Great Ocean Walk - Day 1: Apollo Bay to Shelly Beach

We kicked off the Great Ocean Walk with 10 miles in near-perfect conditions — 60–70°F and sunny. It will likely be the best weather we see on the trail, as clouds are forecast to roll in tomorrow.

Breakfast was at a charming little café in Apollo Bay. Our outfitter had arranged for them to pack sack lunches for the trail — a lovely touch.

Before hitting the main trail, we took a short side excursion to gain some elevation and catch a sweeping view of Apollo Bay from above.

For much of the day, the trail followed scrubby coastal brush just inland from the beach. We could almost always hear — and often see — the crashing waves and deep turquoise water.

Occasionally the path dropped right onto the sand, where we wandered through tide pools and beachcombed to our hearts’ content.

We deliberately started a little late today so that we’d miss high tide, giving us a little more beach to explore.

Wildlife highlights included seals sunning themselves on rocks in the distance and oystercatchers probing the wet sand.

… the star of the show was a red sea biscuit (a type of starfish) that had washed up on the shore. We deposited it back into a tidal pool.

Oh, and some vibrant red anemone were pretty cool to see

We ended the walk in a cathedral-like forest of towering eucalyptus trees. Our guidebook had teased a good chance of spotting koalas and echidnas in this section, but it wasn’t our day for those.

No complaints, though — the enormous prehistoric looking ferns and colorful birds made up for the absence of koalas. Besides, there’s always tomorrow!

Our driver met us at a prearranged picnic area along the trail and shuttled us back to Apollo Bay. Tomorrow he’ll do it in reverse — dropping us at this afternoon’s endpoint so we can pick up where we left off.

Dinner was a happy discovery: a gin distillery that also serves pizza. It did not disappoint. We were in bed by 7:00 pm and had absolutely no regrets.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

G’day from Apollo Bay!