Great Ocean Walk – Victoria, Australia, when venturing through Australia and feeling the comforting wind, the warm weather, the sun, the smell of the sea and discovering what are possibly the best coasts and wild beaches in the world, as very few countries can overcome them. Enjoy a fortifying journey along forests linked to bays and deserted beaches. You can also admire the beauty of exotic animals such as koalas and kangaroos, not seen every day, and this trip will have a pleasant surprise at the end of the route.
The Great Ocean Walk is a 91 km route on the coast of Victoria, opened in 2006. It may take you about 9 days to complete the route from Apollo Bay to near Glenample Homestead. The true end point of the route is in an isolated parking lot, because the farm that was reached is no longer open to the public. However, people continue to the Ard Ard Gorge lake.
When leaving the initial point, the route borders the Marine Sanctuary of Arrecifes de Marengo to Shelly Beach. Although the route most of the time will follow the coastline, on several occasions it diverts inland. The climb from Shelly Beach to Elliot Ridge and back to Blanket Bay is the longest, lasting up to three hours.
Continue through the bushes down Parker Road, a 4WD track that lies between giant ferns and rubber trees. When you go back to Blanket Bay, in the descent of this area you can admire the jumps of the black wallabies, also known as swamp wallabies. This culminates the journey of the first day.
You can not miss a night in this wonderful and inspiring place, the Great Ocean Ecolodge. Just 20 minutes from the bay, you will find a beautiful job done by ecologists Shayne Neal and Lizzie Corke. It is an environmental research center that is also a refuge for injured animals. They have complete equipment for the care of animals. You can sit in the shelter and watch the koalas and kangaroos, then the hosts will take you back to the trail.
Back on the trail, walking 3.5 km to the Parker River and to see the low tide, walk on rocks and virgin beaches, and then find the Cape Otway lighthouse, the first in Victoria, was built in 1848. This figure has become a symbol of the state and Great Ocean Road. Although the light of the lighthouse was extinguished in 1994, it is still possible for tourists to climb this 18-meter tower to admire the Bass Strait and the Southern Ocean.
The next day you will be impressed with the Rainbow Falls waterfall, which falls on colorful mosses. This is reached by walking Castle Cove, along with the long beach of the station, which by the way, is full of incredible waves. Although walking in the sand is a bit slower, it will give you the necessary time to admire the ocean and its surroundings.
You can spend a lovely night in Castle Cove after walking and crossing a bridge over the Aire River. The place gives you a view of the spectacular cove, that can amaze you both at dawn and dusk. The route continues along the beach of Johanna, one of the most outstanding of the route for being wild and presenting the wrath of the ocean, so much so that you can spend an hour or two observing Mother Nature, an unparalleled experience.
After passing by the Milenesia beach and going up to Moonlight Head, the route continues along the coast at the Gables viewpoint, ending the day with that view. The next day, the trail runs through Wreck Beach, a 4WD sand track and then enters the Port Campbell National Park.
Near the end of the route, a surprise and reward for the trip. You will meet Gibson steps and the twelve apostles, imposing piles of sea-sculpted stone, eroded by the strong waves. Although four of the batteries have collapsed, the last in 2005, the remaining eight piles are totally impressive, and even more so at dawn and dusk, when sunlight reflects off their orange cliffs. You can easily spend hours there admiring such beauty.
Then you head to La Gorge, a series of coves with beautiful and unique caves, islands and marine piles, located in Loch Ard Gorge. In this place, you can enjoy your last lunch of the trip.
It is good to know that the Auswalk operator, based in Victoria, offers you a variety of packages to make your trip comfortable and enjoy it to the fullest. From guided tours, transfers and transfers of luggage. It is recommended to carry a backpack, to have more comfort when it comes to climbs and walks on sandy beaches. It is very important to know the high and low tide times, for greater security, you can find them in local stores. A person in charge will give you the rules and the steps to follow in case of any inconvenience.
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