Great Ocean Walk Oct 2011

4 Days: Saturday 29th October to Turesday 1st November 2011

3 Nights: Cape Otway Lighthouse (twin share)

Park Treks four-day walking holiday along the Great Ocean Walk is such an easy way to engage in the great outdoors and leave the workaday world behind. On this trip we have chosen the most memorable moments of the Great Ocean Walk and put together a highlights package that will expose you to the best of this beautiful walk. Our experienced team will look after you in every way from the moment you board our luxury mini-coach in Melbourne. Safe driving, safe guiding, loads of the best and freshest organic produce at every meal and an attention to the finer points that makes for not only a great physical experience but also a grand social occasion. And our accommodation at the Cape Otway Lightstation is the best place along the Great Ocean Road to view the might of the Southern Ocean.

This trip is part of a Park Trek 2UP. It is linked in with our Great SouthWest Walk which runs a few days later from Thursday 3rd November to Sunday 6th November 2011. If you book both trips together as a 2UP the combined outlay is $1860.00. This is a cost saving of $100.00.

DAY 1

We depart Melbourne by 8.30am from the Victorian Arts Centre. Our first port of call is in the Winchelsea Tea Rooms where plenty of hot draughts of tea, coffee and fresh scones await to satisfy any morning cravings and set you up for a great day ahead. Then we depart with our lunches sorted and head for the start very start of the Great Ocean Walk at Marengo where the walk takes us through to the lovely surrounds of Elliot River. Exposed headlands, wild beaches and lush rainforest are features of this brief section and provide a portent of what is to come.

We plan to arrive into the Cape Otway Lightstation shortly before 5.00pm. The accommodation arrangements here are strictly twin share and bathroom amenities are shared. This historic location is simply the best you’ll find along Victoria’s coast with superb views as well as being the most beautiful place for a sunrise and a sunset. Once we have you settled it’s time for us to get the evening meal under way while you enjoy a glass of wine and a market sourced platter of nibbles.

7 kilometres walking

DAY 2

This morning we hook up with the Great Ocean Walk from our front door and out along the clifflines of Station Beach. The views here are superb and this section of the walk is all recently constructed and surprisingly gentle. The locals call this section "a walk on the mild side". We lunch at the camp ground along the Aire River where you’ll find toilets and a lovely tidal river with the green rolling hills of the Otways as our backdrop. After lunch it’s a delightful continuation of the cliffline walking as we complete the final short section of today’s walk taking us under the wind chiseled cliffs at Castle Cove where we reconvene with the coach. Time to return to our abode at Cape Otway Lightstation.

You do have the option of foregoing the walk after lunch (6 kilometres) if you feel you've walked far enough. Alternatively you can also opt to miss out on the morning section (10 kiloemtres) and just walk the afternoon section. We can drive you back to our place of stay if you prefer instead to put your feet up and relax.

10 - 16 kilometres walking

DAY 3

Today’s walking is the highlight of the Great Ocean Walk. Starting from Milanesia Beach the walk takes us to Ryans Den for lunch where the views are simply the grandest on the entire walk. It's known locally as "a walk on the wild side". You’ll be full of praise for the work done by the track makers as they have opened up one of the most amazing lengths of coastline. While the walking is more challenging than previously encountered you’ll be filled with the best memories, as the views are simply amazing. After lunch we trek onwards to Moonlight Head where the coach awaits to take us, time permitting, to a cuppa at the Lavers Hill Tea Rooms (OE) before we arrive back to our abode for a final night barbecue and high spirits.

This evening as your meal sizzles on the BBQ you may care to sit out on the front lawn watching the sun setting.

12 kilometres walking

DAY 4

It’s time to round off the trip with a couple of sensational walks so that you return to Melbourne later this evening with a satisfied smile. First we have an hours drive to The Gables Lookout where a short link track connects us with the lookout over Wreck Beach. Then it’s back onto the coach and on to Princetown where we walk the final section of the Great Ocean Walk finishing at Glenample Homestead with superb close-up views of the iconic Twelve Apostles. We finish with a coffee in Colac (OE) and a 5.30pm return to Melbourne.