- Start date: 19 September 2009
- Age When Completed: 67
- Direction Walked: Sectional
- Others in Group:
Maureen Kennedy.
General Comments
To walk the Bibbulmun Track was a long held dream of Maureen’s. In June 2005 we joined the Foundation to gain an appreciation of what was required to walk the Track, especially the ‘Yes they did it’ section of the Bibbulmun News. We noted the ages and the comments made by those completing their end to end. It took us four years to actually set off on our own end to end. This was after attending and ‘End to ender workshop’ and a ‘Trip planning’ session with Isabel Busch which proved to be invaluable as part of the session was a physical check on what we had packed in our backpacks and her advice on some better alternatives. We used the Trigg Reserve as our physical training ground and walks along the beach in the sand between Scarborough and Floreat to gain our physical fitness. Finally we had a trial run from Mundaring YHA to the Helena campsite to check our preparedness. D-Day then arrived on Saturday 19th September 2009.
Food/Supplies Comments
Prior to commencing the walk we did a drop off of our food requirements for each section. Generally our food box for the next section was left at the accommodation we planned to stay at as we arrived in a town. We have read comments in regards to Donnelly River Village but we had a very positive experience there, for when we made our accommodation booking with Helen we ordered a BBQ pack and salad and upon our arrival sure enough our order was waiting for us. As a side issue we had a private celebration competition with the hotel or tavern in each town to see which town had the best Reef & Beef meal. It was a difficult decision at the end to determine the winner but the Balingup Tavern was just ahead.
Favourite Section
We completed from Kalamunda to Pemberton during spring and enjoyed the wildflower. From Pemberton to Albany was completed during autumn and while the wildflowers were less it was compensated by the forest and the spectacular coastal scenery. We tend to favour the Walpole to Albany section.
Highlights
We enjoyed the companionship of the other walkers at the campsites, the friendliness of the locals in the towns and their willingness to provide assistance. We loved the camp-fires in the northerns section and being given a reminder it was time for bed by the kookaburras, especially at Grimwade where the kookaburras gave a wakeup call as well as a bedtime reminder.
Personal Reactions
We both considered that we came away rewarded by being richer in our knowledge of the South West and having had the opportunity to experience the natural environment of the forests and the coastal areas.
Being a non swimmer I had reservations about using the canoes to cross the Irwin Inlet and had thoughts of bypassing the crossing by going along the beach from Peaceful Bay as the sand bar across the inlet was closed. In a chance meeting with Steve Sertis who happen to be at Peaceful Bay with another group of walkers, he managed to convince me that the canoes were an important part of the overall adventure of the walk and now we are pleased that we took his advice as the crossing went without incident.
Wildlife
We were pleased to spot the red tail black cockatoos but we were unable to get a good photograph of them with their red tails, also the red and blue wrens. All our snake sightings were in the southern part including a two metre dugite who came and joined us in the shelter at Giants. Our gear was removed very quickly for the shelter.
Your Best Equipment
We were fortunate to have the staff of Mountain Design to help us select the right equipment and on reflection it met all our needs. The best item were our walking poles as they prevented many falls.
Your Worst Equipment
Maureen had problems with infected blisters and also limped into Walpole with a fractured foot. Her injuries caused us to turn our end to end attempt a a section completion. In hindsight we believe that the first pair of boots she wore were too heavy for her. However the second pair of boots were a lighter pair used on the Walpole - Albany section and there were sign of blisters on our arrival at Albany.
Advice for Others
We strongly recommend a ‘Trip planning’ session with the Bibbulmun Track Foundation before you commence your walk. When in Denmark, a visit to the Chocolate shop is a must and as you come into Albany near the Southern Terminus we found that a slight detour to the Vancouver Café was very rewarding.