Climbing into Adventure

Camping & Walking Trip

As the new year rolls in, what better time to get away, back to nature for some peace and quiet. As part of my new year plan, I have decided to pre-book one weekend a month and dedicate it to camping. I'm still not sure where to go yet, but there are so many places to choose from!

For this weekend we chose Lerderderg Gorge. Only 1.5hrs drive from Melbourne and we found ourselves at the Upper Chadwick Campsite. We chose this over the O'Briens Crossing campsite as it was more remote (down a '4WD' track) which meant less people.

Setting up camp, we had a lazy afternoon walking up the dry river bed, reading under one of the many trees & enjoying a glass of warm red wine (as it was 35 degrees). Sleeping without tent fly on it was a suprisingly cool night. We had originally thought to leave the sleeping bag at home, but our decision to bring it for safety reasons proved very worthwhile.


Waking at the crack of dawn with the squarking cockatoos, we drove to the O'Brien's Rd / Cowan Track junction to begin our walk. Walking along the main road for a few hundred meters, we soon met the Short Cut Track which took us into the trees and then down down down. Such a steep decline - we were already thinking of the end of the walk and how hard it was going to be getting back up.

We soon reached O'Brien's Crossing and met the Lerderderg River. The next 3 hours took us to on an amazing walk with some beautiful views from within the Gorge. Walking quietly we managed to spot some goat (strangely enough) and a koala who was happy to pose for a few photos.

Just as we were thinking we had had enough of the river, we met the Cowan track which took us to a different type of scenery. Sparse trees on even wide ground compared to contouring on a reasonably thin track. Upsall Hill loomed ahead of us and up we went. The short 4 minute bursts of steep hills were actually not too bad as there was flat ground in between.


Meeting up with another walker as we were on the home stretch, he showed us a photo of an angry red belly blacksnake that he passed earlier. Making our way up our last hill together, we saw the familiar blue corolla waiting for us. As we had just reached the 5 hour mark, we were both very happy to sit down for the 1.5 hour drive home (with a quick stop in Bacchus Marsh for some well earned food).

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Tips on How to Climb into this Adventure:

• it is recommended you always carry a map with scale and contour lines to assist with any navigation (especially if you are not experienced)
• ensure that you take enough water for yourself (recommended minimum 1 litre for every 2 hours hiking)
• if you want to see wildlife try to be quiet whilst walking
• when walking in remote areas (especially in summer), be sure to brush up on your first aid skills (especially what to do in the event of a snake bite)
  

Curlew Beach - Paddle Bay


Last night the high tide water mark came pretty close to our tents as we woke up to yet another lovely sunrise. Our daily ritual of listening to the weather forecast on the VHF radio at 8am and 4pm, warned of strong south easterly winds up to 30 knots today. Of all the days we didn't want to get caught in the wind, today was it as we had a 10km open channel paddle ahead of us. Setting off early at 8am, we took our bearing for the northern tip of South Molle Island and did our best to not drift too far off course. As we paddled out of the shelter of Whitsunday Island and into the passage, it was a great feeling to be so far from shore. In the end, the 2.5 hour non-stop paddle wasn't too bad as the winds weren't as strong as expected.

Arriving at South Molle Island by 10.30am we had the whole day free to explore some of the many walking tracks this island has to offer. We chose to take the 6km return walk up to Spion Kop for a great view of South Molle, Whitsunday Channel and Hamilton Island. Walking past Green Tree Ant nests and many birds, we thought we deserved a cocktail for all our amazing efforts on the way back to camp. Walking into the South Molle Resort, we soon realised that the resort staff were having a 'staff day' which meant no-one was around until 5.30pm. We decided that our half a cup of red wine would just have to do.

Our last night camping on this amazing kayaking trip did not disappoint. The sunset over Daydream island was simply stunning. Our last nights meal of cous cous with a few remaining veges made us grateful that tomorrow we would be able to feast on non-dehydrated foods.


Total Paddle Distance Today = 10 km /2.5 hrs


Tips for climbing into this adventure:
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• you should have a radio as part of your emergency kit - use it to listen to the local weather channel
  

• when doing a crossing, you may have to point the front of your boat away from where you actually want to go to accommodate for the tidal flow and/or winds. Take a bearing and try to stick to that as much as possible
  

• definitely do one of the walks on South Molle Island - they range in distance, but its nice to use the legs a bit after sitting in a kayak for so long
  

Cape Otway to Aire River

The Queens Birthday long weekend was a great chance to escape to the outdoors for 3 straight days......but the big decision was, where do we go. Looking over the Parks Victoria website, there are so many national parks and overnight walks to choose from, it all became a bit daunting. Our drive limit was 3 hrs in any direction so deciding that its too cold to go the Alpine Region, too black and burnt to go to the Prom, too familiar (for me) to head out towards the Grampians, we decided on heading south-west to the Great Ocean Road.

Starting at Cape Otway Lighthouse, we walked a 10km section of the Great Ocean Walk to Aire River. The shrubby, sandy start took us to our first view of the ocean on the rugged cliftops.










Seeing as it was not raining, we decided to take the 'low road' and walk along Station Beach. The waves were crashing loudly as we found that the sand was super soft under our feet (our sinking may have also been due to the fact that we were carrying large backpacks that contained non-practical hiking items such as a jar of pasta sauce, two large books and a bottle of wine)! Continuing up the track, we again went to the cliff tops for the walk to the start of Aire River. The view down the inlet was gorgeous as there was not a breath of wind to disturb the water.Choosing to set up camp at the Aire River East campground (where there were fires allowed) wasn't our best decision of the weekend. Just as we had our tent set up complete with sleeping bags and thermarests inflated, we realised that camping in a location that has vehicle access just doesn't have the same serenity as we had hoped on the Great Ocean Walk. Within 5 minutes of set up, 3 mini vans full of 20 year olds jumped out carrying their many slabs and already open bottles to set up camp 5 meters from our tent. As much as are keen for a good party, our bags were repacked and carried over to the West campground 400m down the road to find our own little spot away from the crowds.

The next morning we set out for a 4 hour return day walk to Castle Cove (further up the Great Ocean Walk). Again we were taken through various terrains and as we reached our destination, the clouds started rolling in and the rain that had held off for so long was looming above. A fast paced walk back to camp was called for as we had not brought along our rain jackets.










A lazy afternoon reading, sleeping and playing cards in the tent was a must as the rain did not stop for 17 hours! Cooking dinner in the vestibule was a very cautious affair as we were conscious to not breath in the fumes from our trusty Trangia.

Starting the 10km walk back to the lighthouse around 9am on Monday brought a bit of sunshine for our path on the high road this time (skipping the beach section), but soon enough we were enjoying a walk in the rain back to the car to finish of an amazing 3 day weekend.

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How to Climb into this Adventure

• visit Parks Victoria or Great Ocean Walk website for more information on various sections/camping locations of this walk
  
• make sure you bring enough wet weather gear for camping/walking
• if you want a more 'luxurios' campsite, obtain a permit from Parks Vic and stay in one of the Great Ocean Walk campsites (rather than the public sites)

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