Melbourne to Sunshine Coast by Public Transport (GOW Trip)

 27 February 2024 (Post day 2)

 

Today was a very early start 5am, daylight saving time. We were away by 5:45am. We walked to the train, waited 10 minutes and then train rode the train to Southern Cross. We had a 10-15 minute wait for the SkyBus, and no significant traffic. We were checked in and in the departure lounge for 8:15. While we waited for our flight we ate breakfast, followed by a spot of shopping at the Lego Store. The plane departed on time and we enjoyed a smooth flight. On arrival at Maroochydore Airport we could feel the humidity on our fingertips as soon as we went outside. We waited for 40 minutes at the aiport for the bus to Maroochydore. Then we caught the bus to near home and walked home in the heat and humidity. We arrived home about 2:15pm very sweaty. Terrific holiday!

 https://southerncrossstation.com.au/

https://www.skybus.com.au/melbourne-city-express/locations/

https://www.melbourneairport.com.au/shop/lego

https://www.sunshinecoastairport.com.au/

https://www.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au/living-and-community/roads-and-transport/transport-options/public-transport/bus-and-train/translink-sunbus

1 train, 3 buses,1 plane

4.38km walking

12 Apostles to Melbourne by Public Transport (GOW Trip)

 26 February 2024 (Post day 1)

 We enjoyed a good nights sleep in a bed and another shower this morning.

https://www.parks.vic.gov.au/places-to-see/parks/port-campbell-national-park/things-to-do/twelve-apostles

https://visitgreatoceanroad.org.au/explore/nature-wildlife/the-12-apostles/ 

Then off to the 12 Apostles to enjoy their beauty and the power of the Southern Ocean before the crowds arrive. So different to last night, no voices just the sound of the ocean. Currently there are 8 apostles, the numbers vary as new ones are formed and old ones collapse. The footprints on the beach below the lookout are from fairy penguins – there is no access to this beach to protect their habitat. It was interesting to watch the changing light on the cliff faces.

The bus to Apollo Bay via the Great Ocean Road picked us up from the Visitor Information Centre.  We were able to see farmland and some forest sections of Otway National Park. We visited George’s for burgers for lunch in Apollo Bay. Next was the bus to Geelong, a super quick toilet stop and then onto the train to Southern Cross Station. There we only had to wait less than 10 minutes for our next train. Last, the short walk to our accommodation.

https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/stop/4033/twelve-apostlesgreat-ocean-rd/3/regional-train/#StopPage:::datetime=2024-04-30T08%3A57%3A07.348Z&directionId=-1&showAllDay=false&_auth=01cf4d0311ef4be07805b61a5ce52a17e5186788e29ee6783743a8ff4d536c28

https://www.parks.vic.gov.au/places-to-see/parks/great-otway-national-park

https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/route/14937/apollo-bay-geelong

https://southerncrossstation.com.au/

2 buses, 2 trains

Walking 4.71km

 

 

 

Devils Kitchen Campground to 12 Apostles (GOW Trip)

 25 February 2024 (Day 8) 11-21 degrees

 https://www.parks.vic.gov.au/places-to-see/parks/great-otway-national-park/things-to-do/great-ocean-walk

https://www.greatoceanwalk.info/

https://www.thegreatoceanwalk.com/official-sections/

This morning had a very pretty moon set. This was the first night on this trip that we saw the sunset and the sunrise. The weather made a cool start to the day. 

https://www.greatoceanwalk.info/devils-kitchen-to-the-12-apostles/

It was a nice walk through coastal vegetation with intermittent views of the coastline, including the 12 Apostles. Bit overgrown at 3.5km and 6km from camp.  We had a break overlooking the Gellibrand River estuary at Princetown. Despite all the signs we finally saw our first snake for this hike, it was small at about 40cm long and 1-1.5cm in diameter.

https://www.corangamite.vic.gov.au/Places-and-Events/Parks-sport-recreation/Gellibrand-River-Estuary 

The path was again mildly overgrown at around 10km. The path was also increasingly up and down as the 12 Apostles drew nearer. When in the dunes the temperature can be very hot as the sand is reflecting the sun up and the breeze is blocked by vegetation. Gibsons Steps were very busy but well worth it - amazing to be down on the beach looking up at the Apostles and cliff faces.

https://www.visitvictoria.com/regions/great-ocean-road/see-and-do/nature-and-wildlife/beaches-and-coastlines/vv-gibson-steps

Then on to the 12 Apostles which felt even busier but probably because the people were in a smaller area. Definitely a very busy tourist attraction, but appears to be mainly internationals.

 https://www.parks.vic.gov.au/places-to-see/parks/port-campbell-national-park/things-to-do/twelve-apostles

https://www.visitvictoria.com/regions/great-ocean-road/see-and-do/nature-and-wildlife/beaches-and-coastlines/12-apostles

https://visitgreatoceanroad.org.au/explore/nature-wildlife/the-12-apostles/

We than had a 3km walk gently up hill to the motel - basic and old but clean. Showers- yeah! There were a lot of flies on the walk to the motel as it is sheep country.  Whenever we were in direct sun, it was still very hot, despite the cooler temperatures.

 

Statistics

Distance    17.57km

Time         5 hours 16 minutes

Ascent      312m

Descent     350m

Temperature 11.3 – 21.5 degrees Celsius    

 

Twelve Apostles Walk

Distance    0.95km

Time         22 minutes

Ascent       28m

Descent     76m

 

Walk to Accommodation

Distance    3.12km

Time         43 minutes

Ascent      75m

Descent     5m

 

 

Ryans Den Campground to Devils Kitchen Campground (GOW Trip)

 24 February 2024 (Day 7) 14-22 degrees

 https://www.parks.vic.gov.au/places-to-see/parks/great-otway-national-park/things-to-do/great-ocean-walk

https://www.greatoceanwalk.info/

https://www.thegreatoceanwalk.com/official-sections/

It was a cool night, but better once the wind dropped a little. On waking the wind was noticeably less than yesterday. Over breakfast Drew spotted a koala with baby in a nearby tree. This is the only campsite so far that has had no blue fairy wrens.

 https://www.greatoceanwalk.info/day-6-ryans-den-to-devils-kitchen/

Very hilly start to the day, constantly up or down with very little flat. We saw a few swamp wallabies. The track would be very slippery and gluggy in wet conditions. There were a few small areas not far into today’s walk where the grass was a little overgrown (these were the first such spots we had encountered on this walk).

The second section of walk had much gentler inclines and declines and passed through lovely woodland. We took a side trip to Moonlight Head Cemetery. The view from Gables Lookout was good – the ocean was still fairly calm but I certainly would not like to be in it. We saw flocks of Gang-gang Cockatoos.

At the eastern end of Wreck Beach we felt there was too much water for us to go down and hike to Devils Kitchen this way.  We continued on the inland route, which was very pretty. National Parks have done a lot to protect grass trees and other native plants from cinnamon fungus; there are functional boot cleaning stations and more than a kilometre of raised walking track.

 

The view from the top of the campsite was beautiful and being first into camp we were lucky enough to snag the top campsite.

 https://www.parks.vic.gov.au/places-to-see/sites/great-ocean-walk---devils-kitchen-hike-in-campsites

In the afternoon we took the walk down to Wreck Beach to see the anchors and anchor chain winch. We were down here on an outgoing tide with calm seas and the waves still occasionally touched the base of the cliffs - it would be totally terrifying to be wrecked here. We then took a side route up top to the burial site for some of the seamen from the Fiji wreck. Some of last night's campers arrived, having walked via Wreck Beach – their opinion, we made the correct choice in dropping off our packs and heading down later from this end.

https://www.visitmelbourne.com/regions/great-ocean-road/see-and-do/outdoor-and-adventure/walking-and-hiking/vv-wreck-beach-walk 

https://www.parks.vic.gov.au/news/2022/07/27/00/16/historic-shipwreck-coast-monument-accessible-again

 The evening concluded with a nice sunset from the lookout.

 

Statistics

Distance    15.46km

Time         5 hours

Ascent      500m

Descent     511m

Temperature 14.1 – 22.0 degrees Celsius

 Trip to Wreck Beach and Fiji Memorial (without packs)

Distance     5.57km

Time         2 hours 6 minutes

Ascent      215m

Descent     211m