- Start date: 8 July 2004
- Age When Completed: 27
- Direction Walked: North to South
Food/Supplies Comments
I ate mainly oats, dried apricots, cheese, salami, muesli bars, crackers, chocolate, rice, noodles, soup mixes, tea and flat bread. Towards the later half of the walk I bought enough oranges and bananas to last a few days in each town, as I became bit tired of eating food out of a packet. I relied solely on buying food and supplies en-route. This worked well, except for the first stop, North Bannister, where I found food supplies limited. Here I bought a packet of teddy bear biscuits and four Mars bars to compliment my small supply of rice for the 3 day/2 night section to Dwellingup.
Favourite Section
Northcliffe to Walpole for its diversity. I really enjoyed the changing landscape through this section: karri forests on the slopes, heath and sedgeland on the flats together with the coastal areas.
Highlights
The views top from Mt Chance, Mt Pingerup and Woolbales, in addition to reaching Mandalay beach were probably the highlights for me.
Personal Reactions
I had a great time out on the track and hope to be back in the future to walk sections of it again. My main concern for the future is the sustainability of the track. Through personal observation and communications, together with reading the log books, it is clear that sections of the track, at certain times, are becoming over crowded. This is evident by full campsites, full toilets and localized track erosion. Without good management these issues are only going to become more severe as more and more people walk the track. I only hope that the people responsible for track management address these issues appropriately and in a timely manner, otherwise the track risks being a victim of its own success, like so many other areas of natural beauty gone have before.
Wildlife
I saw many kangaroos and emus and a great diversity of birdlife including blue wrens, flame robins, new holland honey eaters, red and white tailed cockatoos, eagles and numerous parrots. I also saw several “quokka sized lumps"crossing the track near Pemberton. I was somewhat disappointed that I didn’t see a snake (although I expected this, being winter); from what I have read and been told, a true Bibb experience is just not complete without seeing a snake!
Your Best Equipment
Best equipment was my poncho - it kept me and my pack relatively dry in the wet, acted as added insulation over my sleeping bag for cold nights and was also used as a ground sheet. The only problem with it was its colour - hot pink - I looked a bit like Barbie walking through the bush from a distance!
Your Worst Equipment
Worst equipment was a brand of matches known as “Reliance”. Probably a third of the matches snapped on striking - I renamed the ‘unreliance.
Advice for Others
Don’t look at the map too much when you are feeling tired or eager to reach the next shelter - I found that the more I looked at the map, the longer it took to reach my destination. Also wet boots, wet/smelly clothes, inclement weather, sleepless nights are all part of the bushwalking experience. The sooner you accept these, and practice patience and tolerance towards them, rather than getting angry and frustrated, the more you will enjoy your walking experience.