The Bibbulmun Track, Western Australia. Days 21 – 23

Suitably refreshed from a pleasant rest day in Balingup, we set out early in the lightest misty rain. We knew the cooler temperatures wouldn’t last and we also knew we had some stiff climbs ahead of us.

But it was oh, so beautiful…

Days: 21 – 23

Dates: From Saturday, 30 September to Monday, 2 October 2023.

Stages: Balingup to Southampton Bridge (stealth camp) = 21.7km

            Southampton Bridge to Willow Springs = 23.9km

            Willow Springs to Donnelly River Village = 11.5km

Total Planned Distance: 57.4km      Total Actual Distance: 57.1km

Progress: 475/1,005km

Terrain: Another two days of relentless steep climbs. When will they ever end? Thankfully, the third day was gloriously short and much flatter.

Average Daily Ascent: 445m           Average Daily Descent: 394m

Weather: Hot and then the rain returns with wild winds, hail and more branches crashing and flying through the air.

General Comments:

• Having a rest day in Balingup, we said a temporary goodbye to our good friends, Ben and Ting, who were only having one night in the town and then walking on. That is one of the happy/sad features of hiking trails like these – you meet some lovely people and then say farewell as we are on different walking schedules. So, our tramily (trail family) reduced to just the two of us and we were interested to see who we would meet up with further down the track. We had heard that there were some big bubbles of walkers ahead of us – up to 17 people – and we were more than happy not to catch up with them. That was way too busy for us. We also knew there were varying bubbles of 6-8 walkers behind us. Maybe they would catch us?
• No one would catch up on our first night out of Balingup though as we planned to stealth camp past Blackwood Campsite at a location called Southampton Bridge. Our stealth camping attempt was pretty laughable as when we arrived, there was absolutely no level ground available to put up our tents except right next to the bridge and in full view of any passing traffic! Oh well, we had arrived and just had to make the best of it. As it turned out, the traffic equated to three vehicles the whole night. Hardly peak hour traffic.

• The Bibbulmun Track campsites are very comfortable, however consider walking past them or stopping short if you want to vary the distance and/or avoid the crowds. Our decision to stealth camp, in this case, was based on much more basic or practical reasons. MICE! Blackwood Campsite, while incredibly picturesque, is famous for many, many hungry mice. No backpack or food sack is safe and we heard stories of mice running over people as they slept in the shelter or chewing through tents to get to food. As you can imagine, the thought of these busy rodents was not appealing and we decided to skip this experience by walking on a further 4km. I am happy to report there was zero mice activity at our stealth camp.
• Another thing to be conscious of when hiking in Australia, is that where there are mice, there are often snakes. In fact, we heard later from people who did sleep at Blackwood (as we could have done) that there was a very persistent brown snake which the humans had to hunt away a number of times. No thanks!

Highlights:

• We are finding as we go along that there are a few additional camping areas which provide options to break up days and distances. Willow Springs is one of those. It’s not an official Bibbulmun Track campsite, but has similar facilities including a good shelter, water tank and toilet. I guess the only downside is that it is easily accessible by the general public and you may have to deal with extra people, noise and vehicles.
• Willow Springs was our target destination for Day 22 and my screaming toes were happy to call it a day there. We had been rained on off and on all day, and more wild weather was forecast – providing an extra incentive for me to stay put while there was a gap in the weather. Aitch decided to push on to Donnelly River Village as the thought of a hot shower and dry, warm bed was a priority for her. My toes were definitely not interested in a 35km day. We both slept well in our vastly different environments.

• To discover more great camping spots and to get up-to-date information from other hikers, I recommend you purchase the Bibbulmun Track route on the FarOut app. Aitch had it on her phone and it was excellent for practical information and current feedback or commentary on track features, and alternate camping spots. This sort of intel is not normally available or promoted by the Bibbulmun Track Foundation on their website or Facebook page as the Foundation is keen for us to stay on the official path.
• The short walk from Willow Springs to Donnelly River Village the next day was very beautiful and relatively flat in comparison to the terrain we had been through up to now. Yes, I was still walking through thick forest, but now I was in karri forest and the landscape was slightly more open revealing views through the trees…to yet more trees. A very different walking environment from Jo in Portugal out strolling on a Monday.

• Donnelly River Village is a fascinating place and a real haven for hikers. It was once home to a large number of European migrants who were employed by a timber mill adjacent to the village. When the mill shut down and the workers left to find other employment, the village became a ghost town until it was eventually converted into a holiday destination providing simple accommodation for families, Bibbulmun Track hikers and Munda Biddi cyclists. It has a wonderful feel to the place, very simple and quiet with hordes of children playing in the streets or riding their bikes around. There is very limited mobile range and no internet, so kids have to make their own fun and generally run wild. Ah, the good ol’ days.
• From a hiker’s perspective, the facilities are more than adequate with cheap hiker-hut or more luxurious accommodation options, a laundry and a café/shop that has a limited range of groceries, but delicious hot meals, coffee and cake! It’s a great place to overnight or have an additional rest day if needed.

The wild storms eased and changed to light, misty rain and fog. The temperature dropped dramatically and we all made a beeline for the café and its cosy wood fire. We read, wrote in our journals and compared notes with other hikers, feeding our faces at the same time. All excellent preparation for hitting the trail again…

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