Bibbulmun track - 7th section - Northcliffe to Walpole

The section started with a massive blow. A sign on the Bibbulmun hikers board in Northcliffe had a diversion posted for a proscribed burn - they closed 35km of track and replaced it with a 65km diversion. Brutal both because of the increased distance and because it effectively added an extra day to the section. Extra days = extra food = extra weight.

Disappointing. We dutifully stocked up on extra weight from the somewhat-underwhelming general store and set off from the hotel-motel (actually what it was called) at 6am to undo all the good work the washing machine had put in the day before.

The terrain has changed substantially from the previous section - where before it was karri and jarrah trees it is now sandy plains covered in scrub. The first day the sand was deep enough in places to really slow us down. The loss of trees shading us also meant that we really felt the two hot days (27 and 25 degrees respectively) that started the section.

Day one and we saw the result of the proscribed burn in the distance. The sky darkened with smoke and there arose an ash cloud which looked like a volcanic eruption in the distance. A substantial wind picked up - it wasn't clear whether that was correlation or causation but it certainly added to the atmosphere. It was uncanny, and as we got into the shelter at Lake Manjinup ash started to fall from the hazy skies. The sun was orange through the smoke all afternoon and the next morning had a stunning sunrise.

We left Lake Manjinup and started out for Dogpool in cool, breezy conditions that lasted about fifteen minutes before being replaced by baking sunshine and a plague of flies. Whoever said the fly load decreased south of Dwellingup was obviously on crack. We decided that there were too many flies to stop for lunch so instead we mission-walked as fast as possible to Dogpool. It would have been a rather sub-optimal day if not for the shelter, because Dogpool was awesome. Hot day, cool river with various cascades and our last campfire before entering the total fire ban area. Swimming in the river, got to wash our clothes, mysteriously didn't get eaten alive by mosquitoes. Enough said.

We pushed some hard days through the diverted section, which deviated North on to the Mundabiddi mountain biking trail. It rained and was thankfully a bit cooler which both kept the flies down and our spirits up.

The rain persisted long enough to bring our spirits down again after getting a thorough soaking during a nine-hour walk down to the coast. It was amazing to finally see the sea at Mandalay beach  but we experienced all four seasons of weather that day and by the time we got in (after some hard slogging up steep, deep sand in the dunes) we were wet, tired and desperately in need of showers. Thankfully our was only 6 miles to Walpole the next morning and I'm writing this from a comfy room in the local YHA.

Today is day 33 of the walk. In theory, there are only seven more to go...

Bibbulmun track - 5th section - Donnelly river village to Pemberton

As explained in the previous post we were staying in the land of tame animals at Donnelly river village. Mike had arrived in the evening after two flights, two buses and a very delayed taxi resulting in over 48 hours of sleep deprivation. Turns out this kind of ordeal helps combat jetlag and he slept surprisingly well.

Suspension bridge

We spent more time admiring the emus, roos and parrots before getting on our way again. The excitement of course being the Karri forest for the next 4 days. Another diversion for forest burning meant a boring first day of this section - mainly walking on wide 4x4 tracks. The advantages of this were that the route was shorter on easy walking roads and that we got an unusual view over some agricultural valleys that a look a lot more like home than the Australian bush.

Massive Karri trunk

Our second day on this section was probably the toughest day of the trail so far. It was a longer day as we were doing 3 stages in two days, but the really severe thing about it was the gradients of the paths. On the map going up and down by 30-100 metres at a time doesn't seem too arduous, however when faced with a slope that appears near vertical in front of you the challenge is very apparent. Not only this but after every short sharp accent was a steep descent so we didn't make any upward progress all day. Nonetheless it was nice waking through the Karri trees in a river valley. Our campsite for the night was idyllic; adjacent to a small pond it contained some lovely frogs and but sadly also millions of mosquitos. We also had the pleasure of 'Ratty' for the evening, a resident rodent or marsupial of the shelter that thankfully didn't eat our food but did spend ours making high pitched screeching noises.

Our last two days on the trail were more civilised, easier gradients and shorter distances with some magnificent trees on show - they are neck achingly tall and their trunks are beautifully smooth so we can see why Western Australians are so proud of them. Our trip into Pembroke was uneventful following another river and several dams. We checked into a cabin at the caravan park and decided to have our first rest day of the trip.

The food at the best Western hotel was good - though somehow despite the menu saying that the burgers came with chips - they didn't. There seems to be a large contingent of French workers in Pembroke (three in the pub and more in cafes and the campsite) that we can't quite figure out the reason for.  We're now off for some proper rest day activities - wine tastings at local vineyards followed by a BBQ.

Bibbulmun track - 3rd section - Collie to Balingup

Day 1 - Collie to Yabberup - 12.2 miles
Day 2 - Yabberup to Noggerup - 12.5 miles
Day 3 - Noggerup to Grimwade - 14 miles
Day 4 - Grimwade to Balingup - 14 miles

Leaving Collie I was regretting a few things. Firstly we had gotten very excited by a normal size supermarket and bought excesses of food, consequently our bags weighed as much for this 4 day stretch as for our initial 8 day leg. Secondly due to a planning error we had a very relaxed 4 days planned, with us only needing to walk 12-14 miles a day, leaving a lot of time in camp and I feared I'd get bored. It turned out that having a leisurely few days was actually rather nice though.

Setting out from Collie we saw a few more blue tongued skinks and settled back into the rhythm of Jarrah forest. The second day from Yabberup was particularly nice, with a reservoir to paddle in during the morning and a pub stop at lunch. I say lunch, we may have had our first cider before 11am, but in our defence we did get up around 5am. This relaxed morning made it even harder to climb the hill out of the little valley to our next shelter, conveniently located in Preston National Park.

Given our enforced slowness, the group we were walking with decided to go on ahead from Noggerup. It has been really nice to have the companionship of this medley of walkers for the past two weeks. Before they left they needed to do something very important though. In order to officially recognise Callan by his new trail name of Bubble Boy they gave him some blowing bubbles. He has been given this name due to his propensity to hide in his bubble (the tent) at the mere mention of flies or mosquitos and for extended periods of time.

Our final day into Balingup was also on the shorter side, allowing us to get in around midday. Given the cold and potential rain we treated ourselves to the hostel which we had to ourselves. Balingup was a very small town, with a primary school whose main lessons seemed to be about fire & snakes - definitely two of the things we've heard about most on this trip. Unfortunately the pub closed on Mondays, so we had the next best thing - steak & fried potatoes with a red wine jus. It took a lot of concentration after weeks of one pot meals to manage 4 pans at once! We were also introduced to the pot luck of 'cleanskins' wine - sold super cheap without branding, except for telling you the variety of grape.

It might be good stuff sold on the cheap or stuff so bad it can't be sold any other way. Ours was drinkable and probably better than the equally priced 'goon' or box wine where you get several litres for about £4. Thankfully we awoke hangover free (we're real lightweights now) ready for a long day of walking.

Bibbulmun track - 4th section - Balingup to Donnelly River Village

I want you to imagine a long, sandy beach. A thousand miles of beach, and then count every single grain of sand on that beach, and on the sea floor, and everywehre else on the planet. That is how many jarrah trees is feels like we have seen over the past 400km. You can imagine our excitement, therefore, when we were at last presented with something a little different - the mighty karri tree.

These are massive. There is no other word for it. Ramrod straight and up to 90 metres tall - more than double the tallest trees we've seen so far. And yes, you can tell you've been on the trail a while when you get this worked up about new trees. Still. They're awesome.

Callan and a Karri tree

Donnelly River VIllage is a pretty surreal place. There is a level of tame wildlife which is almost eerie following the occasional brief glimpses of stuff out in the bush. There are emu chicks here, which are adorable, and adult emus wandering about, which are basically modern-day dinosaurs. I am sat writing this on a picnic bench with a gigantic emu watching me from the other side of the table. It's quite distracting, if I'm honest. It is big and actually kind of intimidating. Seems content to just watch though. And growl, occasionally, in the same manner a T-rex might. I mean, look at those feet.

Donnelly River Village otherwise has a general store selling surprisingly little (but which does do milkshakes and hot food) and not much of anything else. We've run into our old walking crew who we got left behind by before Balingup and have had a quick catchup with them, and will be meeting my (Callan's) dad who is going to walk with us for the next few days. We've rented a holiday cottage for the night instead of staying in the tent (seems nicer what with the jetlagged father and all) and will head out tomorrow on an even-shorter-than-planned day due to a diversion in place. Will be planning some serious tree-oogling tomorrow.

PS - for anyone planning to do the walk, there is a very nice camping area between the last shelter and Donnelly River Village. No water, but fire pits and gorgeous surrounds. Of note.

Bibbulmun track - 2nd section - Dwellingup to Collie

Section length - 81.2 miles

Day 1 - Dwellingup to Murray campsite - 23.8 miles (diversion added over 2 miles)
Day 2 - Murray to Dookanelly replacement campsite - 9.6 miles
Day 3 - Dookanelly replacement to Possum-Springs - 15 miles
Day 4 - Possum springs to Harris Dam - 21.2 miles
Day 5 - Harris Dam to Collie - 14.5 miles

We left Dwellingup a little bit more refreshed and feeling clean for once. The donger (australian slang for a very basic cabin), we stayed in was nice enough but we were kept up a tad by the septogenarians in the donger next door that didn't think that 8pm meant bed time. We've started getting up with the light at 5am to avoid some of the heat of the day, this means by nightfall at 8pm we're zonked.

Due to some diversions and closed shelters for planned bush burning we knew the first day would be long. What we didn't expect was to walk through some sections that were still very much on fire! Having a wilderness fire fighter around on this trip has been surprisingly useful and very insightful.

We finally got to the Murray campsite about 4pm and enjoyed a dip in the river. The presence of the river the past few days has meant a gradual change in scenery from burnt out bush to more lush plants that grow more quickly - consequently we've done more bush bashing. A couple of shorter days has given us time to relax in the afternoons - Callan has spent this reading in his tent bubble as he's afraid of flies. It also allowed a competition between us and our travelling companions seeing who can kill the most March flies - the Aussie won hands down as his odour seemed to lure them in.

A final day of easy walking with lots of wildflowers and some cool lizards ( blue tongued skinks to be exact) let us to the mining town of Collie. Practically a metropolis by track standards it has more than one supermarket and several places to eat. Given the luxury of choice, we still just wanted a burger at the pub. Unfortunately we were informed by our hiking friends that it had turned a bit sleazy at 6pm with the barmaid now only wearing lingerie. Deciding against this we opted for familiarity with a dominos takeaway.  Knowing we had a short day the day after we had a leisurely morning and explored the fake coal mine in the visitor centre. One of the most impressive things is the size of modern machinery, they had a massive digger with 4 ton bucket on it. Newer ones can haul 60 tons per shovel.

Bibbulmun Track - Arrival

So we decided to walk the Bibbulmun track - a walk we’d never heard of just a few weeks before. 600 miles from Perth to Albany across the bush of Western Australia. A mixture of things drew us to it - being on the right side of the equator to mean that is was in condition, long enough to be a challenge and really well set up with free shelters to stay in on the way.

Flights booked a few weeks beforehand, we only ended up having 48 hours to prepare for the trail after returning from a trip to Holland. As well as packing for Australia we also needed to cram in lots of loads of washing, a job interview, arranging a wedding caterer and dropping the Puff (our cat) off with L+J for a few months.

The flights were as you might expect - reasonable food and movies given it was Emirates but no real opportunity to sleep. Arriving in Perth at 1am we promptly lapsed into unconsciousness, only to wake into the daze of seven hours of jetlag. Having eventually dragged ourselves out we then spent a day in Perth - a mixture of sightseeing and picking up necessary bits and bobs. King's Park botanical gardens were great and the ridge on which they were bad provides a lovely view over the city. We caught our first glimpses of Australian wildlife in the raucous, rainbow-feathered parrots. Back down in the city centre, the old courthouse museum revealed a little of the (occasionally dubious) history of Australia, including amongst the difficulties of settling the land some gems about enslaving British children and Aboriginies. A colorful past, to be sure.*

We managed to find everthing we needed in Perth: a snake bite bandage for the inevitable venomous predators we are sure to encounter, camping gas and we then popped into Woolworth's (Australian supermarket, not failed British newsagents) for enough food for the next 8 days. Unfortunately the first section of the trail is the longest without resupply so backpacks started out the heaviest they were ever going to be whilst we were least used to getting them (just imagine planning and them carrying your next 24 meals with you!). It also took us a lot of time to decide what to buy with new Australian food on offer (Timtams: yes, vegemite: no). Just a short journey by bus to Kalamunda the next day to start the trail.

*not that British history of the period is a cauldron of loveliness either, mind.

Bibbulmun Track - First Section - Kalamunda to Dwellingup

130 miles in 8 days from Kalamunda to Dwelling Up

Day 1 - Kalamunda to Ball Creek - 14 miles

Day 2 - Ball Creek to Beraking - 17.5 miles

Day 3 - Beraking to Brookton - 13.4 miles

Day 4 - Brookton to Monadnocks - 17.1 miles

Day 5 - Monadnocks to Nerang - 16.7 miles

Day 6 - Nerang to White Horse - 20.5 miles

Day 7 - White Horse to Chadoora - 18.9 miles

Day 8 - Chadoora to Dwelling Up - 13.3 miles

We set out from the northern terminus at Kalamunda and very quickly found ourselves amongst the Australian bush. Everything feels novel - all the trees, plants and wildlife look and sound completely different. You don't realise how much you're used to the sounds of native birdsong until it's replaced by the manic cackling of a kookaburra.

We walked for a few hours through lovely but unusual wildflowers (with Katie stopping every free metres to photograph a new flower) before getting to Hewitts Hill shelter - the first of many impressive wooden shelters, with two sleeping platforms, rain water tanks and a fireplace. A friendly couple who were already most of the way through a bottle of wine wished us well as we decided to continue to the next shelter (forewarned by the Bibbulmun website that a large group of 17 people were due to invade the shelter that night). We arrived at Ball Creek about 5pm to find around eight or so people already cooking dinner and enjoying themselves - a mixture of day walkers & new end-to-enders like us. Inadvertantly 6 of us ‘end to enders’ had started on the same day - Myself & Callan, an Aussie bloke, a Kiwi guy, an Italian chap and an American woman. These would become our hiking partners for the next week as we all seem to travel at a similar pace.

The first few days were full of wildflowers, endless bush and the occasional wildlife spotting - some kangaroos, black cockatoos (apparently a protected species but they’re pretty common in the bush), green parrots, emu poo and a glipse of an actual emu. It really made us appreciate how big Australia is - in the UK you’d have walked through a variety of scenery in this time and passed through several towns. This thought was made especially clear when we walked up our first hill on about day 4, when you could see the vastness of the bush. One thing we hadn’t expected was flies - they seem to gather through the day and we end up with hundreds hitchhking on our packs at the end of the day. Our headnets usually reserved for midges have served very well against them, protecting us from their endless attempts to land on our faces. With regards to other unpleasant wildlife we’ve seen one snake that disappeared quickly when we approached and a few not too harmful looking spiders. A discovery of a tick need to much frantic self-examination and a subsequent tick competition - we’ve both had a tick or two but the American is way out in the lead with over 8 ticks.

Its been amazingly, wonderfully and fantastically brilliant to notice our pack gtting lighter and lighter each day as we eat more food, even though this means our diet is less varied and our only fruit & veg left is dried raisins. Food highlights include pizza sauce on everything (pizza sauce in a squeezy bottle = winning) and tim tams. Lows would be super dry spicy lime rice & pop tarts (just too sweet for breakfast).

Day 5 was great walking up Mount Cuthbert and a few other hills with views all around, big granite slabs and we saw an eagle to top it off. On day 6 we made the bold decision not to go to the pub at North Banister. Ths may be one of the only times in Callan's life that he has declined this offer - but it came with a sting in the tail - an extra 1.5km walk to the pub and back didn’t seem worth it for a burger on a day that was already over 20 miles. Instead we listened jealously to 3 of the others talk of their food as they came back.

Aerial view of a shelter from a fire lookout

Currently we’ve just arrived into our first town - Dwellingup. After a long week we're yet again experiencing some of the finer things in life - a shower, washing clothes, meals that can’t be cooked in one pot on a camping stove and that include fresh vegetables. The town itself is pretty small, with an overpriced general store but an extensive visitor centre that focuses on the town's short history. The town only seemed to be built in around 1900, with a large display dedicated to the fire of 1961 with 'ancient' artefacts from this time. We’re glad to have made it through the first and longest section between towns relatively unscathed and from the pub table with a steak on the way everything seems pretty rosy.