Tanya
- Start date: 13 September 2020
- Age When Completed: 50
- Direction Walked: North to South
- Others in Group:
Craig Salt
General Comments
The walk was an amazing experience and my everlasting gratitude to the volunteers and members who maintain the track - their work made it so much better!
Food/Supplies Comments
We dried our own food and made sure to take plenty of it which turned out to be a good idea. Before we started out I scoffed at the idea of electrolyte replacements but after hiking and sweating for days I was craving salty-sweet drinks.
Favourite Section
I can’t easily pinpoint my favourite section as I just loved seeing how the landscape and ecology changed throughout the walk. I guess my favourite would be the section from Giants to the coast; walking through karri forest, jarrah and then the coast all in one day was pretty special.
Highlights
Best feeling was the first time I hit the coast after leaving Kalamunda. Such a high to see the ocean again and realise how far I’d walked, that I’d made it.
Personal Reactions
I loved being part of the land for so long. We didn’t live off it but it’s contours and weather impacted us every minute. Although I was born in Australia now I feel like I truly belong, I have lived and loved the land and been accepted by it in return.
Wildlife
I loved walking with the black cockatoos and had wanted to see an emu in the wild so achieved that goal too.
Your Best Equipment
It’s a tie between the mosquito net for my hat (good for flies) and the lavendar oil I used after rinsing my face every day. It was *almost* like having a shower.
Your Worst Equipment
The headlamp I got from Kathmandu that stopped working after three weeks. I ended up using a small torch which was better simply because it worked.
Advice for Others
The lack of a mosquito net for my bed was the worst decision I made. One night they were savage and I ended up with hundreds of bites over my shoulders and back while I slept. Invest in one if you don’t have a tent!