Great South West Walk. Portland – Nelson – Portland, Victoria. 26th November – 8th December 2011. 250 kms.

Introduction

The Great South West Walk is on Victoria’s western coastline and actually crosses in to South Australia briefly. It is divided in to four sections: The Forest from Portland to the Glenelg River at Moleside Camp; The River along the Glenelg River to Nelson; The Beach from Nelson to Cape Bridgewater and; The Cliffs from Cape Bridgewater back to Portland.

Day 1. Saturday, 26^th November, 2011. Portland – Cubbys Camp

On the first day of all long hikes there’s a variety of emotions. There’s Elation because you’re on holidays, the great adventure is starting now and you’re sharing it with people you love. Then there’s Trepidation because all the day to day comforts of home are no longer present and you’re about to walk two-hundred and fifty kilometres through goodness-knows what conditions only protected by your own planning, knowledge and with just the equipment and food on your back. It’s a bit scary really. Probably the most trepidation is your own fear of yourself. Will I make it? Will I still be smiling at the end? Will I be able to be an encouragement or a disappointment when things get rough? And they will. Funnily enough, the next real emotion is a bit like Despair. About two kilometres in to the walk you start thinking things like, “What am I doing this for? I’ve done only two kilometres and there’s two-hundred and forty-eight to go. This is ridiculous!” But it wears off by lunch time and you realise that you’re actually enjoying yourself and having a fairly good time. You marvel that your body can still do this sort of stuff without too many discomforts and you get in to a rhythm so you’re back to elation.

0800 Very overcast day. Parked car at Police Station then walked down to Niv and Lis’ at the Info Centre. Short stroll along beach then climb to Portland suburbia. 1945 – 1995 Party Tower. > Cemetery > down to Breakwater > bitumen country lane. Inquisitive cows. I whistled up a phantom cattle dog which scattered them. Up to Princes Highway. BIGGEST HAZARD ON WALK. Through forest looking for koalas. Niv and Lis’ spotted one. Crossed Portland – Hamilton railroad. Niv and Lis’ again spotted a couple of Koalas before we got there. Humped bluey down the line for about 200 m. Followed track to lunch spot beside paddocks with sheep @ 1230.Sunshine. 1600 arrived Cubbys. Light rain, country road amble. 20 kms. Cups of tea and dinner in shelter.

Day 2. Sunday, 27^th November, 2011. Cubbys Camp – Cutout Camp

Well, how was the first day? How did the walking, camping, cooking and clothing bear up? Depending on the weather, usually the excess clothing (leggings, long sleeve shirt, insect net, etc.) gets packed away until it’s actually needed. When do you put your waterproofs on? Well, actually not until there’s a real chance you’re going to get wet from either rain or wet shrubbery and then you think about it. The more stuff you have on, the less freedom of movement you have. And what else can you use what you have for? Waterproofs become a windproof dressing gown over your pyjamas in camp. How is your pack packed? Are the compression straps snug? Can you get to the things you really need quickly and is the really important stuff (sleeping gear) well protected? A reality rule of bushwalking is that not everything can be conveniently packed at the top of your pack. Some stuff just has to be under other stuff. By the time you’ve sorted all that out in your head you’re walking to camp two. It really seems like the first real day on the track because now you’re in to it.

Up @@ 0615. Rained all night. Two shotgun blasts during the night. Tent held out beautifully during rain. I had blood on my pillow, bag, sheet, mat and pyjamas. Found dead leach and bite on neck. The sun shone briefly then overcast again. Hiked through Cobboboonee State Forest. Lunch beside track. Reached Cutout at 1415. Washed, shaved, dried gear. Sunny, relaxing afternoon.

Day 3. Monday, 28^th November, 2011. Cutout Camp – Fitzroy Camp

Things hurt on Day Three. Feet, calves, thighs, back, shoulders and lots of things you didn’t realise you had until they started to hurt. It takes about a kilometre to warm up so getting up, packing up and eating breakfast tends to hurt a bit but once you’re in to the rhythm again the pain recedes especially with ibuprofen. Stopping for breaks and lunch also reminds you what’s hurting. By this stage you’ve done most of the damage to your body and it has to start repairing itself as well as building muscles your body realises should be bigger. Protein and sugars are good for this.

Cold night. Brief shower after we got up @ 0600. Packed and breakfasted and first step @ 0730. Wrecked Holden beside track. Rain and leaches. Reached Cobboboonee N.P. @ 1041. Briefly sunny. Forest and heathland. Potoroos on wet forestry road. Lis’ disturbed a Tiger snake sunning itself on the track. Sunny afternoon. Reached Fitzroy@ 1600.

Day 4. Tuesday, 29^th November, 2011. Fitzroy Camp – Moleside Camp.

Warm night but stars out at one stage. Overcast day. Zen forest walk. Leaches. Lunch @ Inkpot after road stroll bypassing GSWW track. Reached Moleside @ 1400 after 20 km day. Sign at Moleside said Muller and Post and Rail camps closed. Canoeist and walkers camps. Beautiful river. Had swim in Moleside creek. Spent afternoon washing and drinking tea. Parks Victoria took away our picnic table. Tranquil evening on jetty. Ducks and wallabies in canoe camp.

Day 6. Thursday, 1^st December, 2011. Batersby – Simpsons Camp

Rained overnight and a bit cold. First step @ 0820. Reached Mullers @ 0950. Two elderly ladies stayed there overnight. Same set up as Post & Rail. Pushed on to Sapling Creek by 1030. Sunny and overcast. Muller Fire Line then benched track along river. Reached Pattersons @ 1230. Lunched and discussed options. Two ladies said information woman had told them they could camp along the track. I mentioned Hirths Landing and they said we could camp there expecting the same facilities as Sapling. We decided to push on to Hirths. Geogeous track to Nelson Road. Sunny. Reached pseudo SA border @ 1715. Emus, wallabies, helicopter dragon flies, LBWs, black cockatoos and echidnas. Red clay and limestone, grass trees and melaleucas. Lis’ noticed tumours on gum leaves. I reached Hirths @ 1745. No toilet or water. Pushed on again to Simsons @ 2000. 32 km day. It seems the entire Geelong Grammar School is camped at Simsons. We had enough room.

Land grab! The South Australian section starts 500 metres EAST of the border.

Day 7. Friday, 2^nd December, 2011. Simpsons Camp – Nelson.

Slept until 0715. Dry night and a leisurely morning. Overcast. Packed up and headed off @ 0915. Arrived Kywong Caravan Park @ 0945. Ensuite donga $80. A shower never felt so good. E.P.S.. Morning tea and a load of washing. Wandered 2 kms in to Nelson and picked up our food drops. Lunch at Nelson Hotel and booked dinner. Then back for a shower and another load of washing. TV on SA time. Back to the hotel for dinner and beers. Yummo.

Day 8. Saturday, 3^rd December, 2011. Nelson – Lake Monibeong.

First steps @ 0730. Reached beach @ 0830. Lovely firm sand. Reached White Sands at 1030 and Noble Rocks car park @ 1230 for lunch. Seals, Sand pipers, seagull chicks. Arrived Lake Monibeong @ 1500. Met Chris after trek through sand dunes. Talked about the Appalachian Trail. Whiteblaze.com and 2000 Miles to Maine.

Day 9. Sunday, 4^th December, 2011. Lake Monibeong – Swan Lake.

We left Lake Monibeong after a very windy and cold night. Hit beach @ 0815. 13.5 kms to Swan Lake estuary. Cloudy with strong easterly wind. Hard and soft sand. Reached Swan Lake @ 1300 after walking through dunes. Had a leisurely lunch with Chris and discussed hiking and lack of shelters at both Lake Monibeong and Swan Lake. Both accessible via car based campers. Very exposed campsites. Portland Dune Buggy Club camp. Niv had crossroad encounter with them on his way in. Emus on way in. Feral cat amongst scrub. Good bore water from dunes. Still windy and cold after dinner so just went to bed.

Day 10. Monday, 5^th December, 2011. Swan lake – The Springs.

Woke to a clear day before sunrise. First steps @ 0730. On the beach @ 0800. A long haul along it in the sun. We thought we had missed the exit from the beach but eventually found it at the end @ 1230. Reached Bridgewater Lakes @ 1300. Along hot cliff top walk (6.5 kms) from there to The Springs under the wind turbines. Beautiful views across the ocean to the beach. Very hot. Reached camp@ 1600. Very cold wind. Wind turbine just 100 metres from camp. If you listened very carefully you could just hear it. Made tea and read behind shelter next to water tank. Cooked dinner then watched sunset over ocean. Saw green flash. And was nearly run over by a wobblely on way back to camp.

Day 11. Tuesday, 6^th December, 2011. The Springs – Trewalla Camp

Windy sunny morning. More wind farms. Passed the springs and Petrified Forest which turns out to be vertical solution columns. Reached Cape Bridgewater @ 1000. Overpowering odour from juvenile/old seal colony. Not many seals. Reached Fisherman Cove @ 1130. Surf Club, BBQs, Dutch tourists and a Cafe where we had fish & chips and Niv had an enormous hamburger. Thought about walking the road but the beach looked very nice. Firm and fast. Turned off beach too soon following GSWW markers. We could’ve kept going on the beach to Shellys. Hot heath, top of dunes walk to Trewalla. Not many campsites but sheltered and a shelter.

Day 12. Wednesday, 7^th December, 2011. Trewalla Camp – Mallee Camp

Clear & sunny. Warm night. First steps @ 0745. On beach @ 0800, end of beach @ 0920, right at the end. Marker pointing up to Cape Nelson. Long haul up steps to cliff track. Chris passed us and we said our goodbyes as he was heading to Portland that day. Reached Cape Nelson light @ 1130. Had a coke with Chris. Lis’ and Niv arrived just after Chris left. Beer and baguette lunch. A short 1 km stroll to Mallee Camp. Had reception on Kindle so facebooked Jess and Bec. After a lot of deliberation we decided to forego the smelter and rifle range and head straight for Portland.

Day 13. Thursday, 8^th December, 2011. Mallee Camp – Portland

Another warm night. Another clear and sunny day. First steps @ 0800. A lovely ramble along the scenic drive then a beautiful walk through the Enchanted Forest admiring the views along the way. Reached Yellow Rock @ 0900 and continued along the road in to Portland. We were booked in to a cabin at the caravan park by 11. Washing done and a couple of beers.