Stephen Walter (Stephen Walter)
Completed: 29 November, 2022
Stephen Walter
- Start date: 28 September, 2022
- Age When Completed: 68
- Direction Walked: Northbound
Track Towns and Supplies
- Did you have any issues finding food/supplies? Yes
- I had no problems resupplying in towns. Visitors Centres sometimes not only sell hikers requirements but will give away what others have left as surplus.
Your Story or Advice for Others
General CommentsI enjoyed succumbing to the lure of the long walk. It's a completely different experience hopping on one end of the Track and staying on till you reach the other end. It's also a very efficient way to cover the whole Track: you gather your gear, start walking, rest and resupply when necessary, and suddenly, you've done 1005 kms!
Your Best Equipment
Sea to Summit Ether Light XT Insulated Sleeping Mat, together with the Sea to Summit Aeros Ultralight Deluxe pillow. These gave me a perfect sleep every night of my journey.
Your Worst Equipment
I had no bad equipment, but the sternum strap of my Osprey backpack popped off its piping, and it's such a difficult job getting it back on, I didn't even try. That's the second time that has happened to me, and it's a real design weakness.
Advice for Others
Don't even think of doing the Bibb without a tent. A tent increases your options at the end of the day, it offers protection against mozzies and ticks, and sometimes it's simply an absolute necessity.
Trip Details
How you completed the Bibbulmun Track:- All at once
- Who did you complete the Track with? Solo (primarily)
- Was undertaking your hike the PRIMARY/MAIN purpose of your TRAVEL from where you currently live? No
Your Experience
The foreshore walk along the Nullaki Peninsula. Walking past the paperbarks, Melaleuca cuticularis, is like visiting a great outdoor sculpture gallery. It also has an air of melancholy decay which I love. It's such a pity so many walkers skip this section of the Track, but who can blame them, when the jetty past Pelican Point is such a difficult spot to get to or leave from - I hitched into Denmark from there, but felt very fortunate indeed there was anybody at all on Eden Rd to offer me a lift.
Highlight of your trip
1. A long swim in Lake Maringup towards sunset. 2. The violent and wet electrical storm over Nerang the night before I climbed Mt Cooke in perfect weather and found the "secret" cave. 3. Finishing my walk on a blistering, windless 37 degree day that left me drained of energy and emotion - when I reached the Northern Terminus, I felt no sense of celebration or accomplishment.