Great Ocean Walk

The tour is 7 days long with all 7 days being walking days.

This 7-day walk makes the daily distances achievable and enjoyable. Take your time to smell the forest and marvel at the rugged coastline, there’s no whip cracking here! Discover the full trail length with no missing sections but with daily distance options available. You'll hike on well compacted walking tracks with occasional steps and stairs. The terrain consists of undulating coastal tracks with some hilly sections. The tour is classified as generally easy to moderate with the occasional harder section.

There is no vehicle access to most locations along the track and for this reason there will be a crew member walking with the group as well as a crew member in the support vehicle. The vehicle will be stopped at strategic locations where the track is accessible by road, setting up morning teas and lunches, helping with water refills, snacks or information.

Walkers may get in the support vehicle at the meet-up points if they would like to skip a section of the walk or if they have fallen well behind schedule. There is no shame in riding in the support vehicle for a section or two so if you are considering coming along and are ‘in-the-ball-park’ in terms of your fitness and preparedness, but not 100% sure if you will be up to it on the toughest days, just go for it –the vehicle and staff will be there to help out. It’s better to give it a try than to miss out altogether. If you feel that you are extremely far off the fitness level required and cannot commit to enough training that will get you fit in time then you may be better off booking a later tour.

You really need to be a reasonably keen walker–not necessarily fast, but consistent. The walk ranges from ‘easy’ (most of the walk) to ‘hard’ (a few sections with lots of steps), however, the full distance is over 100km so it is certainly a challenge due to the sheer length of the walk and the multi-day activity.

In saying that, the tour operator has spread the walk out over 7 days which is often done in 6. After walking the track they feel that this is the balance for the best tour, allowing enough time on the track and enough recovery time after each day. And of course, they will have the vehicle transfers available for skipping a few sections here and there, plus the opportunity to take a day off when you feel like it.

Start by walking around the neighbourhood or in local parks 3-6km per outing, building up to around the 10-15km distance over time. Try to find some bushwalks, perhaps as a weekend activity. These do not necessarily need to be 10-15km length as even a shorter bush walk will give you some experience in dealing with uneven ground, tree roots and varying terrain.

Closer to the tour, try to get out for a couple of 15km walks for two days in a row (preferably bush walks if you can). This will usually put you in a good position to be ready for your tour. There is a specific training schedule which the tour operator will send to you after you place your deposit, however, they are more than happy to send this to you earlier when you are considering the tour –just ask us for a copy and we will get it out to you straight away.

Walkers occasionally share the track with some potentially dangerous creatures including snakes, spiders, ants, leeches, ticks and insects such as European wasps and honeybees. Hikers with allergies to bites and stings need to ensure they carry appropriate medication and advise the crew.

Stay on the track and watch your step - if you see a snake, quietly step back and wait until they go away. Leeches are harmless and painless, but the resulting tiny bite is messy, causing blood to flow freely. Remove the leech, clean and disinfect the tiny bleeding wound and the bleeding will stop after a time.

Beach walks and river crossings can be tricky depending on tides and weather. The staff will be fully informed and aware of current conditions and this will make up part of the daily briefings.

The walk is not in the regular bushfire season for this region however staff will be fully informed of the daily fire danger levels and include this as part of the daily briefing if appropriate

It would be good to carry a full water bottle or hydration pack and your own personal goods such as phone, snacks and rain gear with you in a small backpack or hydration back-pack. The tour operator will transport your luggage, drawstring day bags, food & extra water in the vehicles which you may see once or twice during the walk. A more detailed list of things to bring and not bring is on the ‘Tour Preparation Guide’ which will be sent out to you upon booking.

A good solid walking shoe (sturdy, fully enclosed, waterproof or resistant, non-slip, and above all, comfortable). Make sure your shoes are worn in - you DO NOT want blisters from new shoes. A few layers of clothing (preferably quick-dry), comfortable shorts or walking pants, thermals, light rain jacket and warm jacket.

Each day you can assess the weather and leave what you won’t need in your motel and bring the things that you might need in your drawstring day-bag. Don’t forget your hat and sunglasses. Optional: gaiters, walking pole.