Australian Hiker

Logistics for long distance hikes don’t just start at the trailhead but instead start from the moment you leave home, until you arrive back. When Gill and I decided to do the Great South West Walk a number of months ago the plan was to drive to Portland in Victoria, leave the car somewhere safe, and then once the walk had finished, drive home. In total this amounted to approximately 1ooo km of driving.

However, over the past few weeks we have been monitoring the fuel situation very closely and while it appears that the availability of fuel seems to be stabilising, some service stations continue to have supply issues. In addition, having a diesel 4WD the price to fill up has gone up by around 70% over the past month. As such, we made the decision to travel by commercial/public transport but that turned this into a solo hike given the extra time needed to get to and from the trail. So instead of doing the GSWW, Gill is now planning on spending a couple of weeks with me on the Heysen Trail when I do that walk later in the year.

We may well have been fine to drive, but the risk, no matter how small, of getting delayed in western Victoria in search of fuel or taking extra days to get home wasn’t what we were willing to do given Gill needed to get back to her work.

I spent a few hours yesterday working out my transport options and will now be relying on bus and train transport from Canberra through to Portland. On the plus side this is a cheaper option, but also one that is more time consuming. I have added an extra day at the start and end of the trip to ensure I get to the trailhead on time and also meet my booked return travel arrangements.

In my case this extra time means that if I end up sitting in a hotel room, I can still do my (hiking) work; all I need is internet signal.

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