Bushwalk Australia

Im looking for an easy 1-3 week walk that wont be to hard on my newbie walking partner, and this walk looks promising.
Can anybody tell me what they thought of it?
Well maintained?
Camp sites pleasant?
Busy?
Probably do it in Dec/Jan

http://www.john.chapman.name/vic-gsww.html

Hi Earthling,

Great walk for beginners. Flattish with good well spaced camps. You don't have to do it all in one go though. Its got a great Friends group: http://www.greatsouthwestwalk.com/intro/index.php.

Some spots can be busy eg around the blowholes and seals but otherwise not.

Make sure you consider nailing the Worlds Smallest Mountain ( Mt Dryden) if the conditions are right, and you are properly aclimatized.

Bill P.

Bill P wrote: Make sure you consider nailing the Worlds Smallest Mountain ( Mt Dryden) if the conditions are right, and you are properly aclimatized.

Bill, what training should one undertake before considering undertaking this feat?

This is a great walk for beginners. It is easy walking between camps and camping for walkers is free. The rainwater tanks can have bugs in them but I just filter them out with socks - there isn't other drinking water generally available except at Nelson. Many of the camps are only 10-12 km apart so you don't need too much training. I love this walk and some of the coast camps are really great - flushing toilets in the middle of nowhere, but they are busy on holidays. The 'friends of the walk' keep the tracks well mown.

optdyl wrote:what training should one undertake before considering undertaking this feat?

Not wishing to subvert a thread, but ...

Optdyl, with respect, if you have to ask, maybe you shouldn't be attempting this kind of stuff. Only you know your true abilities. Since I have an interest in this end of the adventure spectrum, and happily am also inherently helpful, I would suggest, as a minimum, that one would view at least 4 (four) reruns of Bear Grylls before attempting Mt Dryden.

Happy to provide further guidance.


Bill P

Thanks for the replies guys. It looks like it will be a goer. Good to get input from people who have been there.

Im not so sure on that Mt Dryden though...Im not bringing any high altitude gear and I feel that height could be really pushing her and my limits, some more information is needed....
If anybody can advise me on the necessary gear I would need for such a colossal, possibly life changing adventure and also teach me the fundamentals of the height acclimatisation process needed for a brobdingnagian Mountain such as Mt Dryden, please do not hesitate to come forth with the necesary knowledge.

Earthling.

the GSWW is really great with well maintained facilities as you've been told. I particularly like the areas along the Glenelg gorge and the beaches, but remember the sand can be soft and tiring for legs that aren't used to it.


The Vic Survey maps are a bit out when it comes to the places to get off the beach to get behind the dunes coming from the west. You actually need to get off 1 km west of where the map shows coming from Nelson, but the inside track along lake Monibeong is very pretty & pleasant.

Walking further east the place to get off the beach at Swan Lake is pretty obvious, but about 1 km east of where it shows on the map.

Oh, and be on the watch for snakes, there are plenty down there

Thanks jcr_au. Im always on the lookout for reptiles...I love em!
I much appreciate the track notes regarding the beach.

Ive had a look at the daily weather reports for Jan 2010 and it seems quite pleasant temp wise. The GSWW site warns of very hot days in summer, however it looks like mild weather generally apart from one 35c and a 40c. Is the month below typical of Jan whilst we are in a Elnina weather pattern?
http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/dwo/20100 ... 1001.shtml

Earthling

the weather in that neck of the woods is almost alpine in its variability.

The in-laws are from down that way and 2 successive years in the mid 90's we had a week there at christmas & the only time the kids could go for a swim was when we took them to the heated pool.

4 or 5 years ago (memory is going) I was going to do 3 days along the glenelg in 35 ish weather but it was so humid and uncomfortable I bailed after 2.

Also, there is no phone reception for most of the loop, even at Nelson

Bill P wrote:

optdyl wrote:what training should one undertake before considering undertaking this feat?

Not wishing to subvert a thread, but ...

Optdyl, with respect, if you have to ask, maybe you shouldn't be attempting this kind of stuff. Only you know your true abilities. Since I have an interest in this end of the adventure spectrum, and happily am also inherently helpful, I would suggest, as a minimum, that one would view at least 4 (four) reruns of Bear Grylls before attempting Mt Dryden.

Happy to provide further guidance.


Bill P

Oh boy... The training for this "mountain" is THAT arduous? Might I ask how much pizza and Nachos is required to be consumed as part of that training regime?
Sorry, I digress.

Just a further tip, some prefer to walk the beach from west to east so the prevailing SW wind is at one's back.

Hey Tasadam , what's with the inverted commas around mountain? Huh? Mount Dryden is a REAL mountain, it says so on the maps, and its even got its own trig point. So there.

Also John R, Nelson has had "Next G" coverage for a couple of years.

Bill P

Bill P wrote:Just a further tip, some prefer to walk the beach from west to east so the prevailing SW wind is at one's back.

Thats the way we did it, partly for that reason & partly because we were walking the whole track counter clockwise

Bill P wrote:Also John R, Nelson has had "Next G" coverage for a couple of years.

Bill P

Last time we walked out that far was cup weekend 2 years ago & no coverage then so must have just missed it

My GF and I did a small section of this walk between xmas & new year last year from Swan Lake Camp to the Cape Nelson lighthouse. Her parent live in Portlad so was able to be dropped off and picked up. I've returned to bush walking after almost 20 years and my GF is a newbe only she has done the 'Guided' Overland, however I don't really count that

I found the campsites we used, Tarragal, The Springs &Trewalla well placed with the last 2 being nicely grassed and having new drop toilets, new water tanks & small shelter with table & bench seats (handy for cooking etc). Tarragal camp had older facilities, which may have been updated this year, the water there definitley had its own small eco system so filter & purifying is a must. Having a swim in the ocean & freshwater showers (cold only) at Cape Bridgewater was definitley a bonus along with the excellent iced coffees from the Kiosk!! You do hear the woosh of the wind turbines at The Springs camp.

We've also done a day walk from the Cape Nelson Lighthouse to Portland and Mallee Camp also has toilet & water facilities and good tent sites

To do the whole GSWW in the one go may be a little daunting for a newbie, but would certainly recommend doing sections, my GF and I plan to return to do the Glenelg Gorge section at xmas this year.

Sounds like cool to cold weather year round, perfect for summer then

Thanks for the track notes guys

A few of you are mentioning the wind and anti-clockwise as well as the Friends of the Great South West Walk also advise a ' anti clockwise is the recommended direction (particularly for Discovery Bay). ' Is that just because of the wind? - I just had a look at the Daily weather for Jan....WINDY!

Shes camped a couple of overnighters now and will probably do the Canarvon Gorge 5 nighter before we go and maybe another somewhere...so she wont be a total newbie. She wants to do the Bib Track next year (was this year, just never finished the house... )so shes a keen one, which is goooooooood.