“Words can’t describe how I feel after completing the Diamonds Great Ocean Walk (GOW) – I’m still pinching myself! This was my first multi-day hike and it won’t be my last. I can’t say that GOW was an easy walk, as it definitely pushed me mentally and physically. Being a slower hiker, I had concerns about keeping up with the more experienced hikers in the group. These women definitely support one another.

Diamonds are always there for each other.

From simple gestures of a nice “thumbs up,” lending encouraging words, to sharing anti-inflammatory sprays along the trail – these women look after one another and I learned so much from each and every one of them! Thank you to Coach Jacq who gave me an extra push when I most needed it and for all of the beautiful photos that she took to remember our great adventure!”

- Annette

Recollections of our journey, by Pam S.

We started (and finished) this six-day hike with a group of 11. Some had not done a hike this long before and some were seasoned multi-dayers.

We arrived in Apollo Bay, a beautiful seaside town, full of shipwreck history and the start of our 104-kilometre walk. On Sunday morning, we met our tour guides, Alan and Wilson, who would see us off with snacks and lunch, point us in the right direction and meet us at the other end of each day’s walk with the camp set up and dinner provided. Each morning they arrived with breakfast and lunch for that day, packed up our tents and moved our camp to the next overnight.

The first two days of hiking were 22 and 21 km days. Our minds were taken off the mud underfoot while searching for koalas, wallabies, and the occasional snake.

The noise of our boots and chatter moved the wildlife off the track as we approached, leaving only the koalas unmoved by our passing. It was perfect hiking weather both these days, a little overcast and just enough breeze to keep us from overheating.

The first camp at Blanket Bay was a beautiful camp on the beach with a resident koala, only beaten the next night at Aire River by the resident koala with a joey!

The Cape Otway Lighthouse (our halfway point to Aire River) was a welcome stop with amazing views, a history lesson from the lighthouse guide followed by coffee and the biggest scones to keep us going for the afternoon.

Our third walking day to Johanna Beach was a little easier at only 14 km, arriving mid-afternoon at our camp high above the beach with an amazing view of our path already travelled to the East and a perfect sunset view to the West.

With three nights of camping done and the weather heating up for our fourth walking day and the hardest day of our walk. The guides called it the ‘roller coaster day’ and it certainly lived up to its name. The map told us 19kms today, but it felt like more.

The last few kilometres felt very long in the warmest part of the day and the ups and downs certainly were steeper than previous days. We were very happy to arrive at the 13th Apostle Backpackers in Princetown which was our accommodation (with hot showers) for the next two nights.

Our guides picked us up after breakfast and drove us back to our finish point from yesterday. The hike on our fifth day was a lovely undulating track of 18 kms but with a couple of rain showers along the way. The highlight was walking down the 366 steps to Wreck Beach to see both the Marie Gabrielle and the Fiji wrecks on this beach.

The anchors from both wrecks are clearly visible on the rock shelf at low tide. After walking to the end of the beach, the track took us to Ryans Den campsite which is known for it ‘loo with a view’. It certainly was spectacular and well worth a visit! In the distance we could see two large cranes that were building a new bridge across the Gellibrand River which was our end point for the day.

Our last day of hiking took us to the 12 Apostles Information Centre. There was a windy westerly blowing but luckily the tea tree and bush scrub sheltered us most of the time.

As we rounded the various headlands, we saw the first two Apostles and as the walk progressed more came into view. The Gibson’s Steps were a steep path to the beach which gave us a great view of the coastline. From the lookout at the Information Centre, the Apostles and the coastline were amazing. The windy weather made the view even more spectacular with the surf rolling in.