Great South West Walk Track Conditions

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Great South West Walk Track Conditions

Postby LizTheHappyHiker » Sat 29 Oct, 2022 8:33 pm

For a couple of months now I have been plotting and scheming to do the Great Ocean Walk in November. Sadly from all reports it's a bit of a swamp at the moment (Great Swamp Walk??), so I'm thinking of doing the Great South West Walk instead.

Has anyone walked the GSSW recently? How swampy are the campsites and the track through the forested section?

I've looked at the GSWW website and it doesn't really mention track and campsite conditions at all, it only mentions a section that is closed between Evans Rd and Nash's Rd (dunno where that is along the track or what the plan B should be to get around it!)
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Re: Great South West Walk Track Conditions

Postby peregrinator » Sat 29 Oct, 2022 9:03 pm

It's been a while since I've walked either routes, so my comments are based on (1) assessments I've made during past visits, and (2) my reading of recent weather reports. You might find that several eastern sections of the GSSW are in a similar condition to the tracks in many parts of the GOW. (Maybe this depends on how happy you are to to co-exist with leeches.)

Rather than doing the full circuit of the GSSW, perhaps limiting your trip to only the Glenelg River area and the coastal section might be fine.
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Re: Great South West Walk Track Conditions

Postby LizTheHappyHiker » Sun 30 Oct, 2022 7:05 am

peregrinator wrote:It's been a while since I've walked either routes, so my comments are based on (1) assessments I've made during past visits, and (2) my reading of recent weather reports. You might find that several eastern sections of the GSSW are in a similar condition to the tracks in many parts of the GOW. (Maybe this depends on how happy you are to to co-exist with leeches.)

Rather than doing the full circuit of the GSSW, perhaps limiting your trip to only the Glenelg River area and the coastal section might be fine.


Thanks for your reply.

I can't say I'm a big fan of leeches at all. I only just lost my leech virginity recently at the Prom. Not sure how I've managed to escape a bite all these years. I've read that there is a very leechy section on the GSWW even in normal conditions :| so I'll have to put my Big Girl Pants on and push through that traumatic section!

I was foolishly(?) hoping that because the GSWW is lesser known, then the tracks wouldn't be as trampled/cut up/slushy as the GOW. I'm expecting puddles/small lakes across the track to navigate through or around, but hoping for less of a quagmire
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Re: Great South West Walk Track Conditions

Postby ChrisJHC » Sun 30 Oct, 2022 7:58 am

Contact the friends of the GSWW:

friends@greatsouthwestwalk.com
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Re: Great South West Walk Track Conditions

Postby Out_Walking » Sun 30 Oct, 2022 1:32 pm

I've walked it a couple of times in winter and including last year, which was quite wet also. Cobboboonee gets wet, but nothing too out of the ordinary. Expect wet boots, but that's about it. Prior to Cut-Out Camp you cross Boiler Swamp Road. Last year there was section after the road crossing that was about 6 inches deep for about 300 metres. If really wet, that can be side-tracked to the camp via the surrounding roads if you wanted to avoid it.

I only really noticed leeches from Cut-Out Camp to Fitzroy. They're easier to spot though, as they're the largest I've seen. Many are slug size, which I found was a good thing, as easier to spot if on the gaiters! Fitzroy was a leechy camp and found about four crawling over the exterior of my tent inner hoping to get in at night. A bit precarious if wanting to hop out for a midnight pit-stop. I had another on my tent at Pattersons Camp, but once out of Fitzroy they weren't too bad. On second thoughts, I do remember a couple on my tent at Cut-Out Camp as well. I wouldn't do the walk without gaiters, but that's personal preference. Gaiters are handy on the beach sections as well.

The whole walk is well-looked after and sign-posted, so it's great in that regard. I can't imagine any diversions not being well-marked. Great winter walk as well. Last year there were no other hikers for the two weeks I was out there. Only bummer was plenty of trail bikes on walking tracks around Mt Richmond. They more or less ignore any signage up there, but otherwise it was peaceful. DM me if you need any further info!
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Re: Great South West Walk Track Conditions

Postby Neo » Sun 30 Oct, 2022 4:50 pm

Regarding leeches, have tested the teabag trick on some victims recently, 2/2 success. Put a fresh teabag on the bite site to stay the bleeding. Tape it on.

Yet to try the knee-high pantyhose over socks and trouser method. Apparently they can't bite through those.

Usually a bit of insect repellent on the top of the socks and around the waist works well enough for me. You can gently rub an attached leech around in circles to encourage it to let go, or leave it to finish then drop off.
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Re: Great South West Walk Track Conditions

Postby LizTheHappyHiker » Sun 30 Oct, 2022 5:31 pm

Neo wrote:Regarding leeches, have tested the teabag trick on some victims recently, 2/2 success. Put a fresh teabag on the bite site to stay the bleeding. Tape it on.

Yet to try the knee-high pantyhose over socks and trouser method. Apparently they can't bite through those.

Usually a bit of insect repellent on the top of the socks and around the waist works well enough for me. You can gently rub an attached leech around in circles to encourage it to let go, or leave it to finish then drop off.


ooohhhh I hadn't heard of doing that to stop the blood! Great tip! Hopefully, I don't have to try it out. I might have to take a couple of pairs of knee highs with me too - I have a stash from the "good ol days" when I could be bothered going into the office.

When I was at the Prom I had sprayed myself, socks, pants and boots with Bushmans but still the little sneaky determined bugger got me! Wishing I knew your t-bag tip then cause it was a bit of a mess.

Thanks for your reply :)
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Re: Great South West Walk Track Conditions

Postby LizTheHappyHiker » Sun 30 Oct, 2022 5:38 pm

Out_Walking wrote:I've walked it a couple of times in winter and including last year, which was quite wet also. Cobboboonee gets wet, but nothing too out of the ordinary. Expect wet boots, but that's about it. Prior to Cut-Out Camp you cross Boiler Swamp Road. Last year there was section after the road crossing that was about 6 inches deep for about 300 metres. If really wet, that can be side-tracked to the camp via the surrounding roads if you wanted to avoid it.

I only really noticed leeches from Cut-Out Camp to Fitzroy. They're easier to spot though, as they're the largest I've seen. Many are slug size, which I found was a good thing, as easier to spot if on the gaiters! Fitzroy was a leechy camp and found about four crawling over the exterior of my tent inner hoping to get in at night. A bit precarious if wanting to hop out for a midnight pit-stop. I had another on my tent at Pattersons Camp, but once out of Fitzroy they weren't too bad. On second thoughts, I do remember a couple on my tent at Cut-Out Camp as well. I wouldn't do the walk without gaiters, but that's personal preference. Gaiters are handy on the beach sections as well.

The whole walk is well-looked after and sign-posted, so it's great in that regard. I can't imagine any diversions not being well-marked. Great winter walk as well. Last year there were no other hikers for the two weeks I was out there. Only bummer was plenty of trail bikes on walking tracks around Mt Richmond. They more or less ignore any signage up there, but otherwise it was peaceful. DM me if you need any further info!


The thought of not seeing many other people for two weeks does sound pretty *&%$#! good to me! Well worth the wet and the mud!

But.....the thought of night leeches (particularly big ones) isn't getting me excited. Maybe I should wait until the next drought before I go.... :D

Will definitely be wearing gaiters - for the mud, the sand, the leeches and the snakes.

Many thanks for the reply. I may take you up on the offer of a DM in the coming days if I think of any more questions :)
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Re: Great South West Walk Track Conditions

Postby indented » Mon 31 Oct, 2022 2:27 pm

If you contact the friends of the walk they'll have the best info on current conditions. I went August last year and the track from Portland to Cubbys was closed due to flooding so the friends were shuttling people for that section. From Cubbys to Fitzroy was quite wet, a few sections where there was water across the track maybe 20-30 cm deep, some over 100m long. There were boardwalks for many wet sections but last year they had more rain than usual so there were additional spots. I expect this year will be worse. A couple of times I waded maybe 50m through and then a boardwalk started. As long as you're prepared to do a bit of wading and have something else to wear on your feet at night it's fine though.

I saw most of the leeches in the section between Cubbys and Moleside, but also around Mt Richmond. I only had one latch on and didn't even notice until after it had dropped off. I was pretty diligent to check my shoes after any breaks for them trying to climb up. Had one try to climb my trekking pole once after I laid it on the ground for a minute too. If you spot them while they're making their way towards the skin you can just flick them off.
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Re: Great South West Walk Track Conditions

Postby Out_Walking » Mon 31 Oct, 2022 4:05 pm

indented wrote:I went August last year and the track from Portland to Cubbys was closed due to flooding so the friends were shuttling people for that section


Really? That's interesting. I started the walk on 18th August last year and the track was open. A couple of small diversions around the train line on the way to Cubbys, but certainly not closed or a shuttle running? Maybe I missed all the action?!
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Re: Great South West Walk Track Conditions

Postby Tortoise » Mon 31 Oct, 2022 6:18 pm

LizTheHappyHiker wrote:But.....the thought of night leeches (particularly big ones) isn't getting me excited. Maybe I should wait until the next drought before I go.... :D
Will definitely be wearing gaiters - for the mud, the sand, the leeches and the snakes.

The gaiters are of limited help for the leeches (they just go underneath), but I'd definitely wear gaiters for those other reasons. I guess if you wear shorts, gaiters are better than nothing.

The thing that has helped me the most against leeches has been tucking the bottom of my pants into my socks. There's only one pair of my socks that doesn't work with, but they have a particularly loose weave. Once I spied a couple making their way through those socks, I stopped wearing them on most walks.

I became allergic to some species of leeches years ago, so it was important for me to find the best ways to avoid bites. I always wear long pants anyway, because I don't want to lather myself in nasty chemicals, and I like to keep spiky scrub and mozzies as well as leeches at bay. We have a LOT of leeches in Tassie, but I think I've only had one leech bite in the last few hundred walks. That was on my belly. Must have got it from crawling under something on the rainforest floor. :roll:

I've had the odd campsite where there were so many leeches (literally hundreds) that we had to do 'the leech pick' every time we entered the tent. I was rather fastidious with that. So even then, I wasn't bitten. It's interesting to watch them climb up the outside of the inner. Not sure I could get into bivvying...
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Re: Great South West Walk Track Conditions

Postby Eremophila » Mon 31 Oct, 2022 7:02 pm

Long gaiters are also helpful, where sections of the walk have overhanging long wet grass, to keep moisture from saturating your socks and working its way inside your boots.

Definitely contact the Friends for current track conditions.
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Re: Great South West Walk Track Conditions

Postby Stamina » Tue 06 Dec, 2022 7:20 pm

I walked the inland section from Portland through to Nelson in early May this year and completed the coastal part in early July. There wasn't any surface water around then but you could certainly see where it becomes a problem. During my whole hike I met a couple at lake Mombeong campground and no one else. I think I had a couple of leech bites but didn't worry about it much.
Check out Brads reviews on the best gaitors available https://bikehikesafari.com/best-gaiters/
It's an awesome hike up through there to Moleside. I've seen more forest birds there than anywhere else I've been recently. Wouldn't mind doing a kayak trip down the river one day.
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Re: Great South West Walk Track Conditions

Postby ggorgeman » Wed 07 Dec, 2022 9:09 am

Car-camped at Redgum on the Glenelg last weekend and saw one leech over 3 days. But we didn't venture far from the campsites (grass very short). Striding through the bracken etc may be a different story.
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