The Sunset Remote Walking Track – Soak Up the Rays On This 3-Day Hike Through Murray-Sunset National Park

Turns out you don’t have to drive nonstop for a week to hike in the Outback anymore. Only five hours northwest of Melbourne (or 3.5 hours east of Adelaide) the Sunset Remote Walking Track is a 58km love letter to Victoria’s pink lakes and mallee country.

We Are Explorers acknowledges that this adventure is located on the traditional Country of the Millewa‐Mallee people who have occupied and cared for the lands, waters, and their inhabitants for thousands of years. We pay our respects to them as the Traditional Custodians and recognise that sovereignty was never ceded.

Quick Overview

The Sunset Remote Walking Track is indeed remote, and indeed a stellar place to catch a sunset. Over three days you’ll experience what makes Victoria’s second-largest national park so otherworldly and enchanting; the actually-very-pink lakes, the improbable groves of Cypress pine, sunrise from a literal mountain of sand, and more solitude than you could shake infinite sticks of Mallee eucalypt at.

Sunset Remote Walking Track Facts

Distance: 58km
Duration: 3 days / 2 nights
Elevation Gain: 403m according to Strava
Nearest Town: Underbool or Ouyen

A good indicator of the elevation to come

About the Sunset Remote Walking Track

Due to its location in, you know, the Outback, this is a great winter or early spring hike. In spring the wildflower displays are some of the most diverse in the state.

Read more: Where to Find Native Wildflowers Around Victoria

That said, we opted to hike in winter mostly because everyone was restless with the city blues, and also because campfires are permitted in the park on days without total fire bans, which sounded irresistibly cosy.

Mt Crozier, the highest point on the hike, is actually in the background here lmao

Apart from this, there’s free, reservationless camping along the track’s entirety, as well as drinking water at three strategically placed and serviced water tanks. The logistics were a total breeze and, if it weren’t for how mind-bendingly flat the track can be, they would’ve been the easiest part of the hike.

History of Murray-Sunset National Park

I was loaned a very cherished copy of Mallee Country before this hike, and can’t recommend it enough for becoming acquainted with the history of the region. Some of Australia’s most important cultural history and unbelievable biodiversity exist here, and the park remains one of the most well-preserved semi-arid regions in the world.

This view has probably been the same for thousands of years

How to Get to the Sunset Remote Walking Track

By Car

This hike starts and ends at Lake Becking Campground, which lies about 10km north of Underbool down an unsealed road. It’s well-graded, and easily accessible for cars, and the trailhead has an area for overnight parking. Pretty sure you could make it in a ‘92 Volvo with no issues.

From Melbourne, it’s about 5.5 hours driving; north on the M79, until heading west on B12. From Adelaide it’s about 3.5 hours; starting south on the A1 out of the city, until heading east forever on B12.

Once you remember there’s a pit toilet at the trailhead, the pace suddenly picks up

Where to Stay on the Sunset Remote Walking Track

Dispersed camping is allowed and, dare I say, even encouraged in Murray-Sunset. Plus the track is so flat that you can really camp just about anywhere you like. Plenty of fairly established sites with fire pits exist around each of the three water tanks, so it makes sense to aim for somewhere around those each day.

Can you hear the kookaburras in this photo?

Apart from this, Mt Crozier has a car camping area with fire rings and a pit toilet about 100m from the walkers camp.

Read more: Best Products for Burying or Packing Out Poo in the Outdoors

Skill Level of the Sunset Remote Walking Track

Beginner

You know that a hike is comically flat when you find your sense of fairness being challenged every time you have to climb even a little.

The track is very easy to follow in all places, the camping logistics are a breeze, and the water tanks are reliable (although it’s recommended to call the rangers and check the status beforehand). All this means that you’ve got a very straightforward hike, with plenty of room for both spontaneity and lollygagging.

Definitely a…plethora…of signage

The only caveat to all this is that the track has pretty soft sand in some places, which can become a bit tedious by the third day lol. And of course, with such vast flatness, a walk can sometimes feel boring when it lacks that sense of reward or sweeping summit views.

This almost makes me want to say that it wouldn’t be my recommendation for your friends’ first overnighter, but at the same time, learning to calibrate your expectations and sense of beauty, and learning to appreciate the subtle landscape shifts of the Outback is an act that’s rewarding in itself.

Read more: Remember to leave no trace

Essential Gear for the Sunset Remote Walking Track

• SPF sunscreen even in winter
• A nice pair of running gaiters will keep the sand out
• GPS and this GPX file
• Water filter for the rainwater tanks
• Snake bandage in spring (we didn’t even see traces of them in winter)
• Y’all know I love birdwatching, so I’d almost call a pair of binoculars or a nice, ultralight monocular essential for peeping some Regent, Mulga, and Bluebonnet parrots
• I got to clown the campfire crew because I was the only one who brought a camping chair. No regrets

Please note! Trekking poles are almost a hindrance given how soft the sand is in places

Read more: How to Keep Yourself Safe Around Snakes

That Helinox may as well have been a throne

What It’s Like Hiking The Sunset Remote Walking Track

After staying up late to stargaze around the campfire, wake up early for sunrise, and a warm coffee. The Mallee Outback is so endless and flat that dawn from Mt Crozier feels the same as watching the sun crest over the ocean.

Spend the day negotiating the caked-salt of the pink lakes, then wind through the slanted afternoon light in eucalypt & cypress pines, always keeping one eye on a swivel for the endangered Malleefowl along the way.

Not a sight you get to see everyday

Day 1 — Lake Becking to Random Bush Camp

Distance: 15km
Duration: 5 hours

Leaving at dawn means beating the morning traffic out of Melbourne and guarantees some decent distance on the first day. To be honest, the ecological highlight of this trip is definitely the pink lakes, which occur at the beginning and end of the loop.

So in a sense, some of the wildest stuff occurs in the very beginning at Lake Becking. The lake is so salty that you can walk out into the water, and it is indeed quite pink if the light hits it right.

Don’t fall in

After the lakes, it’s only 4km to the first water tank, where you’ll fill up for the rest of the day/night, until hitting another tank the next day. If you arrive late, it’s a fine camping option, otherwise you can just walk until you’re tired, or until the sun goes down, or into the night if the moon is lovely. It doesn’t really matter. It’s all so flat that you can camp literally anywhere.

Day 2 — Bush Camp to Mt Crozier

Distance: 25km
Duration: 9 hours

This is the only full day of walking – and since it’s all so straightforward you can really take it as fast or as slow as you want. The trail meanders between unbroken tracts of Mallee eucalypt, Mallee savannah, and Cypress pine.

None of them ask for your appreciation, but if you stop and soak it all in once in a while, it’s bizarre to think about how it has essentially looked exactly the same for thousands and thousands of years. And there aren’t many places left in the world that evoke that feeling.

Probably spreading the word about dehydrated refried beans and chilli cheese Fritos

After a lunch break at the first water tank, it’s forward across piney ridges to Mt Crozier. The water tank is at the walkers’ camp before the car campground. A steep trail takes you up to Crozier’s summit (is it a mountain or just a particularly high sand dune, who can say?) for some equally stultifying sunrises and sunsets.

It’s also flat at the summit, so you could totally camp there if you’ve got the place to yourself.

Day 3 — Mt Crozier to Lake Becking

Distance: 18km
Duration: 6 hours

After taking 1,000 photos of the sunrise, and maybe slamming a second morning coffee, it’s time to complete the circuit. Crozier’s ridgeline dips slowly with infinite views of all the nothingness in every direction.

This signals the beginning of a particularly tedious section with lots of sand dune PUDs (pointless up and downs) – although that could’ve just been the siren song of a gas station pie luring us back to civilization.

Then it’s back through the red dirt and spinifex until arriving back at the pink lakes. How they shimmer in the afternoon sun. How bizarre and inexorable is their existence. What’s that just beyond? It’s the car and the metonymy of civilization.

Perhaps there are even a few flocks of parrots milling around to welcome you back. If only we knew what they were chattering about. Perhaps all they’re saying is ‘vegan thai green curry pie’ over and over.

It’s always easier to get up for sunrise when you’ve got such enthusiastic and beautiful friends who are willing to do all these hikes with you ❤️

FAQs for Sunset Remote Walking Track

When is the best time to hike the Sunset Remote Walking Track?

If you plan to walk the full 58km, you’ll want to make sure you’re in a primo weather window since you’ll be outdoors for a while – especially in a semi-arid landscape. Avoid the heat by hiking in autumn and winter, but just make sure you’re properly equipped for cold nights as the mercury starts to dip.

Are there any water sources on trail?

Yes! There are three strategically placed water tanks at more established sites – it’s recommended to call the rangers and check the status of them beforehand. Make sure to bring a water purifier too!

Read more: Comparing Different Methods of Treating, Filtering, and Purifying Water on the Trail

Hoo! It’s hot and dry, I’m ready for a bev. Where’s the nearest watering hole?

Looks like the closest one is the Victoria Hotel Ouyen, about a 40-minute drive east from the trailhead. Cheers!