Bonny
- Start date: 24 August 2019
- Age When Completed: 32
- Direction Walked: North to South
General Comments
Those of us who walked the track this Spring are incredibly fortunate to have had no diversions for prescribed burns, floodwaters, inlet channels, or anything else! Amazing.
Food/Supplies Comments
I dehydrated lots of delicious & nutritious meals before I left and sent resupply packages to towns. Delicious!!! This I supplemented with fresh fruit and vegies and extra treats by shopping in each of the towns. I always ended up carrying way too much food.
The supermarkets and other shops in the trail towns are very well stocked for hiking food and supplies. If I were to do it again I’d send only the bare minimum in resupplies - just the dehydrated meals and perhaps some rolled oats and other things you can only buy in bulk, plus the more unusual things that are harder to find in small towns such as chia seeds.
Favourite Section
Some of my standout sections included William Bay to Denmark, Woolbales to Long Point, Gregory Brook to DRV, Boonering Hill to White Horse Hills to Mount Wells, the Tingle Forest… it’s so hard to pick just one.
Highlights
* Walking through the Wandoo woodlands between Allen Road Bridge and Beraking - the beautiful white trees, the ephemeral creeks, the birds, the flowers and the many kangaroos and wallabies
* Abundant bright colourful wild flowers and a subtle change in the forest approaching Grimwade
* Screaming flocks of cockatoos
* Yellow wattle everywhere in the northern part of the track, and the bright yellow, magenta, mauve and sky-blue wild flowers in the dunes on the South Coast
* Sunrise and the dawn bird chorus at Warren and also at Possum Springs
* Night hiking by the light of the moon down through the forest of giants tingle trees and karri to Frankland campsite, hearing ocean waves crashing kilometres away and a distant frog chorus in the valley below
* Watching rainbows, dramatic clouds, rain squalls and huge crashing waves along the coast near Peaceful Bay, and the fish and chips
* Meeting interesting and nice people from near and far, and seeing them again at the campsites over several days (or even weeks)
* The long beach walks, especially Mazzoletti Beach
* Four seasons in two days over Cuthbert, Vincent and Cooke - the sky reflections in gnamma holes, the cold wind, blue skies, rainbows, birds, and so many flowers! And then down the slippery granite on Mount Cooke in a torrential downpour.
* Walking through the flowering heath near West Cape Howe and observing a gigantic kangaroo and a gigantic tigersnake, one right near the other, and neither at all bothered by my presence. And then not long after that, an incredible sunset over the ocean.
* Staying up late alone on clear cold nights at Helena and Waalegh, cooking on the campfire and stargazing
* Being woken up just before sunrise each morning for weeks on end by the kookaburra’s laugh
...and many more, but this list is probably more than long enough already!
Personal Reactions
As a result of walking this end to end and outside for 2 months I now have an even greater appreciation and concern for the environment in South West WA than I did before, as well as a deeper understanding and knowledge of the more subtle curiosities and patterns of nature, weather and ecosystems in this corner of the world that I call home. I am also even more appreciative of the Bibbulmun Track itself, and the community that supports it and makes it what it is! I’m wondering more about Noongar history, knowledge and culture and would like to learn more.
I found that hiking day after day for weeks on end was a different kind of challenge to type of hiking I usually do. In some ways it was easier, and in other ways a lot more challenging than I thought it would be.
I’m so very happy to have completed a Bibbulmun through hike because it’s something I’d been thinking about doing “one day” for over a decade!
Wildlife
Kangaroos, wallabies, emus, echidna, black cockatoos (redtails & whitetails), 28s, galahs, western rosella, blue wrens, red wing fairy wrens, pelicans, black swans, wedgetailed eagles, owls + many other birds of prey, lots and lots and lots of other birds, ants, snakes (mostly tiger snakes but also a western crowned snake), blue tongue lizards, other skinks & lizards, interesting beetles, antechinus, quenda, small bats, marron, fish, several different kinds of frogs, froglets & tadpoles, spiders, giant earthworms, bright yellow flatworm, only one whale. And probably other things I can’t think of right this moment.
I find one of the benefits of walking solo is that I see a lot more wildlife than I do when walking with others!
I love how some campsites have resident birds that I remember from previous visits, such as the rufous whistler that lives at Monadnocks and the red winged fairy wren family at Beedelup.
Mosquitoes and flies near the coast were horrendous at times, and angry ants were a bit of a problem in the Darling Range.
Your Best Equipment
* Osprey Aura backpack - always so comfortable even at its heaviest when walking out of town loaded with all the essentials such as broccoli, potatoes for the campfire, and red wine
* BRS3000T stove - a teeny tiny 25g for less than $20 and it worked great.
* Enlightened Equipment Revelation quilt - only 600g and very warm when it needs to be.
Your Worst Equipment
* My Thermarest NeoAir Xlite sleeping mat exploded internally (imploded?) at Beedelup. That was a very uncomfortable night. Big thanks to track volunteer and fellow hiker Bill for lending me a sleeping mat for the next few nights before I could get my spare one from home.
Advice for Others
Hike your own way for your own reasons, and appreciate every moment of the journey for what it is as much as you can! Take lots of memories and leave no trace.