Stats and Summary

Total Distance Walked = 101Km

Average daily distance (excluding first day ) = 19 Km
Longest daily distance (excluding first day ) = 21.8 Km
Shortest daily distance (excluding first day ) = 16 Km

(Day 1 was a really short day due to time it takes to drive to the start)
  

This was the biggest walk we have done in Australia to date. It is a great walk in a really beautiful area passing through forests, coastal scrub and along some great beaches. 

One of the first things that I realised is that the walk is a lot more challenging than I had anticipated.  Numerous references have the walk description as 'moderate' difficulty. On first look the elevation profiles supported this moderate rating but the reality of it once you are 'on the ground' is that while most of it could be classed as moderate there are sections of it that are definitely a 'hard' rating.

Highlights

It is difficult to come up with a specific highlight as the walk was really varied and went through many different vegetation and terrain types.
 
I am going to say the wildlife encounters (koalas and echidnas), the Cape Otway lighthouse tour and the celebrations at the end were the highlights. The interaction with the guides and the other walkers was also a highlight (always good to do things like with a group even if you don't know them when you start).
 

The Track

The track is distinct and maintained by Parks Victoria. In most places it is well maintained but there are a few places that are either in the process of being maintained or that need some work done on them. 
 
The steps are either concrete or wooden. The concrete ones tended to be slippery due to the build up of mud on them. The wooden steps tended to be well designed being laid flat against the ground with every second step raised for a foot hold; these worked really well. Bridges and boardwalks were good but could be slippery; not all of them had mesh on them to prevent slipping.
 
After rain the track was really slippery as a lot of the ground was clay based.
 
Some of the track was old forestry roads which were good to walk on but they could be steep and muddy.

Navigation

• Signage
  the track is very well marked at all junctions. Decision points (locations of optional travel in the event of high tide etc) were very well signposted, however caution should be used as some on the beaches may be destroyed during storms and big seas.
  
  
• Maps
  I had both the Parks Victoria fold out 1:25,00 map as well as the Parks Victoria map booklet (also 1:25,000 scale). I did not carry a map on this walk as we were doing a guided walk, however, in the event I did take a wrong track the maps would have come in handy (even though the scale may have been a bit too small). The maps were very useful for giving the locations of 'decision points' along the way. 

Mobile Phone Coverage

 

Phone coverage is unreliable but there are areas where it can be OK (in the car parks higher up tend to be OK). The walk goes through a lot of close vegetation and into deep ravines where there is not network coverage. It would still be a good idea to carry a mobile phone.

Weather

• Rain
  During this walk there was a real mix match of weather. It rained just about every day. We were lucky that we missed a huge storm as it came through at night and was past us in the morning. We were told by Lee, one of the guides and a local of the area, that the rain usually only lasts about 10 minutes; he was really close to being right about that. When it rained it usually only lasted a few minutes so there were times where it was jackets on then jackets off; I don't like doing that but sometimes it can't be helped. Walking in a rain jacket gets really hot and humid.
  
  
• Bureau of Meteorology
  Really good idea to use their historical data for Cape Otway when planning a good time to do the walk. Rain makes the track hard to walk by making it slippery and also being a mental strain, while being hot would make the tougher days really hard to complete.
  
  It should be noted that the rain doesn't always show up on the weather radar. We had low level rain come through and the radar was clear (made it interesting).  

Tour Company

 

There are a few companies that run this walk and we used AusWalk. Big advantage of using them is that we were collected in Melbourne and then dropped off back there afterwards; we didn't have to find somewhere to keep our car for a few days. They were great all the way through the process of booking and then doing the walk. COVID-19 caused all sorts of issues with cancellations but AusWalk kept us on their books and just moved everything to the right as the COVID restrictions were being lifted.
 
THe guides, Katie and Lee, were magnificent. They handled a few rather difficult walkers really well and maintained a professional manner the whole time. They were really knowledgeable and both had great senses of humour; we would happily do more walks with them as guides.

 

Would I do it again?

 

Yes I would do it again, although the chances of that happening are very slim. It is a rally good walk through some magnificent countryside. I reckon the best time of the year to do it is either mid Autumn or Spring; winter would most likely be too wet and Summer is more than likely going to be too hot (I would prefer to be rained on than to have to walk this track in the heat). Summer would most likely have a snake problem as well.