Twelve Apostles at sunset
Twelve Apostles at sunset
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Great Ocean Walk Highlights Self-Guided

5 days / 4 nights

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Cliff-top tracks and empty beaches from the Cape Otway Lightstation to the Twelve Apostles: the wild western half of the Great Ocean Walk in four days.

Starting Point

Apollo Bay

Finish Point

Twelve Apostles

Fitness Level

3/5

Technical Level

2/5

Season

From September to May

Accommodation Level

Comfort

Tour Type

Inn-to-Inn

Daily Distance

9 – 12 mi

Daily Elevation

1969 – 2854 ft

Highlights

  • Start at the Cape Otway Lightstation, a stone tower lit since 1848
  • Look for black swans and egrets where the Aire River meets the sea
  • Walk two kilometres along Johanna Beach, a backup venue for pro surfing contests
  • Drop to Milanesia Beach, a quiet cove that no road reaches
  • Look down from Moonlight Head, one of the highest sea cliffs on the mainland
  • Find two shipwrecks' anchors on Wreck Beach, then finish at the Twelve Apostles
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What’s included in the price?

Accommodation levelComfort

Motels in Apollo Bay and Port Campbell and a self-contained cottage at Glenaire, all with private bathrooms. The cottage has a full kitchen; Apollo Bay and Port Campbell have restaurants and shops.

These are examples of the type and standard you can expect. Actual properties may vary depending on availability.

What to bring to the tour

  • Hiking shoes/boots
  • 25 to 45-liter backpack
  • Base layer
  • Sports T-shirts
  • Hiking shorts
  • Hiking water-repellent pants
  • Waterproof jacket
  • Midlayer
  • Sports socks and underwear
  • Leisurewear for evenings
  • Down jacket
  • Gloves
  • Shade hat/cap
  • Warm headwear
  • Sunscreen
  • Sunglasses
  • Headlamp
  • Hiking poles
  • ID card or passport
  • Snacks
  • Cash
  • Water bottles or hydration pack
  • Sleeping liner
  • Toiletries
  • Toilet paper
  • Small first aid kit

The Great Ocean Walk runs for more than 100 kilometres along Victoria's southern coast, from Apollo Bay to the Twelve Apostles. Its western half is the wild one: beaches with no road behind them, high cliffs over the Southern Ocean and long runs of timber stairs. This walk covers that half in four days.

There are no lodges on this stretch of coast, and several stage ends have no road at all, so the walk is built around shuttles. A driver drops you at a car park in the morning and collects you at another in the afternoon, and you carry only a day pack.

Nights are spent in Apollo Bay, in a cottage at Glenaire above Castle Cove, and in Port Campbell, close to the Twelve Apostles. The cottage has a kitchen and there is no shop nearby, so the evenings there are quiet ones.

The tide matters: two beaches need a low tide, Johanna Beach and Wreck Beach, and we send you the times for each day. If the surf is running high, you finish early at a car park and the shuttle meets you there.

Each day is 15 to 19 kilometres, and day 4, with Milanesia Beach and Moonlight Head, has the most climbing. The track is well made and signposted, with no scrambling, but you need the legs for four long days in a row.

Distances and climbs on this page are approximate and rounded; official figures for the walk's sections differ by a kilometre or two from one source to the next.

The finish is the reason most people come: the Twelve Apostles' limestone stacks, reached on foot along the clifftops rather than from a coach park.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you can walk six or seven hours with a day pack, four days in a row, you will manage. The days run 15 to 19 km, and day 4 has the longest stairs.

Any day can end early at a car park instead: tell the driver in the morning. Fitness 3 of 5, technical 2 of 5.

Only a day pack while you walk. When you move on to the next town, your bag travels with you in the shuttle.

Two beaches need the tide on your side: Johanna Beach on day 3 and Wreck Beach on day 5. We send the day's low-tide time the evening before. On a high tide or a big swell, the shuttle collects you before the beach, at the car park, and the day ends there.

Both Apollo Bay and Port Campbell have restaurants and a supermarket. At Glenaire there is nothing within walking distance, but the cottage has a full kitchen, so buy food for two dinners and two breakfasts in Apollo Bay; it travels in the shuttle with your bag.

By public transport. A V/Line train and coach leaves Melbourne's Southern Cross station at 09:10 and arrives in Apollo Bay at 13:12, seven days a week.

When the walk is done, our driver takes you on to Camperdown station for the evening train, back in Melbourne around 9 pm.

Any day from September to May. Thursday to Monday starts work best: day 2 passes the Cape Otway Lightstation, and its precinct is closed on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

In places. It comes and goes on the cliffs and drops out in the valleys, so download the route in the app before you set off and agree a check-in time with the driver.

Yes. Port Campbell is ten minutes from the Twelve Apostles, which are at their best at sunset. We add a night at the motel and move your train to the next day.

HASSLE-FREE

We handle itineraries, accommodations, and anything else you prefer not to deal with, so you can enjoy a carefree hike.

BOOK WITH CONFIDENCE

We are a financially protected company, fully bonded and insured, keeping your money safe and allowing you to travel with confidence.

TRIED & TESTED ADVENTURES

We chose these walks for the scenery, then made sure each has a roof every night and needs no hire car.

HELP ON THE WALK

Plans changed, or something not as booked? Ring the support number in your guidebook. For police, fire or ambulance, call 000, even without credit.

Price on request