The walkers reached Northliffe on Tuesday 5th August after leaving Walpole on Wednesday 30 July.
Here is their story of the last 7 days.
We left Walpole with grim weather ahead. The rain began almost as soon as we left town. Much of the Track before John Rate lookout was a fast flowing creek without any well placed water bars. With so much water on the Track, we wondered whether cleaning our boots was worthwhile. It was a good way to have conversation though!
We lunched at Mt Clare campsite whilst the thunder and lightening seemed to close for comfort. A giant Tingle tree fallen from grace remains a testimony to the might of the south coast weather.
We walked through Mt Clare campsite and headed for Long Point campsite. We had our first taste of hail, but time showed us it was not to be the last. There was some wild weather but it was soon followed by the peace and tranquillity of a magnificent rainbow shining over the Bibbulmun Track.
Even the walk toward and along Mandalay Beach was relatively calm.
We experienced what we thought was serious water just before Woolbales campsite. The next day though really showed us the true meaning of wading.
And it continued……
And it continued……
The domes near both Woolbales and Mt Chance campsites gave us amazing views and the opportunity for some silly pics. Most of all, this day gave us very wet socks!
And worn out boots which needed repairing.
Then the hail on the Pingerup Plains hit us hard. Some say they were the size of peas – they weren’t far wrong!
We did have a good amount of sunny weather – and it was celebrated.
We even managed to find sections of the Track that were not inundated.
At Broke Inlet road we were greeted by our food drop, kindly brought in by Stuart and Mary Gray. It was like opening presents on Christmas morning!
Stuart is our “resident” physio and has been attending to war wounds as the walker’s progress north.
Moving north here though was slow through some of the puddles – water point - ha! I'll show you a water point!
Reaching Dog Pool campsite was delight. Many took the opportunity to wash their socks and even themselves in the fast flowing and cold Shannon River.
And then the closure of a section of Track meant we had to follow a diversion. The Gardner River had burst its banks up onto the Track leaving the Track well over a metre under some very fast moving water. John Hanel from DEC met us and pointed out the problem and advised us about the diversion between Lake Maringup and Gardner campsites.
Mac (also from DEC) made sure we had enough fire wood once we got to Dog Pool. Another milestone reached – campsites with fires permitted. The drying sock rituals have now begun!
Our welcome into Northcliffe was spectacular. Scores of children from the Northcliffe District High School met as at various points on the Track as we made our way into town. The school band even surprised us with their talent.
So now it’s farewell to the sectional walkers who have been with us for seven days since Walpole and we welcome the new crew who will accompany us to Pemberton. It’s been great so far and we look forward to the next part of our adventure.
Pseudo Solo Steve
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