Route: Great North Walk

I will be attempting the gnw 276 in a supported fashion heading from Newcastle to Sydney. I’ll be starting 6am Friday the 19th. I will be catching a boat for patonga to Brooklyn and due to high chance of coming into Sydney early in the morning with no water taxies or ferry’s I will most likely drive the last water section from woolwich to circular quay. 

On 1st September 2020 I completed the GNW in an unsupported, hiking (and sleeping!) fashion. It took me 5 days 23 hours.

I don't think this is a particularly competitive time in this style (3 days might be), but wanted to give this type of trip a go.

I believe with the 20% rule (an unsupported FKT needs to be within 20% of the supported/self-supported FKT?) you'd need to go sub-50 hours unsupported. I've love to see someone take a shot at this!

Here's my FKT report

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SOlRa6K0vpR28vGz5Ap_eNyKBoiXNIrF/view?…

You'll need a couple of beers to get through this one it's a bit long, but enjoy. ?

Melissa Robertson and Julie Brock will make an attempt on the current female supported time on 12/02/21 - good luck to the both of you.

Hi guys,

Just wanted to understand the difference between supported and unsupported  for the GNW. I live in the UK but looking to do this when I next come home 

Thanks,

Danny

Hey all -

Is time spent in a car (as Grant Brisbin did) or on a ferry, included in the time? Or is this excluded and minused from the total trip?

I'm trying to understand how to do this unsupported. As a car seems supported, but waiting overnight for a ferry adds a lot of time... Can a FKT be counted by stopping and starting the time at each ferry location, waiting for the next one to arrive etc?

Thanks

Was wondering if the FKT is any direction ? Or is it FKT from North to South and seperate FKT from South to North  ? 

Looking at doing an unsupported attempt sometime this year, and am wondering about the Patonga to Brooklyn water crossing. Apparently there used to be a ferry, but it is no longer, and so most people recommend a private water taxi. Would this still be considered unsupported?

Callan Gates completed the North to South route, starting on 2.6.22 and finished 5.6.22 - 3 days, 3 hours. No GPX file submitted.

Only a faster time would be recorded as we don't keep a 'leaderboard' of athletes times. However, given Callan is raising funds for Leukemia, his efforts and of his support crew are worthy of comment. Callans mother-in-law passed from Leukemia -  please follow the link for an interview

https://twitter.com/TheTodayShow/status/1533297901044129792?s=20&t=NoQ8…

Wondering if it can be clarified whether Unsupported is possible on this course? Is using a water taxi at Patonga and Ferry at Woolwich still considered unsupported or self-supported? I sent an email enquiry and was told it would be self-supported

The ferry from Brooklyn to Patonga no longer runs. Water taxi from Brooklyn to Patonga would cost about $100. Next best is ferry from Brooklyn to Little Wobby. Alternatively, it would be by train from Brooklyn to Wondabyne. Time for a route variation maybe?

Hi everyone. 

New member and was wondering what the times were for this trail unassisted? 

Myself and a friend are training to do this train in a couple month unassisted estimating 4 days to complete. Would love to know some details of recommended gear from others who have done it and times set

In planning to do this route unsupported and reading all of the above comments, I think new rules need to be set for the unsupported route.

The water crossing is a fundamental and unavoidable part of this route. Whilst typically taking a water taxi or ferry (no longer available) to Patonga would be ideal, this seems impractical and costly for most attempting this route. To ensure an even playing field for all, I propose that the unsupported route utilises the public ferry from Brooklyn to Little Wobby and that an alternate trail is taken from Little Wobby to then link back up with the GNW. This link up was reccomended by GNW founder Garry McDougall in the facebook group named "Great North Walk - Sydney to Newcastle" (28/2/24). Should someone utilise the ferry, their effort on this route will still count as unsupported. The proposed alternate is 9km with 407m of ascent to link back to the GNW. The existing section of the GNW from Patonga to the same point is 9.73km with 360m of ascent.

Original route from Patonga: https://www.gaiagps.com/map/?loc=12.4/151.2181/-33.5267&pubLink=qAGwoTr0TmYERHH4McCdwqRt&trackId=c02cacb4-ad66-48e4-9fef-92cc5c79127c

Proposed alternate route from Little Wobby: https://www.gaiagps.com/map/?loc=12.4/151.2181/-33.5267&pubLink=lRMX5L6JFSw0YMj1WxbGECOi&trackId=666a01e3-66b9-459a-998e-14053e72f723

Would love any thoughts or suggestions on this idea.

FKT Editors Note

After consultation with the FKT community and editor, and in line with the FKT Guidelines description now updated to say the following:

A note on Self-Supported and Unsupported FKTs

Unsupported FKTs: Are not possible on this route due to 2 major river crossings that require motorized transport. The FKT Guidelines state: Use of motorized transport can never be considered unsupported

Self-Supported FKT: Are possible on this route if completed in line with the following:

• Hawkesbury River crossing: Achieved by private water taxi OR
• Sydney Harbour crossing: Achieved by private water taxi OR public ferry 

The use of a car at either crossing will be considered a Supported FKT.

Any questions on the above can be directed to keelan.birch1997@gmail.com

I also encourage anyone who has completed the route self-supported to submit their FKT.

On the Little Wobby Variation for self-supported FKTs 

This section passes over land owned by the Department of Sport and Recreation the ‘Broken Bay Sport and Recreation Centre’. They have an easy system in place to get permission to walk on their land. to avoid impact on their camps. Just a quick phone call and they will email you a letter (which you carry). Phone (02) 4349 0600 and ask for permission.