The Bibbulmun Track, Western Australia. Days 24 – 28

Yay! We are over half way days-wise and we have passed the official distance signage too. Not that I am wishing the time away, but as we edge further and further South, my thoughts start to drift towards home. I think the pull homewards is even stronger on rest days when perhaps I excessively revel in the comfort of a warm bed and have too much time to think!

Onwards…

Days: 24 – 28

Dates: From Tuesday, 3 October to Saturday, 7 October 2023.

Stages: Donnelly River Village to Tom Road Campsite = 15.9km

            Tom Road Campsite to Boarding House Campsite = 24.1km

            Boarding House Campsite to Beavis Campsite = 19.1km

            Beavis Campsite to Beedelup Campsite = 18.5km

            Beedelup Campsite to Pemberton = 24.2km

Total Planned Distance: 108.4km    Total Actual Distance: 101.8km

Progress: 577/1,005km

Terrain: The stiff climbs continue. Don’t believe the guide book or map when it describes some sections as ‘relatively’ flat or ‘easy’.

Average Daily Ascent: 481m           Average Daily Descent: 503m

Weather: The first couple of days were very pleasant – cool and damp – and then the temperatures skyrocketed to an unbearable 31°C! This Wicked Witch of the West was melting!

General Comments:

• I have mentioned before that I was surprised that this is an older persons hike with the average age of a hiker being mid-60s. That makes sense, especially for end-to-enders, as few young people would be able to get such a large block of time off work and may not have the financial wherewithal to undertake such an epic adventure.
• What has equally surprised me is that the Track has a very high representation of female hikers. At many campsites, it has been 100% women or well over 70%. I love that other women and other older women are feeling fit and adventurous, getting out and enjoying these paths. I also love that they feel safe to walk solo or in small groups. I find the older women particularly inspiring and so hope I am as active as them in my 60s, 70s and nudging 80s.

• While it all feels very safe, it doesn’t mean the Track is completely benign though as there is a man who lives permanently on the trail, moving from shelter to shelter. Apparently, he has some mental health issues and can come across as quite aggressive, and he writes abusive messages in the registers and log books in each shelter. I am so glad we didn’t meet ‘Pack Animal’ – his trail name – as other’s did, as they said it was an unpleasant and unnerving experience.

• If hiking is not your ‘thing’, then you may like to tackle the partner cycling trail called the Munda Biddi. Every now and then the Bibbulmun Track crosses or joins the Munda Biddi for short distances before we strike out on our own again. I guess it’s not surprising that even after all this time walking, I am yet to see a cyclist on their trail. I assume they are simply going too fast and covering far more distance every day than us slowpoke walkers. I have seen some cyclists in the towns and met up with a few at various accommodation places, and most comment that their trail is not easy either. I can only imagine how hard it would be tackling similar hill climbs on a pushbike loaded up with panniers etc. I suspect their trails may be wider and smoother than our paths, but it is still a serious undertaking.

• Sometimes I have to learn things the hard way! I am an optimist at heart and believe that mostly only good things happen, but nobody told the bush rat that! At Beavis Campsite there lives a hungry and acrobatic bush rat. Everyone in the campsite but me stashed their food bags in the large plastic tub/containers provided in most shelters. Instead, I hung my backpack from a very narrow, high steel rod extending across the ceiling of the shelter. Surely a rat would not be able to creep across such a slippery surface? Wrong!
• At midnight there was a loud kerfuffle as a fellow hiker, unable to sleep, heard the ominous sounds of chewing. When he turned his headlamp on, he spotlighted a very fat bush rat chowing down on my backpack! I leapt out of my sleeping bag and quickly removed the food bags from my pack and stashed them in the plastic containers like I should have done before going to sleep. I thought I had got away without any damage, but the light of day revealed a large hole chewed through the pocket on my waist belt with only half a muesli bar and a few almonds remaining. Bugger! Lesson learned.

• Sometimes you could mistake this trail as an obstacle course. Naturally after a wild storm there are additional branches to climb over, but during this section we had to perform any number of acrobatic moves to get over, under and around huge trees that were blocking the path. The most memorable was on the way to Boarding House Campsite when we had no choice but to get down on our hands and knees and crawl under a massive fallen tree. They do love to test us on this path.

Highlights:

• While the magnificent trees, trees, trees continue unabated, we are now enjoying trees as bridges. One Tree Bridge is a fabulous historical location where in 1904, a couple of enterprising and energetic farmers neatly felled a tree to completely span the Donnelly River. It was used as a public bridge until the increasing number of cars and heavy vehicles meant that the bridge was no longer safe. As hikers we experienced countless tree bridges on a smaller, but no less useful, scale. A great way to keep our feet dry.
• And Yes, we have made it halfway and have the photos to prove it. I would like to think it is all tailwinds and downhill from here, but if I have learned anything on this trail, it is that each and every day will include at least one lung-busting climb, and often it comes right at the end of the day on the final approach to the campsite when you least feel like it.

• Pemberton is a great place for a rest day. We booked a very comfortable 2-bedoroom AirBnB cottage only one block back from the main street. It had a washing machine (Yay!) and excellent WIFI etc. Pemberton has some very nice cafés, a pub, laundromats, a large IGA supermarket and a pharmacy. It also has a bakery with the best vanilla slices I have ever eaten. Heaven!

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