Great Ocean Walk, Day 1: Apollo Bay to Blanket Bay, 23km

I’m back on the road again!  And so keen, that I wake early with a jolt…must do one final check and go! Sadly, it was still dark outside and my enthusiasm was stopped at the door.  I’m not usually one to be up for sunrise, but with little to do, and still needing to go to the shops for one final thing before departing, it seemed only sensible. I made a cuppa and headed for the beach.

Not for the first time, I berated myself for not being more proactive about sunrises.  This one was spectacular, misty blues and oranges on a deserted windswept beach.  It felt like a good omen.

So did the sausage roll I purchased from the bakery, and with a full stomach and everything procured, I headed off in the bright light of day.

What a treat the first 10km of the walk was!  Sun beaming, cornflour blue skies, clifftop views of gently rolling waves and broad rocky platforms.  It was an absolutely impressive start to the trip, and I found myself smiling with the sheer beauty of it.  It felt good to be back in the saddle.

The morning passed quickly, as time in beautiful places often does. A little leg weary I pulled into Elliot Ridge campground.  I had decided previously that creating time by skipping a couple of campgrounds would be a great idea.  Yeah!  More time in Melbourne and visiting family at the end!  My brain still agreed with this in principle…the body, not so much.

So after a brief hiatus, I headed off again.  The afternoon was spent in what my brain now refers to as “Australian Eucalypt Forest”.  You know what I mean…?  They all look sort of the same….nice, without being spectacular. Large, impressive trees dotted amongst bracken fern, banksias and sedges.  

At one point I noticed the sky visibly darken.  I became alarmed, and urgently requested a weather report from my Garmin.  It obediently started whirring away, desperate to give me the answers I was seeking.  Alas, before the information was forthcoming, a huge, fat drop followed by an almighty BOOOOMMMM, signalled that a thunderstorm was forthcoming.  Weather signs 1, Garmin 0. 

My legs, which had been feeling particularly weary now accelerated with a second wind.  All I knew was that the sky was ripping apart around me, tall trees swaying dangerously in the ever increasing wind, and that I wanted to get off this plateau as quickly as possible.  I was very lucky that there wasn’t a lot of lightning around.  Just the occasional shimmer in the air,  meaning I was able to somewhat enjoy the tremendous force of the performance around me. My Garmin dinged….current conditions…..thunderstorm. Thanks for that.

I reached camp at Blanket Bay with just enough time to set up before another deluge.  Straight into the tent and into some warm clothes, wondering how long this forced imprisonment might last.

An hour or so later and I wandered down to the under cover seating area, and met James, Raye, Jackie and a Mexican fellow, all of whom had left Apollo Bay the day previously and stayed up at Eliot campsite last night.  They were a talkative lot – Raye on his first long distance walk (and carrying approximately 3kg of trail mix), James who was interested in Norfolk and wondering how to become a ranger, and Jackie, a solo hiker like myself, slightly older than me, and enjoying balancing a diminishing work life with time on the trails.  We had a very interesting conversation around the question we always get asked “Aren’t you scared of getting killed or hurt?” and putting the risk of that occurring on the trail into context with everyday living and the proclivity of domestic violence.  I’m guessing that for many, just being at home is a much more realistic way of getting hurt.

My sleeping bag called to me early, so not long after dark I was tucked away nice and safe in my beloved tent,  hoping that the fairies do their overnight magic, and I wake up tomorrow good as new.