Deb and I have had a brilliant time doing the Great Ocean Walk over autumn and winter, in between Melbourne lockdowns – which is quite an achievement in itself as we now carry the dubious title of ‘Longest Locked Down City in the World’ and still going strong. We’ve been pining for some open vistas and dirt tracks, but at least have had the actual writing and editing of the book to keep us entertained. We’re both pretty excited with the final product and hope that you are also. It’s the first ever independent guidebook to this iconic 100km walk along Victoria’s wild southern coastline.
The guidebook is available now in bookstores and directly via our publishers, Sydney-based Woodslane Press website – if you use this link and enter JULIEM15 at check out, you will receive a 15% discount on this and any of my guidebooks.
It’s lightweight enough to carry in your pack, but with enough pictures and information to help inspire and plan your adventure to come. It provides a number of options for different ways of tackling the Walk – as a series of day walks, or a through-walk, camping or staying in accommodation, and with options for a variety of distances, from 4 to 9 days. We have also included information about local history, including the many shipwrecks, environment, geology, wildlife, flowers and fungi to be found along the way. the maps are clear and easy to follow, and there are also histograms, showing the altitude gain and loss each day. There is lots of information about planning the walk, what to pack, how to get there, and contact details for accommodation, transportation and guided options. We hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed walking it! Let us know what you think 🙂
OK, so Deb and I are not at all excited that our newest guidebook arrived in the post today. OK, I’m a lier. I am VERY excited – my 6th book in and it still feels like getting a new puppy every time the real book arrives in my hot little hands. This one may well have been my favourite one to walk/research – it gave me an excuse to get out from behind the desk and into the beautiful bush of the Gariwerd-Grampians, which are just simply world class walking, and to do so with my great friend, Deb Heyes. We even had hiking legend Greg from @hikingfiasco come for a day out, sore knees and all. How good is that? This one is just under $1 a walk, I guess – 28 walks for $24.99 and will be available in all good bookshops (online and in-store) and lots of outlets in and around the Grampians themselves, like Outdoor Adventures in Halls Gap. Could there be a better Christmas stocking filler??? Inspiring photos, great maps and clear waypoints, and this time co-badged with Australian Geographic: all you need to bring is your legs and lungs!
My goodness, it’s been a very long time between blog posts – mostly because my co-conspirator Deb (that’s her above walking south from Mt Rosea) and I have been busy researching, walking, writing and now editing our next guidebook, Best Walks of the Gariwed – Grampians National Park, which will hit the shelves in December 2019. If you haven’t had the chance to walk in the Grampians, just 3 hours west of Melbourne, or even if you have and want another reason to fall in love with it all over again, get yourself west with your boots and backpack. What a place – it offers everything: rugged sandstone ranges, whacky rock formations, ridge-walking, heart-stopping scrambling, waterfalls, lakes and gentle creekside ambles, spectacular wildflowers, serenity, and more wildlife than you have ever seen in one place. There’s controversy at the moment too of course, as long time users of the National Park navigate their way through changes to its use. There is also a lot of track realignment going on at the moment, as work to complete the long distance Grampians Peaks Trail continues. None of this detracts from the walking experience, and winter/spring is a brilliant time to get up there, before the crowds and heat arrive in summer.
Melbourne Walks 