Great South West Walk Walk ride paddle ?

[Mutley]

Hey.

Have been thinking of doing the GSSW from Portland for some time but would like to mix it up a bit. Was thinking of leaving the car at Swan Lake, (West of Portland) loading up the mountain bike and pedalling through Portland, and up to the Glenelg River (2 days). Then hide the bike, pick up a hire kayak (Nelson company does this for you) and paddle to Nelson (3 days). Stay the night in the pub at nelson, then walk to the car (3 days). I am concerned about the suitability of the tracks for a loaded mountain bike, but the rest seems very doable. Thoughts ??

[Mutley]

Wow. GSSW not very popular ? Thought I would have been flooded with replies

[ChrisJHC]

Hi, Mutley,

Some parts of the standard walk get very muddy after rain. You might need to do some diversions to stay on vehicle tracks rather than doing the off-road parts if it’s wet.
There are also board walks for some of the wettest parts.

This shouldn’t be too big an issue if you’ve got the map or GPX files.

For current conditions, give the “Friends of the Walk” a call and they’ll fill you in.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Mutley]

Thanks Chris

[starrysky]

mutley, this sounds like a great adventure - would love to hear how it goes, GSWW on my to do list What time of the year you thinking?

[Mutley]

Thinking about May, but time has slipped away. maybe November now !!

Had a reply from the local ranger. The track is walking only. However I can cycle to the river using dirt roads, then paddle to Nelson and walk back to Portland. Once back in the car I can drive back to pick up my well hidden bike.

[Flo-w]

Mutley, let us know how it went. I'm interested in the GSWW myself but only thought of hiking + canoe.