Great South West Walk - Itinerary?

[LizM]

Hi all. We are planning to take a week off and do the coastal section of the GSWW (I did the other half between lockdowns). Can anyone advise on the timings for the sections? The book seems VERY generous with timings and from the topo the terrain doesn't look hard at all, especially looking at the inland sections. I would really like to at least do one double day. Thoughts?

[indented]

The coastal side is a bit trickier to double a day than the inland section. Some of the days aren't that long but the sand takes a lot out of you and the little climbing seems more taxing than you'd expect.

The first two sections out of Nelson are fairly easy as long as you time the tides right, but it's a LOT of walking on sand at a slight angle so tends to get pretty hard on the left hip. The tide factor means they're really hard to double and you don't want to get stuck walking in the soft sand or the dunes. I was originally planning to do three days on the beach, but after the first two days I was very against another one. That's also the narrowest beach area and hardest section to walk on.

The sections from Tarragal-Springs / Springs-Trewalla / Trewalla-Mallee would be my picks to choose a double from.

[LizM]

Amazing. Yep, exactly my thinking. Thank you

[Drew]

With a bit of spare time in the next couple of months, it's just crossed my mind that I might finally do the GSWW! Maybe all of it, maybe just half. Not sure yet.

I'm also thinking about double-days, as I'm not sure I really want to take 14 days for the whole thing, and also don't want too long sitting around campsites in the middle of winter! There are a couple of obvious days to join together, like Cutout to Cobboboonee to Fitzroy, but other sections where it's not so obvious, as doubles would be getting up above 35km. Maybe that's fine - to be honest I haven't done many walks in such flat terrain!

So, I'm wondering about wild camping as an option to enable me to walk at my own pace. I expect this would only be an option in the Cobboboonee and Lower Glenelg National Park sections. As far as I can tell there are no restrictions on wild camping in these parks, but whether there are many decent spots is another question entirely.

Anyone know if there are many decent spots for wild camping?

[indented]

There's definitely some nice looking spots in the Cobboboonee section, but the camps there are close enough together that you'd probably be able to double them and not have to worry about it.

The coastal days would be harder, they're short but tend to be hard work due to all the sand. The long beach stretches make for tough walking on the feet as they're so repetitive, and the tides are really important to make the walking as easy as possible. Once you get past Cape Bridgewater it calms down on the beach walking, but there's still a fair amount of effort in getting up & down over points and things.

I'm yet to go back and complete the river section due to a lockdown, so can't speak to that. There are a smattering of kayak sites mixed in with the GSWW camps through there though, so you might be in luck.

[Drew]

Thanks Indented. I'd forgotten about the canoe campsites. Looks like there are a couple between Moleside and Battersby's, which would give some options.

I wasn't thinking so much of wild camping spots on the beach section, both because the strenuous beach walking, and because it might be trickier in the sand-dune coastal landscape. Not sure how excited I am about that long stretch of beach! Would be awful if there were wintery south-westerlies blowing the whole time!

I had a reply from the friends of GSWW telling me that parts of the Cobboboonee section are very wet at the moment. Some sections might get diverted onto road if it doesn't dry out a little soon. The last couple of months haven't been so wet in Melbourne but extremely wet down that way. Fingers crossed July is a bit drier so it can drain a bit.

There's also a detour in place at the moment in the Enchanted Forest section, for construction of a bridge. They're expecting it to reopen in 3-4 weeks but will depend on weather.

[Lophophaps]

If doing the entire walk, is it better to go clockwise or anti-clockwise? Why?

[peregrinator]

On any given day it possibly matters little. But as the strongest winds usually come from the SW quadrant, anti-clockwise may be best. Also, if one gets sick of beach-walking and/or exposure to wind, maybe it's tempting to bail out in that section, and try to hitch a lift into Portland.

[Lophophaps]

Thanks, that makes sense. Also, by the second week a wash in the ocean may be advised.

[ChrisJHC]

Plus, doing it anti-clockwise means you hit the cafe at Bridgewater towards the end of the hike - definitely good for your mental health!

[indented]

Plus, doing it anti-clockwise means you hit the cafe at Bridgewater towards the end of the hike - definitely good for your mental health!

Good point, if you time the walk right over the last three days you can have a meal stop for lunch each day. Bridgewater cafe, lighthouse cafe and then Portland to finish

[Eremophila]

Plus, doing it anti-clockwise means you hit the cafe at Bridgewater towards the end of the hike - definitely good for your mental health!

Exactly what I was thinking ! It’s a great spot.

The GSWW was featured on Back Roads last week.