The Gellibrand River is located near Princetown, a short drive from the 12 Apostles along the Great Ocean Road in Victoria. The river offers a calm, unhurried paddling experience that is not overly affected by tides, making it accessible for a range of paddlers.

Access is from a boat launch area near a newly constructed bridge on Old Coach Road, Princetown. From this put-in, paddlers have two route options. Heading downriver toward the Southern Ocean is approximately 1 kilometre each way, a short trip that passes the remains of a 90-metre tunnel carved through the cliff in 1906. This tunnel was an engineering project designed to break through a seasonal sandbar that periodically blocked the river mouth; the original solid wooden gates were intended to open the river to the ocean, and the system is still managed manually when water levels reach a certain height. The sandbar at the river mouth can be an active feature — dredging operations are sometimes conducted to release river water into the ocean when levels are high, so paddlers should be aware of this possibility near the mouth.

Heading upriver from the launch point, the paddle winds through the Princetown Wetlands for approximately 14 kilometres return. This stretch is well suited to birdwatching, passing through wetland habitat. A wetlands boardwalk is also accessible in the area for those who want to explore on foot between paddling.

The overall character of the river is calm and unhurried, with the upriver section through the wetlands offering a leisurely experience. The downriver section to the beach is brief but includes the historically significant tunnel ruins as a point of interest. Parking is available near the Old Coach Road bridge, with the boat launch easily accessible from that point.