Through Swamp, and Dale, the G.O.W. is a Well-made Trail

Here is the view that awaits anyone smart enough to venture down here to the very bottom of Australia’s Victoria state. Most people visit these striking limestone escarpments by car, driving down the Great Ocean Road.

But others like many we met this week, wouldn’t think of driving and instead, spent seven nights walking the length of this well-maintained 91 kilometer trail.

There are so many different views on this trail…sylvan glades where koalas munch on leaves so close you can touch them, and wooden boards that take you over wet areas, and carefully constructed stairs, some as many as 364 in a row, like the entrance down to Wreck Beach.

Through it all you are guided by the little blue signs that mark this famous and wonderful trail.  My guide Greg Denney showed me several areas where the Great Ocean Road had to be moved back away from the cliffs, which like the escarpments, are constantly being eroded.

One famous arch last year fell away, so now these two apostles are no longer joined. He said that people used to walk way, way out, tempting fate on the top of these high cliffs, but now it’s fenced in to keep crazies from tumbling down.

The best part of this journey is that it takes you over such an incredibly diverse cross section of territory, and the planners had it right…everyone goes in the same east to west direction, so you don’t run into that many people. When you do they’re uniformly polite, and even though we saw one woman with a puppy (a big no-no) most people follow the rules, bring all of their trash out, and behave like mensches.

You’ll read more and see more in just a little while when I post my full story. Now I am signing off, stowing my hiking boots, and enjoying some great food at a few of Melbourne’s best restaurants–including Gordon Ramseys’ Maze tomorrow night. Thanks for joining me…how do your feet feel?