Devil's Kitchen to Twelve Apostles

This is the Great Ocean Walk’s last westbound stage, about 16 km one way from Devils Kitchen GOW Campground to the Twelve Apostles. Allow five to six hours, then finish at the visitor area; this route does not return to its starting point. It’s a good choice if you want a full coastal day and a changing walk. It’s moderate rather than technical, but the distance and repeated sandy climbs add up. If you only want the famous stacks, the short viewing boardwalks at the finish are a much easier way to see them.

Devils Kitchen is a hike-in campground, with no road access to the start. Treat this as a through-stage, not a drive-up day walk: sort out how you’ll reach the camp and arrange a pickup or shuttle from the Twelve Apostles before setting off. Carry food and enough drinking water for the walk; there is no meal stop along the track. The visitor centre at the finish has toilets and a cafe, but those are after the walk. If you stay at the campground, its rainwater is untreated, so bring a way to make it safe to drink. Dogs are not permitted in the national parks along this route.

The opening seven kilometres undulate beside the coast, with ocean views opening between sections of scrub. The track passes the access toward Rivernook Beach, but this stage stays on the walking track rather than making a beach walk. Boot-cleaning stations on this early section help prevent the spread of cinnamon fungus, which can damage native plants; clean your footwear where the stations ask you to.

Near Princetown, the route turns inland toward the Gellibrand River and crosses it on a bridge. The ground gets sandier, then the final six kilometres climb and dip through dune country. Expect soft sand, steep sandy steps and occasional boardwalks. It feels more workmanlike here than the clifftop start, especially once day visitors, roads and cars become more noticeable near the Apostles. The finish passes beneath the Great Ocean Road and follows the visitor-area path to the viewing platforms.

From the public boardwalks, look back along the cliff coast at the offshore stacks. They are limestone, formed from accumulated shells, coral and other marine remains, then shaped by the Southern Ocean. The formations keep eroding, so the name does not describe a permanent set of twelve columns. For a useful photo, include a piece of the cliff edge or viewing platform with the stacks to show their scale. Fog can briefly hide the view, so leave a little slack if seeing the formations matters to you.