Sun 14th Apr: Palgarup
As in the past I drive down to Dad’s place just out of Manjimup the day before I start on the track. Tomorrow we will do the car shuffle.
Mon 15 Apr (Day 25): Donnelly River Village to Tom Road
We both drive out to Pemberton, where I leave the Subaru. Dad then drives me to Donnelly River Village where I can take where I left off on day 24.
The forest is initially a mix of karri and jarrah but after a couple of km I cross Gregory rd and the forest is mostly light jarrah that has been burnt fairly recently, probably about a year ago but the smell of ashes stays with me all day. After a few more km I am passing through stands of karri and stretches of mixed forest. The karri show much less sign of fire, probably because they shed their bark. Interestingly, the typical karri understorey, a small-leafed whippy tree about 3-5m high, does not survive even quite mild fire. Creepers and bracken are reclaiming the forest floor but all the understorey trees are dead, still with their dead leaves. They must spread by seed.
The going is pretty easy along vehicle tracks and shadowing the Donnelly River (still no sign of water). At about the 10km mark it gets much tougher, with steep grades as I cross several gullies. My poor level of fitness is apparent and I can’t believe I ever considered double-hutting the first night.
Eventually I stumble into Tom Road camp. Well it seemed to take a long time but actually I traversed the 16km leg in 4hrs so not too bad. The hut overlooks a loop in the Donnelly River which actually has some water, although it isn’t flowing. I decide to have a bath while I am still hot so I strip off and climb down the rocks to the water. The rocks are really slippery and the water is black with tannin, of unknown depth, and cold enough that my feet are soon numb. I manage to immerse my nether regions and splash some water into my armpits – there is no way I am actually going to swim.
Forgot to pack my crocs. Bugger.
I lit a campfire. They actually have a covered wood pile here, and an axe. Once I get past Northcliffe the campsites are no-fire so I may as well make the most of it. Dinner tonight is an RTE satay chicken. Unappealing but I might as well eat it first and save the dehydrated stuff for later. Should have brought sausages and mash.
No rain at all today. The weather page for manjimup says they have had 7mm of rain this month while the average is 72mm for April. Not much chance of meeting the average over the next couple of weeks. I also saw that in April 1961 they had over 200mm. I think you would want to pack floaties.
Tue 16 Apr (Day 26): Tom Road to Boarding House
Crap sleep last night. As if sleep wasn’t already hard enough to find some varmint kept ratting through the bags next to me looking for food. I spotted him a couple of times – like a half-size bandicoot with a long tail. Good at climbing and jumping.
I was still awake at 3am, but that is not unusual. I Wake at about 7am to heavy rain. I don’t break camp until 9am by which time the rain has pretty much cleared up.
I expect to meet my sister and her crew today. They are starting from one tree bridge, about 12km south of me, and working north. They will stay at Tom Road tonight and then continue through to Balingup, which is pretty much my last trip backwards with the addition of Tom Road. Leaving at 9am I expect to pass them along the way unless they are running really late in which case I will wait at one tree bridge.
The track mostly ghosts the Donnelly River. At the 7.3km mark the munda biddi trail joins up for a few hundred metres before we part ways again.
Soon after I am descending into a gully when I get mooned by Maddy. I respectfully suggest that she check both directions before taking a toilet break and she responds by mooning me again and running behind a tree. Around the other side of the tree I meet the rest of the crew and I take an early lunch break while we catch up. There is much discussion of food. Maddy is cornering the market in biltong.
Moving on I soon reach Green’s Island, which is a public camping area worth remembering because you are allowed to take your dog. The track between Green’s Island and One Tree Bridge is very pleasant, about 1.5km of narrow path (single file, sometimes not even that) that runs very close to the river. Along here the river is flowing nicely, with little pools and rills.
At one tree bridge I check out the remains of the original one tree bridge, which is pretty much what you would expect, before crossing the river on a rather impressive suspension bridge. On the other side I get a closer look at the one tree bridge chalets. They seem familiar and I realise that we stayed there about 10 years ago. The chalets are built out of steel water tanks and I remember them being a bit cold and damp, but then pretty much anything around here is cold and damp. This means that I have already walked that last stretch of track 10 years ago. As I recall I made the mistake of wearing blundies and caused my feet considerable pain.
The next few km follow railway formations with impressive deep embankments and the occasional remains of wooden bridges.
At 15.4km I pass the halfway point between Kalamunda and Albany. It should be cause for celebration but it feels a bit overwhelming really. It is going to get harder to manage the logistics from here on. I will probably need to do longer walks to justify the cost and time involved. It is 8 days from Northcliffe to Walpole, for instance, with no towns between. A couple of km later I pass a post that was probably intended to mark the halfway point. Not such a great idea since the exact midpoint shifts every time the track gets realigned. The signs, which probably pointed to Kalamunda and Albany, have been souvenired.
Things get a bit hazy after this and I start to miss landmarks. I am pretty wrecked and my right knee is going. It was starting to twinge last night but by the time I arrive at Boarding House campsite I am definitely hobbling. Strange it is my right knee because my left knee has always gone first.
As I approach the camp I cross the river on a particularly fine log bridge.
At Boarding House I am sharing the hut with Ian and Bernadette, who are heading North. There is a bit of a pool in the river a short distance from the hut so I am able to bathe. The water is just as cold as before but access is a little less treacherous than at Tom Road.
Dinner tonight is venison stir fry with rice noodles which is pretty tasty. I have had no phone coverage since shortly after leaving Tom Road this morning.
Wed 17 Apr (Day 27): Boarding House to Beavis
At 6am Bernadette & Ian’s alarm goes off. I am not complaining since I was awake anyway, but who sets an alarm on the bibbulmun? I arise at about 7am and B&I set off towards Tom Road shortly after. After my usual breakfast of Uncle Tobies instant porridge (it is so sweet and the flavour so fake that I want to vomit) and instant latte (the smell makes me want to vomit).
I depart at about 8:15. The trail is pleasant and I can hear a bird call. It is a surprisingly clear bell-like tone and it repeats for about 30sec and then stops, then starts again a minute later.
After a while the bird call starts to get annoyingly repetitive and when I hear the engines I realise that the bird call is actually a bulldozer’s reversing tone. It carries perfectly for over 1km whereas the engine noise is inaudible beyond a few hundred metres. Apparently there are alternative reverse alarms available which use white noise, smart volume control and random frequencies to provide a more localised sound. I find the beepers really annoying but the poor guys building a new bridge must be going out of their minds.
The track follows rail formations through steep karri country and at 6.5km I cross a creek on the Wirraway Bridge, built from a single karri log. A particularly impressive job considering that there is no way of getting a vehicle anywhere near the creek.
About 1km later I turn onto a vehicle track and see a plastic coke bottle and a short length of metal tube on the side of the track. I am wondering why anyone would do that when I see the vehicle tracks and looking further up the track I can see it is deeply rutted and chewed up. If you want to tell the world how much you hate the bush just by a 4WD.
I turn off the vehicle track almost immediately and follow an old railway cutting along the side of an extremely steep hill. I have noticed that there is very little erosion in the karri forest and I suspect that the deep bed of leaf litter, bark and small branches on the forest floor mean that the stormwater can’t build up enough head to do any damage.
Passing the roots of a fallen tree I notice an infestation of thistle. This stuff is everywhere.
The track joins Lease Rd to cross the Donnelly River and then ascends sharply for a few hundred metres before turning off onto a walk trail.
At 11.2km I enter a portion of the track known as the Donnelly River Roller Coaster. The track goes up the hill to gain a couple of metres elevation, then back down again and curves around the hill, then does it all again. I am pretty sure the whole thing is some sort of joke engineered by the track builders since I see several places where the track could have gone straight but they had to put a wiggle in it.
At 12.6km the track drops away in a series of switchbacks before crossing a creek on another log bridge.
Now it is time to climb back up, but no switchbacks this time. The track just goes dead straight up the hill for 1km at a grade that must be at least 1:4 with no break, not even anything to sit on when you inevitably have to stop to catch your breath (I have to remain standing – if I were to sit on the ground I would never get up again). By the time I reach the top of the hill that I have named Mt Brutal my arms are shaking from hauling myself up and I am practically in tears.
The track now works its way around the hill, remaining fairly level. The soil is sort of quartzy and the vegetation looks surprisingly swampy given that we are on the top of a hill. Maybe there is a bit of a depression at the crown to catch the rainfall.
I have phone coverage for the first time since yesterday morning.
I descend the hill in long, fairly gentle switchbacks and then the track runs parallel to a small river. It would probably be a nice walk if I hadn’t just been ravaged by Mt Brutal.
Eventually I stumble into Beavis campsite. The guide book promised me a waterhole, but what I get is a small puddle full of black slime, frogs and mosquitoes. Since I have the place to myself I arrange a sort of bucket bath but it is a bit disappointing after looking forward to a proper bath.
I have walked a total of over 500km of the bibbulmun and I discover that I have my first blister. It is on the inside of my little toe. The other little toe looks like it is just about ready to go as well. Given the awkward location I decide not to bother dressing them and they don’t actually hurt any more than usual.
Dinner tonight is freeze-dried lamb with olives and couscous. Really very good. I wish I could come up with some sort of instant pudding that can be rehydrated with water instead of milk.
Thu 18 Apr (Day 28): Beavis to Beedelup
The thermometer on the wall reads 2.5°C this morning. It doesn’t seem too bad. For breakfast this morning I have a Carmen instant porridge instead of Uncle Toby’s offering. It isn’t sweet but is still pretty disgusting. Maybe I should just pack breakfast bars. And hot chocolate.
I set off, passing through a series of gullies. No phone coverage.
At 14.5km I pass the karri-marri tree, which is pretty much what it sounds like. Think “two households, both alike in dignity…”.
Just after this the track crosses Carey Brook. Finally: a watercourse with some life to it. The guidebook suggests that the pool below the bridge would be a good place to break for lunch. I remove my boots and investigate. It is good for a bit of a paddle but there are few flat surfaces so not great for lunch. Upstream of the bridge are some small rapids which are much more suitable. I eat my lunch and amuse myself with gollum impersonations for about an hour.
Feeling much refreshed I head off. An hour later I start to pass some private properties and phone coverage resumes. At 19.2km I start to skirt the lake on which Karri Valley Resort is located. I can see the resort on the opposite side of the lake – this is where we got married about 25 years ago.
The trail heads up the hill and works around the valley for about 1km before arriving at Beedelup falls. As I walk I encounter people sightseeing, riding bikes and jogging. It seems most strange.
At the head of the lake the trail crosses Beedelup Falls with a bunch of fancy bridges and walkways. The falls are lovely but would be more impressive later in the season when the brook has more water.
After passing through the carpark the track heads back into the forest for about 2km before arriving at Beedelup campsite. It really has been a pleasant hike today, possibly because yesterday’s leg was so gruelling.
Arriving at camp I meet four teen boys. They tell me that their parents have returned to their vehicle at Beedelup falls to bring in more food. They were camping in tents at Augusta but they decided to move to the hut because the forecast is for a thunderstorm tonight. Beedelup brook runs past the camp and is deep enough that I can have a bit of a bath. For some reason I have no trouble immersing myself to the waist in icy water but splashing water into my armpits is challenging and splashing water over my sweat-soaked back is just about enough to make me scream.
I return to camp and prepare dinner – the other half of the packet of lamb with olives and couscous. Apparently the half I ate last night included most of the couscous so tonight’s meal is more like a soup. Still tastes fine.
As I eat I am forced to eaves drop on an extended argument about chemistry test results. Dom is particularly aggrieved that his brain-damaged chemistry teacher didn’t proved the same advice to his class that the other classes received, causing him to answer a question incorrectly at a cost of 5 marks out of 30. The bickering has that classic mid-teen competitiveness to it which will latch onto almost anything as a way of thrashing out pecking order. I really want to take him aside and explain to him that none of this stuff really means shit and that the education system is a completely artificial world which will probably continue to suck him in for another 4 or 5 years before he finally realises that it is mostly illusory. I don’t, of course, and he would just think I was an idiot if I did. Besides: if everyone studied what really interested them what would we do with all the chemistry teachers?
Nerada and Jan turn up about an hour later. I would say that probably two of the boys are hers and the other two are friends from school. I think Jan is probably a new addition since they are far too affectionate to be parents of teenage boys. They provide me with homemade anzacs and a cup of wine for which I am most grateful.
Fri 19 Apr (Day 29): Beedelup to Pemberton
I expected last night to be hell but actually everyone went straight to bed soon after sunset and there were no further discussions about test results.
Some time in the early hours of the morning the thunderstorm arrives like the wrath of god. It isn’t really cold and I am quite dry but I don’t get much sleep.
In the morning the rain is still coming down. I quickly eat and depart before I have to watch my companions eat a proper breakfast (milk! bread!).
The rain stops, or at least decreases, as I head up the hill. For the first half hour the weather is pretty clear although really cold.
I emerge from the forest and cross a fence on a stile, entering private property. I am halfway across the paddock (the only paddock I will cross today) when the first hailstorm hits. I am standing there in the middle of an exposed paddock in a gale, with hail pinging off my head, while I try to get my poncho on and get it over my pack instead of wrapping around my head. By the time I get it sorted I am wet and even colder than I was before. I should have just made a run for the trees at the other end of the paddock.
At the far end of the paddock I cross the fence on another stile and re-enter the forest. The hailstorm promptly ceases. I remove my poncho. The track skirts farmland, including a largish dam. I feel no urge to bathe.
The forest is beautiful. After another couple of small hailstorms I decide to leave my poncho on. After 2 hours walking I still haven’t broken a sweat so I guess these are, in some ways, ideal conditions for hiking.
At 15.6km I enter the Big Brook Arboretum. It starts to rain so I decide to take a lunch break in a picnic hut. A robin is hopping around the place but is, as usual, impossible to photograph.
Leaving the arboretum I follow a sealed path around Big Brook Dam. Weather is mostly sunny, interspersed with short bursts of hail. Still really chilly at 1pm. Lots of swans on the dam.
Water Corp are working on the dam wall, which has forced closure of part of the Big Brook trail but doesn’t affect the bibbulmun.
The tracks ascends through the forest and then descends to Lefroy Brook before merging with the Rainbow (Driving) Trail at 20.2km.
Arriving at the outskirts of Pemberton I cross Lefroy Brook next to the trout farm and then follow a walk trail which merges with the munda biddi and skirts the caravan park, which is a veritable tent city for the Easter weekend. I pass the swimming hole. The town have installed a swimming pool exclusion fence around the swimming hole. This doesn’t make much sense to me considering that there are ample opportunities for children to drown themselves upstream and downstream of the pool.
The rain starts coming down pretty heavily as I make my way into town. I stop at the visitor centre to sign off in the track register but they are closed. I retrieve the Subaru from behind the centre and I it is a great relief to exchange my boots for the sk8r shoes. I also swap my damp merino shirt for the shirt which I wore on Sunday. It is so much cleaner than anything I took on the track.
Most of the shops are shut for good Friday but I buy an excellent (and expensive) pie and sauce from a bakery/cafe before heading back to Perth via Nannup on the Vasse highway, which is a nice change to the usual Bunbury/Manjimup route.
Bruce of the Bibbulmun 