Great Ocean Walk

From cliff-top vistas to surf-pounded beaches and eucalypt woodlands, this multi-day trek showcases the best of coastal Victoria.

- John Pickrell

SNAKES. TYPICALLY, I COMPLAIN that I rarely spot them, despite my frequent hikes through the Aussie bush. But what awaited us that day certainly made up for the long wait since I’d last spied one racing swiftly away from me on Rottnest Island in Western Australia.

As the cool of the morning turned to the heat of midday, we encountered not one, but two, three, four tiger snakes – among Australia’s deadliest reptiles – all peacefully sunning themselves on the track. We were walking from Milanesia Gate to Moonlight Head, on the second and most challenging day of our four-day guided hike along coastal Victoria’s Great Ocean Walk (GOW). On each occasion we waited for the creature to slowly rouse from its slumber and slither off the track.

“This time of year, they love to get out in the sun and warm up,” said our guide Mitchell Wilson, a laidback 31-year-old with red dreadlocks. “January and February are the peak temperatures, so they just want to come and take as much sun as possible before the end of March and April, when they get ready to hibernate.”

A series of wonderful wildlife encounters is what really struck me during the 56km walk, which I tackled as part of a small group in late February. Earlier on that second day, we were greeted by some 50 eastern grey kangaroos as we headed from Johanna Beach to Milanesia Gate. On another occasion, a wedge-tailed eagle swooped down right in front of our transfer vehicle’s windscreen and glided along, just ahead of us, for a thrilling handful of seconds.