The Beech Forest, The Great Otways National Park, Victoria, Australia
After we visited Cape Otway and decided we could not realistically camp there and eat a decent meal (not to mention the lack of toilet equipment), we headed towards a campsite in the Great Otways National Park Beech Forest which was marked on our map.
The “Redwoods” Campsite
Most national park campsites are free in Australia and we had, up until this point, been paying for our camping pitches, so we felt it would be good to sample bush camping in all its glory.
The Otways are mostly rainforest, and fairly disimilar in nature to their drier and less lush eucalypt forest counterparts. The beech forest is no exception to this rule. We reached our campground by turning right out of the road to cape otway, heading 5 kms along that road, then taking a left along an unsealed road.
This unsealed road was bumpy. Fuck me, was it bumpy. But, it was pretty
beautiful rainforest and, after about 45 minutes of testing the Pajeros shock absorbers, we reached Redwood, where the campsite is. All we knew was that it was called Redwood, and next to a creek. Having crossed the bridge the first time (the bridge is pretty ricketty and makes a fair sigh upon crossing) we did not think that we were in the right place. But after a couple of about-turns, realised that, yes, we were here.
This place had a collection of Californian (Giant) Redwoods, that were planted in 1936. These have grown to a pretty spectacular height in 70 years!
We found the rather basic toilets (actually they were nice by bush standards…) and set up our tent. I made a fire using wood from the area and we had a nice little barbeque with a side salad…
Then we wandered off on a brief walk into the beech forest rainforest… wow… A nice place, with some giant trees, and noisy as hell due to the many insects, birds and mammals all yelling together.
There was also no traffic or light polution, so the stars are extra bright here, which we found out as we sat by the fire looking up for most of the evening.
The road here is another that we could not confortably have done without the 4×4 abilities of our Pajero, but is well worth the trip.
The Hopetoun Falls
In the morning, we wanted to head towards the Otway Fly, which was a little north east of where we camped, so we continued along the bumpy track for another few kilometers.
Along the way, we discovered the Hopetoun Falls. These falls, unmentioned in any of the guide books, and only given a tiny blob in our map, were quite spectacular and, due to the bumpiness of the track, were totally free from other visitors (an advantage after the black cockatoos had interrupted our sleep). There are a great deal of steps down to the waterfall, but the walk is definitely worth the burning quads. Actually, it was on the way down these steps, when feeling some stiffness in my legs, that I made a startling realisation: having been in Australia for 2 months, having gone up the Rialto Tower (by lift) all the while living in one of the ubiquitous bungalows - we had not gone up a single step for this entire time! No wonder there is an obesity problem here…
Back to the point… The Hopetoun Falls are really beautiful, and the rainforest walk there is enjoyable in itself. All the paths and steps are in an excellent state of repair (as are almost all within Victorian National Parks we have seen thus far on our journey) and make the walk all the easier for even the most timid of walkers (though it does require a little fitness up the hill).
This was all made better by the fact that it all cost nothing. Absolutely free. Like all the best things in life. But I still need a pound…
hey mate sounds like you enjoyed the area.. u missed out but if u didnt visit beachamp falls just a bit further up the road.. catch ya
jack