Great South West Walk

Mt Richmond

Discovery Bay

This was to be the longest self supported hike I’ve done, the 253 kilometres of the Great South West Walk which is a big loop starting and finishing in Portland. I was excited but rather anxious, with most of my camping gear being very new and with not a great lot of experience under my belt in what I see as my second hiking life. I hadn’t hiked this far in my first hiking life either. (That life had concluded with the Queen Charlotte Walkway (NZ) in 1995, and my new hiking life began with the Kumano Kodo last year.)

April 12

I packed up my tent at the Portland Bay Holiday Park, had a quick coffee and muffin at Maccas and headed to where I intended to start the walk by the obelisk marking the foundation of Portland. As I stood waiting for my satellites two guys came past and asked where I was hiking. I ended up walking the first 500 metres of my hike with them. I was out of Portland quite quickly and most of the day was on the clifftops. Two snakes, of which the first was in a stupor and didn’t move while the second one was angry with its head up and fangs out. I didn’t notice it until I was passing it. I also saw a couple of echidnas and frequently heard kangaroos thumping as they ran into the bush but I only glimpsed them briefly. Nice headland and Nelson Bay views and masses of wind turbines. It was sunny and it took a while to get used to the constantly moving shadows of the rotating blades. I passed several surf beaches, walked through the small but lovely Enchanted Forest and arrived at my campsite, Mallee. Later on two half families arrived, two dads with some of their teenage children. They had masses of heavy gear and complimented me several times on travelling light. 22 kilometres.

April 13

It rained in a sprinkly, misty way all day but it was not cold. I passed the Cape Nelson lighthouse first thing and then walked the edge of Bridgewater Bay almost all day. It was beautiful, beaches and headlands, coastal scrub and forest. More echidnas and kangaroos. I had a long beach section where the debris included some empty ship containers that I could see for a long way in the distance and resembled tiny houses. At the end of this beach I stopped at Trewalla campsite for lunch. The coast view immediately beyond this campsite may have been the best of the entire hike. Late in the day I came to Bridgewater Beach, then climbed that headland, from where I could see the entire curve of Bridgewater Bay and Cape Nelson lighthouse a feint spike; I was quite amazed at how far I had come. Beyond Bridgewater Beach I continued to the clifftops and the seal colony viewing platforms. There were masses of seals in the water, unlike last time I was here the day before Portland Marathon in 2017. I was tired by now and it seemed a long way through the Petrified Forest and past the Blowholes to reach Springs campsite. As soon as I arrived I treated myself to one of my two Kit Kats because I was so exhausted after 31 kilometres. Dinner was instant mashed potato and dried peas. I was alone at this campsite and in bed by 7pm.

April 14

I decided to do the Mt Richmond inland route of the walk today even though it added 10 kilometres as I had a lot of beach walking ahead of me the following two days. The start was still on the clifftops and I had my first view of endless Discovery Bay beaches. Then I turned inland, passing Bridgewater Lakes and had a view of the large Tarragal Caves on the hillside. I had to cross several paddocks before reaching Tarragal campsite and an early lunch after only 12 kilometres. The afternoon was wonderful in the forest of Mt Richmond National Park. I saw loads of wildlife and birds and then a big fat koala, which climbed a tree and then jumped across to another one nearer to me. The later stages were hard as my pack was getting extremely uncomfortable and I had to keep stopping to try and adjust it, but never got it right. Finally I turned for the campsite at Swan Lake, but I never saw the lake! Another Kit Kat, another early night and another night alone. I’m liking this. 33 kilometres.

April 15

This was a long day on the beach, well actually not so long, only 16 kilometres. I had to cross an area of huge sand dunes before reaching the beach and I thought I saw two emus on the dunes. Unusual, but I’ve learnt that there are indeed emus living in the dunes. I came down to the beach and then walked along sand near the water, beach as far as the eye could see. It was a lovely morning. Lots of gulls and oyster catchers. That part of the beach is used by dune buggies and I was passed by two. The driver of the second one stopped and asked if I was ok, then said I was walking the wrong way and that everyone else goes the other direction. I knew this already, but I was pleased with my choice as I had a good low tide for beach walking. I got to my campsite at Lake Monibeong by lunchtime and this time I did go for a stroll to see the lake. In the afternoon it rained but I was able to sit in the hikers' shelter. I was again alone at the hikers' campsite but there were car campers not far away.

April 16

This was a long hot day on the beach. It was 30 degrees and perfect blue sky. The beach was endless, no vehicles and I got into a good rhythm, stopping to shelter from the sun by the dunes every four or five kilometres. I saw nobody for many hours until I was close to the Nelson end of the beach where I saw people collecting pipis and I chatted to a surfer. The walk into Nelson was uphill and hot on a bitumen road passing a lake. The small town was bustling with fishermen and tourists. I had a coffee and Mars Bar at the small shop, bought a few things although I didn’t need much then went to the tourist office to charge my devices. I had intended to stay at the caravan park here and eat at the pub but when the time came I felt I would rather camp in the bush again and there was a campsite only three kilometres past the town. So at 4.30pm I bought some hot chips at the shop and walked on to the campsite, setting up my tent and eating my chips in splendid isolation, apart from some kangaroos. 26 kilometres.

April 17

My wettest day. It rained hard several times in the morning but I was a bit sheltered in the forest. This was the start of the river section of the hike, along the Glenelg River, and it turned out nicer than I expected, mainly because the trail really was right by the river so you could see it most of the way. I was on clifftops in forest with views across to the limestone cliffs on the far side. There were a few canoeists on the river and masses of bird life. I especially liked the tiny blue wrens. I met a couple of bushwalkers, but so far nobody doing the whole circuit like me. I had lunch at Pattersons campsite, where I had booked to sleep, then chose to continue on. Just as I was about to leave there was a big shower so I sat down again, and when I did leave I seemed to be done with rain for the day. Then as I came close to Battersby campsite I could see the sky darkening and I rushed along missing a long and heavy shower by reaching the hikers' shelter and the end of my 30 kilometres. Two canoeists were sheltering there waiting for the rain to stop so they could go back to their campsite. Soon after they left a hiker arrived. We had a pleasant evening chatting before retiring to bed at 7pm. In the evening I heard yellow-bellied gliders shrieking; it’s a bloodcurdling sound. Also the kangaroos were out feeding and one of them spent time sniffing my head from outside my tent, which was a most peculiar sensation.

April 18

Today was also along the river but the limestone cliffs were finished and I was walking in the forest at river level. It was still really nice with lots of birds and no rain. I stopped at a car camping area for lunch right by the river, then went on to Moleside campsite for a short day of 17 kilometres. There were plenty of kangaroos at the campsite but no people. However I was puzzled to hear some traffic noise.

April 19

My coldest day. The river was shrouded in fog when I got up, very atmospheric. I warmed my hands on my coffee and set off walking in leggings and hoodie, but I soon warmed up. The first attraction was Moleside Falls which was the shallowest waterfall I have ever seen and was where I left the river. Then I came to the Inkpot which was a dark pool. Here I decided to try out my Lifestraw as this was the first standing water I had seen. I had a brief drink from the pool. The rest of the day was in forest. I came to a place where I had to decide whether to avoid the low crossing over Fitzroy River or take my chance on the crossing, which is unusable if the river is high. Everything had been so dry so far that I took my chance with the river crossing. There wasn’t a drop of water in the river! I got to Fitzroy campsite after 22 kilometres and assumed I would once again be alone, but just before dark I heard someone calling out if anyone was around and this turned out to be a young guy who could not stop talking. Luckily he only talked about hiking but the torrent of words never stopped until I went to bed, and he started again as soon as I got up. He was the first hiker I met who was doing the full circuit.

April 20

The forecast was for a hot day and by 8am it was already warm. I plodded along towards Cobboboonee campsite in the forest on an undulating path. That campsite was very spacious. I had a snack. I wasn’t sure whether I would continue past the next campsite for a very long day or stop there and have a long day the next day. When I got to Cut Out campsite (where I had booked) it was only 1pm and there was someone there, again a big talker, so I decided to continue to the next campsite. Also my phone wasn’t working so I would be sitting at the campsite unable to read my e-book or listen to podcasts. Several people had reported in the hiker log books that they had seen snakes on this next section so I was very attentive, especially as I would have no means of phoning for help if I were bitten and there was nobody on the trail. Soon enough I saw a stupefied snake beside the trail; it didn’t budge. I was walking in the middle of the trail since snakes usually stick to the sides, but just as I was daydreaming a bit I was jerked into reality by seeing an aggressive snake right in front of me. After a short pause to show who was in charge it lowered its head and slithered off. I was getting tired and keen to reach the campsite so I stopped as little as possible, every five kilometres. The final stretch turned out shorter than I expected and I rounded a bend to see the hikers' campsite toilet. I did hope I would be alone at this campsite. But - oh no - I saw ten colourful tents! The Melbourne Bushwalking Club was on a hike. They were very friendly and didn’t complain about my stove which puts on a real show of leaping flames as it cooks. I ate a lot as it was time to finish all my food then I went and lay down and drifted off to sleep to the sound of distant music from an unknown source. 36 kilometres.

April 21

It was a lot cooler for my last day. Before I left the Easter Bunny visited and left me some tiny eggs so I decided the bushwalkers were a great lot. I had a bit of time in the forest then followed the railway line then some bitumen roads. Twelve kilometres in I got my first glimpse of the ocean and then I could see Portland on the horizon. I had to walk alongside a road for several kilometres approaching Portland, then I came to the parkland on the cliffs near the town. I fell in step with a local woman out for a stroll and we chatted, then reached her husband whom she was meeting to continue her walk and we all chatted some more; at first he didn’t appreciate I had done the whole circuit but I soon put him straight. After this I only had a kilometre to reach my starting point. And I finished my hike just before the rain started. I popped back into Maccas for lunch then went over to my booked motel, where the manager asked me if I had just finished the GSWW. I was surprised at this because there had been so few people on the trail and plenty of other tourists in Portland but it turned out he had bad eyesight and had mistaken me for some walkers who stayed with him a few days before. 19 kilometres.