The Bibbulmun Track, Western Australia. Days 29 – 31

Ah, it was a glorious rest day in Pemberton and I nervously eyed my backpack, now fully loaded again with food. I had completed a resupply double whammy – pouring my resupply parcel into my backpack and then filling any empty spaces with food from the local supermarket. It is such a double-edged sward this resupply business. I definitely need and want the food, but why does it have to weigh so much?? 😊

You would think that by this stage of the game I would be tossing that backpack onto my back as if it was full of feathers and bubble wrap. Nope, the grunts and groans as I load up have to be heard to be believed! 😊

Oh well, there is nothing for it but to put one foot in front of the other…

Days: 29 – 31

Dates: From Monday, 9 October to Wednesday, 11 October 2023.

Stages: Pemberton to Warren Campsite = 20.3km

            Warren Campsite to Schafer Campsite = 21km

            Schafer Campsite to Gardner Campsite = 30.1km

Total Planned Distance: 74.5km      Total Actual Distance: 71.4km

Progress: 648/1,005km

Terrain: We were on the rollercoaster again and it was one helluva ride for the first two days with endless climbs and descents. Day 31 was ‘flat’ or at least the flattest terrain we had experienced to date.

Average Daily Ascent: 496m           Average Daily Descent: 530m

Weather: The rain returns again giving us a light rinse and cooling sweaty brows.

General Comments:

• Resupply Parcels: As I mentioned in a previous post, I mailed resupply parcels to my Rest Day accommodation (4 rest days over 51 days). While I was quite proud of this level of organisation, I did make a couple of mistakes. (1) Despite my detailed, colour-coded spreadsheet, I did shortchange myself a dinner, a breakfast and some snacks. I am not sure how that happened as I thought I had counted and re-counted the days and precisely bagged up each and every required meal. Luckily this dilemma was solved by Aitch donating a spare breakfast, scrimping on snacks for one day, and then buying a dehydrated noodle dinner at the next available supermarket. (2) I didn’t record what was in each resupply parcel which meant, Yes, opening each package was quite the surprise. It also meant that sometimes I bought things that I really didn’t need when I shopped before I opened the resupply package. I seemed to be carrying a lifetime supply of dried apricots (and those suckers are heavy) and each resupply package contained yet more flavoured cous cous. When would this cous cous deluge ever end?! 😊 Without any exaggeration, I estimate I ate cous cous for 40 dinners out of the 47 days we walked! That was getting slightly tedious even for a non-foodie like me.

• Distances: Similar to every other walk I have completed, the official distance and the actual distance (recorded on my Garmin watch) rarely seemed to marry up. Sometimes the actual distances we walked each day were blessedly shorter than expected, but that was not the norm.
• The Gloucester Tree: Just outside of Pemberton, and right on the Bibbulmun Track, is the Gloucester Tree. This is a massive karri tree, over 53m high, and it was once used as a lookout to spot fires in the surrounding countryside. It is now a tourist attraction and the brave, or foolhardy, can climb to the top of the tree to enjoy the panoramic views. I don’t mind heights and had planned to dump my backpack at the base of the tree and tackle the ascent…until I saw that the ascent comprised a series of spikes driven into the trunk of the tree. No hand rails and no safety mechanisms to stop you plummeting to the ground should you misstep!! Thankfully I was saved from the challenge because the tree was closed by National Parks’ engineers, deeming it unsafe. I was not overly disappointed and quickly continued on my way!

Highlights:

• The birdlife on this trail was wonderful and can be appreciated even by complete novices like myself. A real highlight was the large number of Splendid Fairy Wrens. These little birds are the most gorgeous electric blue colour and they have learned that sometimes they can find a snack in the campsite shelters. If you sit very quietly, they will hop into the shelter and around your feet to see what they can find on the ground and under the picnic tables. On the East coast of Australia we have beautiful Superb Fairy Wrens, but the West Australian variety is even more eye-catching. They are a joy to watch and virtually impossible to photograph.

• Schafer Campsite is up there near the top of my list of favourites. Other than the landscape being relatively flat surrounding the campsite, it is also located right on the edge of a large lake-like dam. The dam is actually privately owned by a neighbouring farmer and they have generously fenced off a section for Bibb hikers to use. The water is cold and oh-so refreshing after a hot walk. I wasn’t game enough to submerge myself completely, however I had a lovely bird bath and gave my tired feet and legs a long soak. Heaven!

• Seeing that the terrain was supposed to be relatively flat on the last day of this section, we decided we would put in a longer day and double-hut from Schafer to Gardner campsite. This took us through the small town – perhaps ‘village’ is a better description – of Northcliffe. We were walking strongly towards Northcliffe as we could hear real coffee calling our names when we met a NOBO who sadly informed us that the café was closed today. Tragedy!
• With shoulders slumped we dragged our feet the rest of the way, planning to just grab a few resupply items and then keep walking on to Gardner. Imagine our delight when we spotted a flag merrily waving across the road which displayed the magic words “BAKERY” and “OPEN”??! We nearly broke a World Record sprinting across the street (even me with my sore toes) and surprised the workers as we charged in the door, ordering almost every food item on the shelves as well as the largest coffee on offer. I can highly recommend the apple and caramel cheesecake. Who says you can’t eat cheesecake at 900am?

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