Glenn & Ellen Askew
- Start date: 8 April 2012
- Age When Completed: 48
- Direction Walked: Sectional
- Others in Group:
Glenn Askew
General Comments
I had never bush walked at all before meeting Glenn six years ago. I knew about the Bibbulmun Track as it was something my Mother had talked about doing in the past. Sadly she never got the chance. Glenn figured he should ease me into this new hobby and made my first day trip an easy one with a hike over Mt Cooke! Before long we were planning our first overnighter from Kalamunda to Ball Creek with family and friends. Many more weekends have been filled with day trips and camping out from that time on.
Food/Supplies Comments
A plastic bottle filled with red wine at the end of the days hike is a better pain killer than any paracetamol ever invented! Also found broccoli florets in a snap lock bag handles short hikes well and is a welcome addition to a pasta meal with tinned fish or chicken stirred through.
Favourite Section
The Track as a whole is incredible but a few places stood out, Waalegh, the views from, not to mention the climbs up Mt Cooke and Mt Wells, Tom Rd, finding tiny little green orchids at Beedelup Falls and walking beneath the Karri trees. And of course all the parts we walked in the company of family and friends!
Highlights
We usually relied upon our maps to work out how far we had travelled, finding out via the distance calculator that we had walked over 100kms more than we first realized after walking out of Collie to Mumballup Tavern spurred us on to do more. Passing the halfway sign after Tom Rd. Sighting the coast for the first time was a good day. Finally walking through the Southern Terminus…champagne day!
Personal Reactions
We both enjoy the peace that being out in the bush brings you. I have learned that I have far greater stamina, or perhaps plain stubbornness than I ever knew.
Some days when the going was hard and it was cold/raining/ sand inside shoe causing blisters I would start to ask just why on earth we were doing this. Then we would crest a hill to a beautiful view or round a corner into a stand of majestic trees and be reminded of the why!
Wildlife
Sometimes the wildlife was a little on the quiet side, we have however encountered kangaroos, goannas, emus and various birds including the little blue wrens and scarlet robins. The territorial head bopping display from the little black and white lizards on top of Mt Cuthbert and Vincent kept us amused as did the investigations of our packs by a king skink. A few snakes were encountered and avoided along the way, it wouldn’t be a proper hike without their appearance! We were honoured at sunset with a visit from a very industrious little Bandicoot at Schafer Camp which hopped around the camp showing no fear at our presence. So comfortable was he that he returned to bounce around under the table several times during the night. Black cockatoos were a constant companion for the whole journey.
Your Best Equipment
We started out with some very good hiking items. There is always new stuff appearing on the shelves though and as we have hiked we have upgraded our equipment to suit our needs.
A good inflatable mattress, sleeping bag, hiking poles will become your best friend on a long day and a comfortable pair of waterproof hiking boots. And don’t forget the wine!
Your Worst Equipment
The items that fell into this category were usually things we accidentally left behind at home…then they became the worst things ever.
Advice for Others
Doesn’t matter how long you take to make the trip, just get out there and do it. Take time to pause and enjoy what surrounds you. Our journey took us 5 years, one month and 4 days to complete. Next dilemma will be finding somewhere else to use our accumulated hiking gear!