Bikepacking the Great Southern Rail Trail

I wanted to do a solo bike packing trip, so decided to ride the Great Southern Rail Trail through some of south Gippsland as a way to achieve that.

Day 1: Nyora to Meeniyon

A hot day. Temperatures reaching mid 30°C. Little to no wind.

Time: 02/11/2025, 10:31

Duration: 02:26:28

Ascent/Descent: 276 m 373 m

Distance: 52.81 km

Day 2: Meeniyon to Port Albert

Started raining around Foster, became quite heavy while taking a break in Welshpool then eased off to a light drizzle until reaching Port Albert where it became heavier again. Temperature didn't get past around 15°.

Time: 03/11/2025, 08:06

Duration: 03:59:56

Ascent/Descent: 274 m 299 m

Distance: 83.58 km

Day 3: Port Albert to Meeniyon

The forecast threatened rain, but apart from a couple of patches of very light drizzle the day stayed fine. Temperature even reached into the 20s. A little bit of a head wind (~north-westerly) that included some stronger gusts at times.

The night brought a lot of rain and big winds. I was happy my tent kept me dry.

Time: 04/11/2025, 07:48

Duration: 04:34:18

Ascent/Descent: 310 m 307 m

Distance: 80.60 km

Conclusions

The riding is more enjoyable in dry weather! The trail from around Toora to Port Albert gets a bit soft in the wet making it harder to pedal. Add in some adverse wind and it's tough going.

The ride between Welshpool & Alberton is straight, flat, and not as interesting as the riding in the Nyora to Foster section which has more trees, (mild) hills, and bends.

Be careful on wet stairs! Due to substantial rain and a lack of camping places in Port Albert I opted to stay in a B&B there. The morning of the 3rd day when leaving the B&B room I slipped on some stairs and jarred my back. It didn't seem to impact my riding much on the third day, but then next day it, along with the inclement weather resulted in the decision to finish the ride in Meeniyon instead of riding back to Nyora on the 4th day.