| THE GREAT OCEAN WALK |
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| With our backpacks full of water, chocolate muesli bars, peanuts, sour gummy worms, cookies, and enough tuna to feed a small nation for a week, we started our epic journey at the Cape Otway Lighthouse. We were a bit put off by the rusty smell of rain in the air, but we set off for our 10km day regardless. Ten minutes later, wheezing like asthmatics, we questioned our sanity. |
| The first day of walking was one of amazing scenery and physical challenge as the walk was a lot harder than the Victoria Parks Department let us believe. Walking along cliff tops, on beaches, and around snakes and spiders, we discussed the consequences of running out of sour gummy worms. Being the logical one in the group I had stated my need to have one bag of these delicious gummy worms everyday. I was outnumbered by the health nuts on this matter and we only brought two bags between us. Little did they know, sour gummy worms are like Pringles, once you pop, you can't stop! We were down to one bag within an hour. |
| We arrived at the campsite five hours later. With sore legs, blistered feet, smelly arm pits, and tuna breath, we called it a night as all four of us crammed into the three man tent. Sardines have it better! It was not the most comfortable of nights. |
| The morning brought rain, forcing us to run for shelter. After a few peanut butter and jam sandwiches we set off for another long day of walking. The day brought sunshine and beautiful views of the coast. I stood atop a cliff soaking in the incredible scenery. It was one of the many moments where I have said to myself, "this is why I travel!" |
| Since we had to carry water for the entire walk, our packs were quite heavy. My pack weighing over 40kg proved to be a bit much as I sank into the sandy beaches as if in quicksand. As the day went on I grew a striking resemblance to the hunchback Quasimoto. We did manage to see some wildlife. A couple wallabies hopped by and we passed a big dead bird and penguin corpse. Exciting! As we reached the second campsite after a very long day, a nice couple (John & Broan) in a camper van offered us coffe and cookies! Very nice people. And im not saying that just because they gave me cookies. It was another lovely dinner consisting of tune and bread. Yummy! Josh, Tammy, and Karrie decided that we were not at all prepared for this walk and negotiated a ride back to town with John & Broan the next morning. I decided to continue the walk with a couple Irish lads (Spud & Gerry) who were going the same way. The next couple days were of utter agony as the trail got harder and the weather hotter. On the bright side, my bag was no longer 40kg as I was drinking water like a dehydrated circus monkey. The views were magnificent and the camp site toilets were welcoming as discovered tuna has an unholy effect on my bowels. We had a few run in with snakes that were a bit scary. A little brown (poisonous, we think) snake come careening down a hill like an arrow right in front of a terrified Spud. I wasn't sure what was scarier, the snake, or a big ginger lad screaming like a little girl. I started to get Discovery Channel flashbacks reminding me Asutralia has 13 of the deadliest snakes in the world. The thought of having to suck venom out of either of the Irish lads made my stomach curl. Needless to say, we proceeded with caution.... |
| The campsite we stayed at the last night was soo creepy; I reckon the Blair Witch wouldn't even go there. It was called Devils Kitchen. The entire campsite was engulfed in dead trees webbed with spiders. The haunting sound of the wind breezing through would definitley give goose pimples to the mightiest of men. Well, it gave me goose pimples anyway. After watching a beautiful sunset from high atop a cliff, we quickly descended back to the campsite before it got too dark. The maddening sound of crickets paired with crows hovering above added to the already eerie feeling. It was a bitter cold night, so we went to bed early. As I sat alone in my three man tent, I kept hearing the sound of a chinsaw. Peeking out the window I continued to freak my self out with the thought of a maniac killer slicing through my torso. Hiding under my blanket, I continued to hear the sound of breaking twigs, as if someone was walking around the tent. I needed a cuddle. But all I had was a liter of Tang for comfort. Not the best idea as my bladder was screaming a few minutes later. So with the sounds of a chainsaw, crickets, crows, and footsteps outside, I debated the pros and cons of pissing in my tent. The cons won, and I decided I would take one step out of the tent and relieve myself. I stood one foot from my tent petrified by the sounds and bewildered at the amount of urine a liter of Tang produces. Then I felt a cold leathery snake sliver over my foot. Wow! Urine flying everywhere, I jumped, pinching a nerve in my neck. I crawled back into the tent, unable to move and piss all over my leg. It was quite a traumatic night for me. I was quite proud of the fact that I had never pissed on myself before. Atleast it was warm. It was a long night, but as the morning came we were all still alive! To my relief, the boys were just as terrified as I was. |
| The last day of the walk was the never ending day. There were lots of scenic views, but by this point, a beach is a beach. We just wanted to finish and eat something other than tuna. No matter how incredible the scenery, all I could think about is my poor feet, now bleeding from all the nights of slicing blisters open. We were all in rough shape, and anxious to reach the end of the walk. As we finally arrived at Glenample Homstead, the finish line that promised us a resteraunt and a chair to sit in, we were shocked to find it was closed for the first time in three months! That hurt. So we hitched a lift 1km away to the Twelve Apostles on the back of a cow feeding truck. That was interesting. The Twelve Apostles is one of the biggest tourist spots in Australia. We rocked up smelling like rotten cheese and onions in hopes of hitching another lift to the next town, Port Campbell, that had a nice meal and bed waiting for us. There were no takers, so we started walking along the road trying to get a lift. Out of food and water, we walked another 8km in the blistering heat before a German lad in a Ford Fiesta picked us up. It was just in time as we were getting quite bitter at all the cars passing us by. This reminded me why I dont like to hitch; I dont like the rejection! It's bad for the ego. Finally arriving in Port Campbell having finished the Great Ocean Walk, we feasted! Thanks to all of you that donated! And special thanks to Tara and Simon for spending their day off driving us to the starting point. It was good fun and I'm already looking forward th the next one! You can still donate! Click the link below!!! Plant a tree. :-) |
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| The Maniac Killer |
| The Creepy Campsite |
| NO, im not flexing |
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| John & Broan |
| And then there was one! |
| Survival Necessities |
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| Spud's nasty toes |
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