back again. If not, a lazy car camp somewhere and drive around to see some sights. It sucks but these things happen. At the moment I'm all packed up for walking, and tomorrow morning I'll throw things in the car for a regular camp too and just see what happens. We were meant to be at Elliot Ridge tonight.

Bugga.

Blanket Bay to Cape Otway was one of my favourite sections, from memory only around 11km and gently undulating. Both car accessible.

Unfortunately the Cape Otway lighthouse precinct is closed to the public unless you stay in their overpriced accommodation or pre-book a lighthouse tour.

Eremophila wrote:
Unfortunately the Cape Otway lighthouse precinct is closed to the public unless you stay in their overpriced accommodation or pre-book a lighthouse tour.

What? Why?
Note - I don’t particularly like the Cape Otway campsite but it’s the logical place to stop on the GOW.

ChrisJHC wrote:

Eremophila wrote:
Unfortunately the Cape Otway lighthouse precinct is closed to the public unless you stay in their overpriced accommodation or pre-book a lighthouse tour.

What? Why?

Private "enterprise".

The Cape Otway campsite is still open, just the kiosk, cafe and lighthouse precinct are all closed. So if any of you were hoping to have a look around, or indulge in such luxuries as an espresso or icecream, you're out of luck.

I stayed in one of the accommodation rooms as it had been pre-booked by my friend who was supposed to be walking with me. Whilst it was nice to have a shower and a bed, it was only night #3.

I did however enjoy reading a book in the room regarding the history of the radar station there during WW2. It was one of those very detailed small-batch publications which appeal to those with a very specific interest, but the reader was warned away from the tedious chapters and the remainder was very good. I must remember to seek it out via our local library network so I can finish it.

There's also a plaque at the site in relation to the disappearance of pilot Frederick Valentich and his Cessna, in 1978, after he reported sighting a strange craft that he stated was "not an aircraft" and was flying around and above him, "playing games".

So some interesting history at the site in addition to the lighthouse itself. From memory there is also evidence of local indigenous occupation, and some dinosaur tracks or fossils.

Eremophila wrote:Bugga.

Blanket Bay to Cape Otway was one of my favourite sections, from memory only around 11km and gently undulating. Both car accessible.

Unfortunately the Cape Otway lighthouse precinct is closed to the public unless you stay in their overpriced accommodation or pre-book a lighthouse tour.

We ended up getting one overnighter in, and walked the blanket bay to Cape Otway stretch (a few snakes about).
We car shuffled it so had lots of stuff waiting in the car when we arrived. We figured it would be easier on our friend who was still recovering. I still took a pack, but only had a jacket, first aid, water and snacks etc. We camped at the hike in camp at blanket bay as well... Even though we stashed the cars in the day park area. It was such a crazy time away, some kind of hybrid car camp / hike trip with all sorts thrown at us including a car breaking down at blanket bay as well. We made the most of it though and still had a great time. It's made me more determined to do the full walk.

We ended up following other hikers to three camp sites in the end and met some lovely people. They must have hated the fact that we had an Esky full of camping food and beers.

Does anyone know if the johanna beach to ryans Den section can be hiked? The PV site says its closed but doesn't give much detail. I've booked to go early Jan that section and wondering if I should just reschedule. Thanks in advance.