Voices from the Track: Penny Lane — 50 Days on the Bibbulmun

When Penny Lane finally found herself with time on her hands, she knew exactly what to do with it. After nearly a decade of dreaming about the Bibbulmun Track, she decided it was time to stop sitting still and start walking. Her end-to-end journey began.

Penny Lane enjoying ocean views on the Bibbulmun Track.

“I had known about the premier trek for almost a decade,” Penny says. “I had a window where I was sitting around at home and believe in ‘getting outside to get right’.”

And get outside she did. Over 50 days, including a few well-earned rest days, Penny made her way from Kalamunda to Albany, walking the Bibbulmun Track end-to-end across some of the most varied and beautiful landscapes in Western Australia

Finding joy in simplicity

For Penny, the journey was about stripping life back to its essentials — one step, one day, one hut at a time. Along the way, she found camaraderie, laughter, and countless moments of quiet beauty that reminded her whysocial me she came.

Walking along sandy beaches.

Her favourite section? The stretch between Walpole and Denmark, where the forests give way to sweeping coastal views. “Sharing picnics, laughs and views with ‘Turbo’ was definitely a highlight,” she recalls. The friendships built on the Track became an integral part of her journey.

The challenges along the way

Like every thru-hiker, Penny faced her fair share of tough days. “The sand dunes after accumulative fatigue,” she admits, “and the Pingerup Plains after a long day of road walking from diversions — those were hard.”

But even the tough parts became part of the rhythm of the walk. “Don’t overthink and overplan,” she says. “Just get out! Repeat the same process day after day. It gets easier and you’ll find a system that works for you.”

Gear that made the difference

Penny swears by one unlikely piece of gear: Crocs. “A good pair of Crocs for camp shoes or water crossings, even sand walking — they’re a game changer,” she laughs. Lightweight, versatile, and easy to slip on after a long day, they quickly became one of her trail essentials.

Crocs on the Bibbulmun Track

Reflections from the Track

Now that she’s back home, Penny looks back on her 50 days on the Track with a sense of gratitude and calm — proof of what she believed all along: that getting outside really does help you “get right.”

This story is part of Voices from the Track, a series celebrating the people who make the Bibbulmun Track come alive. Each month, we share stories from walkers — from end-to-enders to section hikers — highlighting their challenges, triumphs, favourite spots, and top tips.

Have you recently completed your own end-to-end of the Bibbulmun Track?

Register your walk with the Bibbulmun Track Foundation to be featured in our End-to-Enders Gallery — and share your story in Voices from the Track!

Time for a cuppa on the Bibbulmun Track