GENERAL INFO
This trip starts and finishes in Portland, which is a 5-hour drive from Melbourne, or a 6-hour drive from Adelaide. If you prefer, there are regional airports located at Warrnambool, VIC and Mt. Gambier, SA that service’s Portland by onwards coach travel from far afield of either Melbourne or Adelaide. Alternatively, the public transport offers a combination of trains and coaches from Melbourne or Adelaide also. Contact us for more details.
We have rated this walk as moderate as some days are quite long. Full-day walks average about 22km, 5 to 7.5 hours walking each day. The walking is mostly flat over reasonably well-walked paths, bush tracks and some sandy sections. This is a great opportunity for fit walkers to rack up some long distances.
For what to bring please refer to Gear Advice on our FAQ section.
WEATHER
This walk can be done any time of the year except for the winter months of June, July and August. September to April is the ultimate time of the year for walking. Sea breezes usually keep the temperatures comfortable in summer, although there can be a period of quite hot weather, especially during February.
Warning about tide times – we may have to be a little flexible with your start date to make sure that walking on the beach at high tide is avoided.
This walking holiday includes some sections of beach walking, so you need to take into account the tide times when choosing a starting date. To check tide charts, go to the Bureau of Meteorology and select your location as Portland. We can assist you if you need help understanding the charts.
INSURANCE
We require that you have adequate travel insurance against potential losses, damage or injury, including cancellation costs and loss of luggage.
For all trips that require international travel, you must have purchased travel insurance that also includes medical evacuation coverage.
We also charge a cancellation fee if you cancel your walking holiday after we have confirmed it to cover costs incurred from our suppliers and in the office. See the FAQ section for more information.
INFORMATION PACK
For nearly 30 years we have taken pride in providing seamlessly organised walking holidays, but we know, even with that in mind, that you’ll have many more questions. You will receive a very detailed information pack and itinerary approximately 6 weeks out from departure outlining all the fine detail and much more.
CONTACT
If you have any questions, feel free to ask one of our destination consultants or to speak with one of our guides. You can get in touch with us via our contact form, email us at info@auswalk.com.au, or call us on +61 3 9597 9767.
SELF GUIDED
13 DAYS
Moderate
Pauline W
Auswalk did a great job of planning our trip, will definitely use them again.
Geoff P
Excellently organised by Auswalks. Friendly accommodation, reliable transfers and good food. All the hosts were friendly and contribute to an enjoyable event.
Lisa D
Once again, Ian and I had the most wonderful experience, walking the entirety of the Great South-West Walk, magnificently supported by Auswalk. The hospitality of each of our bnb hosts, yummy meals, prompt pickups and drop-offs, complementing our exploration of this amazing corner of Victoria. This was the 6th time we have completed the GSWW with Auswalk. We can’t wait for the 7th!!!
Jules & Margaret
It was a fantastic walk. The hosts were very helpful and did all they could to make our stay and walk successful. Overall it was very well organised. The variation in environments was remarkable; although the walking was demanding at times we felt a real sense of achievement. We would recommend it to those who prefer a long and challenging walk.
Mark & Kerry F
We have just finally experienced the pleasure of completing the Great South West Walk. Auswalk provided us with an amazing adventure supported by great B&B hosts and reliable transfers. The quality and location of the B&B’s was first class.
Alicia S
We can’t say enough about the attention to detail that Auswalk provided when we were planning our walk. The staff are friendly, knowledgeable and were happy to individualise our walk for us. Our accommodation at Lorelei in Portland, Nelson Cottage and Seaview Lodge in Bridgewater Bay were so comfortable and relaxing. Our hosts Roger, Paul and Jo and Cheeky Dennis were outstanding. Even though they have lots to do, they gave us their time and were only too happy to give us information about the area. Our lunches were enjoyable. Thanks Jo for the snakes to get us up the beach. The GSWW is a walkers walk through many varied environments.
Julie M
The country we went through on the GSWW was so diverse ranging from close woodland to epic coastline with river and limestone cliffs in the middle. The organisation was brilliant- all so easy, good to excellent accommodation, varied, flexible and easy. I liked the background notes about flora, fauna and local history.
Carol
It was wonderful to complete the entire walk to experience such diversity of landscape. We were blessed with wonderful weather and it was warm enough to swim in the Glenelg River and freshwater lakes. A true surprise was the amount of wildlife on the track: wallabies, kangaroos, echidnas, emus, koalas, snakes! (we came across 9), and even a fox! And that is not to mention all the birds. The seal colony and gannet rookery were highlights too. The accommodation was wonderful. It was nice to be able to stay in each place for a few nights to experience the locality a little more and get to know the kind hosts. Fabulous! We rate the GSWW 11 out of 10!!
Kath J
We recently completed the Great South West Walk self guided trek facilitated by auswalk and what wonderful walking holiday it was! I can’t imagine a better introduction to the beauty and wonders Australia has to offer. We trekked though the forest, along a limestone gorge with the Glenelg River flowing peacefully below followed by a dramatic coastline complete with sandy beaches and rocky outcrops continuously pounded by and incredibly blue ocean. And that was just the scenery. First time sightings of kangaroos, wallabies, echidnas, emus, a countless variety of new birds and snakes added to the down-under experience. As fabulous as all that was, I have to say each BnB also holds a special memory of outstanding welcomes and accommodations. Also, a huge thank you to the team at auswalk for their complete and accurate descriptions of trail conditions and times.It took the worry out of the day and left us to enjoy.
What a wonderful country! I am already planning my next trip for 2019.
Aussie A
A well organised walk. Accommodation and meals were excellent and the flexibility of the hosts and taxis enabled us to adapt our days to suit our needs. We would book with Auswalk again.
Gat16
I was a member of a group that did sections of the Great South West Walk on a self-guided basis, customised by Auswalk to the group’s requirements. All the details and logistics were handled by Auswalk, and everything worked like clockwork. The notes were good and the maps provided by Auswalk were outstanding.
Both of the places we stayed at were obviously familiar with dealing with Auswalk and all the arrangements, including the drop-offs and pick-ups went without a hitch. On the two longest days, the arrangements provided options for drop-offs allowing some shortening of the days concerned, which the B&B hosts (who provided the transport) were happy to work with.
The arrangements included some self-catering and the B&B proprietors were very helpful in assisting with this aspects.
Keith B
We have just completed 11 days of walking with 12 nights accomodation self guided with Auswalk. The organisation worked perfectly for us. The walk notes worked well as we had no problem finding our way and at no time felt more information was necessary. The accomodation and food provided was the best availlable in the locations we stayed and our hosts couldn’t have been more welcoming or helpful. The couple of evening meals we had to organise ourselves in one of the small villages we stayed were difficult because of the limited options in the village. However this is no fault of Auswalks and we understand they are doing everything they can to make alternative arrangements. The walking is generally relatively easy without any significant steep climbs or descents however there are some long distances with some days over 25km. We found it was possible to reduce the length of some of these days without feeling we had missed anything significant. The walking was varied with a mix of forest, river valley including some gorge, long sandy beaches and cliff top capes. Wildlife encountered included several emus, wallabies, echidnas and koalas, fortunately only one snake.We were lucky enough to have perfect walking weather for our first 10 days but did suffer on the last day with temperatures in the high 30s. This was soon forgotten after a couple of cold beers at our final destination. Many thanks to the whole team at Auswalks.