Cape Otway ~ Rainbow Falls Circuit, Great Otway National Park - April 2021

Rainbow Falls - kinda makes me wonder why I waited so long to visit this spot?

The coastal vista from Flinders Point wasn't bad either.

I've been pretty lucky over the years as I've been able to walk a lot of our great coastal walking tracks, everything from the Great South West Walk over in the west right across to the Wilderness Coast Walk over at Croajingalong in the east. One fairly glaring omission on my Victorian coastal resume though is the Great Ocean Walk, now that's partly because I've been walking a lot longer than this track has actually been open however it's really just apathy that has kept me off the track since it opened. I'm not sure if it was the somewhat contrived nature of the GOW route or maybe the fact that I'd visited some of the places by vehicle before, whatever the case I've never been motivated enough to motor down and check things out - not even for a day walk. With a couple of day's off work over Easter this year I figured that a hit and run day walk down at Cape Otway might be worth a go. So after checking out the weather and the tides I jumped into the ute just before 4am on Good Friday and set off on the long drive down to the Cape Otway Lighthouse, arriving as the sun was lighting up the eastern sky.

Looking out over Bass Strait from the carpark at Cape Otway - it was an early start today.

Locking the ute I grabbed my pack and set off into the coastal scrub. First up this morning I followed the GOW as it climbed the fairly small Payters Hill where I managed to get a glimpse through the trees back down to the Cape Otway Lighthouse. The lighthouse is a fair way away from this spot however it was the only chance that I'd get to take a photo of it on this walk. After dropping off Payters Hill the GOW soon arrived at the official GOW camp, being fairly early in the morning everybody was still at camp so I was pretty quiet when I headed in and check things out. This was a very flash camp, with tent pads, a shelter, a couple of toilet blocks, camp tables and a couple of water tanks - it was all pretty civilised, I couldn't help but wonder what would happen if you arrived to find someone in your designated tent pad though? Leaving the Cape Otway Camp I followed the GOW for a few more minutes before branching off to head north along the signposted Bracks Track.

There is a big carpark at the Cape Otway Lighthouse.

The GOW is a very well signposted track.

I got a bit of a view down to the Cape Otway Lighthouse from Payters Hill.

I checked out the official Cape Otway GOW Camp.

I couldn't help but wonder what you do when you turn up and find someone else on your tent pad.

Soon after the camp I left the GOW and headed up Bracks Track towards Bimbi Park.

I'd always imagined this bit of the walk would be a little ho hum however walking Bracks Track north towards Bimbi Park was quite enjoyable this morning. It was still very early so I was most likely the first person to come through which meant that the mobs of Roos in the surrounding paddocks were still pretty relaxed, the Roos as well as the open paddocks which were cast in a golden early morning light making this section of the walk memorable. Eventually I arrived at Bimbi Park, being Easter this privately owned caravan and camping park was very busy this morning. I made my way around Bimbi Park on the main access road until I spotted the park office, heading over to the office I was looking for a continuation of my walk although things were far from clear here.

Bracks Track made for surprisingly good walking this morning.

Bracks Track.

There were a lot of Roos along here.

I skirted around the outside of Bimbi Park.

After a bit of mucking around I spied a signpost pointing towards Station Beach and made my way through the park. As this park is privately owned it's important that walkers are respectful here (which was why I was initially a bit reluctant just to blunder through looking for my track), the owners allow walkers to pass through their property and you could even buy a drink or some food at the kiosk I suppose, although it was still a bit early for morning smoko for me. Once I'd successfully navigated my way out of the caravan park all was good again as I followed the obvious track down towards Station Beach. Initially this track passes through an area that looks like it is home to a decent Koala population although I didn't spot one this morning. After crossing over a high vegetated dune the track started to descend down towards the coast, mostly the going was pretty straight forward along here although the scrub did crowd the pad in a couple of spots. After passing by an old wind pump (that had an accessible water tank) my route soon arrived back at the GOW again. 

Looking down into the park from the front office I spied a Station Beach sign.

Here is a closer view;)

The Station Beach Track leaves Bimbi Park behind these demountables.

Once I was on the Station Beach Track everything was easy again.

Dropping down through the dunes on the Station Beach Track.

I was starting to get some coastal views now.

I passed by this old wind pump just before I met up with the GOW again - there is a water tank here.

Instead of turning left or right onto the GOW I took the variant straight on to descend down to Station Beach. The walk down here alternated between soft sand and duck boards so it was pretty easy really, and the views along the coast as I dropped down towards the beach were pretty special. It was pretty well low tide when I set foot on Station Beach this morning so I was able to shuffle my way south down the beach near the low tide waterline which made the job a little easier. There were a lot of prescribed burns going on around Cape Otway at the time of my visit and it appeared that the beach cliffs were working to form some kind of inversion layer, or it may have been a sea mist. Whatever the case the visibility and light was interesting down here at sea level as the sun filtered through the slightly opaque atmosphere. 

After one final belt of coastal scrub...

... I once again met up the GOW...

... only to cross straight over and drop down to Station Beach.

Bass Strait was looking good this morning.

It was pretty well low tide when I stepped onto Station Beach this morning.

After a beach walk and little rock hopping I arrived at the beautiful Rainbow Falls. Wow, I'd really underestimated this place in my mind. The water for the falls was emerging from a spring halfway up the cliff before it cascaded down the colourful limestone cliff. It wasn't only one waterfall here thought, the whole cliff face was dripping with fresh water for around 100 metres, the water causing stalactites to form in some of the little grottos. This place is a must see detour I'd think if you are doing the GOW, although being a kilometre or two off the track I wonder how many walkers make the effort?

Rainbow Falls has just appeared.

Rainbow Falls.

It's not just the main falls that look impressive here, the water cascades down the limestone cliffs for a fair distance.

There was some kind of inversion action going on this morning.

The actual falls are just out of view around the corner.

After spending awhile checking out Rainbow Falls I grabbed my pack and continued on south along the now fairly rugged coastline for a bit further. After rock hopping for ten minutes I arrived at Point Flinders and it was time for morning smoko. From my rocky perch at Point Flinders I had a great view along the wild and wave battered coast towards Cape Otway. I've got a thing for this wild kind of coastal walking so whenever I get to a spot like this I'm always checking things out to judge the likelihood of me getting further along the coast at water level. What I saw from Point Flinders this morning looked fairly promising for some wild coastal exploring - although the issue I'd have here could be just the length of the cliffs that I'd have to traverse at water level before I could reach an exit point I think.

I rock hopped a little further along the coast towards Flinders Point - this is looking backwards.

Nice coastal scenery near Flinders Point, Great Otway National Park.

Flinders Point.

Looking towards Cape Otway from Flinders Point this morning.

Flinders Point, Great Otway National Park.

Suitably fortified and refreshed after my break I shouldered my pack again and set off to retrace my walk back to the GOW. Once again Rainbow Falls slowed progress a little as I shuffled my way towards Station Beach as both the change of direction and the higher sun gave the cliffs and waterfall a slightly different look. Once back on the sand of Station Beach I trudged my way up to the exit track and climbed up to meet the GOW again. This was the spot were I'd emerged from the scrub on my walk down from Bimbi Park, although now I swung south along the GOW and headed straight for Cape Otway.

Suitably fortified after my break at Flinders Point I pushed on.

Passing by Rainbow Falls once again.

Rainbow Falls, Great Otway National Park.

The water gushes out of a spring halfway up the limestone cliff.

The climb back uptown the GOW was made easier by these duck boards...

... and the views.

This was by far the longest section of the GOW that I'd walk today and to be honest I was pretty impressed. The track initially stayed fairly close to the cliff tops so the views along the coast and out towards Bass Strait were pretty common, there are a couple of short informal side trips along here that head out onto limestone outcrops and allow for even better views along the coastline. Eventually the GOW meandered away from the coast a little I found myself burrowing through a tunnel of coastal scrub as the GOW traversed the high dunes behind Cape Otway. I took an un-signposted track to the right along here, this track took me to the historical Cape Otway Cemetery. Nestled in a nook in the dunes this old cemetery is a poignant spot, according to the records there are a lot more peoples remains buried here than there are gravestones. Leaving the cemetery it was only a few more minutes more before I arrived back at the Cape Otway Lighthouse Carpark. 

Back on the GOW and heading towards Cape Otway things were pretty easy again.

Station Beach from the GOW.

The GOW gets close to the edge of the fragile limestone cliffs in a couple of spots along here.

The GOW heads through a tunnel of coastal scrub as it makes its way behind Cape Otway.

The Dirt.

According to my GPS I walked around 14.8 kilometres and climbed around 283 metres on what I'd call a medium grade days walking. The tracks today were all pretty good, the only real navigational difficulty was picking up the Station Beach Track in the somewhat sprawling Bimbi Park, the track is signposted however you'll have to walk into the caravan park which can feel a bit wrong! Station Beach, Rainbow Falls and Point Flinders are best visited at a low to middling tide I think. I used the House of Chapman's notes out of their Day Walks Victoria book along with the official Parks Vic GOW map and my GPS topos. As a taster for the GOW this was a very good walk, I've completely re assessed my thinking on the GOW and I'm now going to try a fit in the GOW sometimes this year.

Relevant Posts.

Skenes Creek Circuit Walk, 2019.

Easy walking along the GOW... the shade was fairly welcome now.

Cape Otway Cemetery.

Cape Otway Cemetery - according to official records there are many more bodies buried here than there are headstones.