Most people seem to start the GSWW from the town of Portland, the first permanent European settlement in Victoria. As this is a loop walk, you could start and finish at any location. We decided to start at the smaller town of Nelson, so that we could have a rest day at about the halfway point, in Portland where the resupply options are better. In retrospect we are glad that we made this decision.

We flew from our home on the Gold Coast to Melbourne, where we picked up a cheap rental car and drove to Portland. Since we wanted to start the hike early the next day, we stayed the night in the lovely guesthouse. Our plan was to drive to Nelson the next morning to start the hike.

Portland is a town with a fine harbour and lovely old buildings. It has several supermarkets, so we stocked up with some fresh food for our hike.