Bushwalk Australia and contributors 2007-2014. On my last 16-day section hike from Northcliffe to Albany, I lost 5 kilos and that was with a calorie-rich diet, while stuffing my face in each of the towns I visited. I hope to do this one day soon. If that makes your eyes water, its possible to put together a reasonably lightweight backpacking kit with gear from Paddy Pallin, Wild Earth and a few other retailers for less than 2000AUD. Bibbulmun Track Trip highlights Trek the spectacular South West Australian Coast and enjoy the incredible coastal scenery Enjoy the serenity of the many secluded beaches along the way Immerse yourself amongst the colourful wildflowers in spring Walk beneath the huge turbines of the Albany wind-farm Donnelly River Village only had a simple general store. The Bibbulmun Track - Part One - Kalamunda to Gringer Creek Megan, I find this very good sharing, especially on the resupply considerations that included supporting local businesses. Track Angels are locals that support hikers on the track - whether they be end to enders like us, or just doing sections of it - with food drops, accommodation, advice and lifts. Everybodys body is different, so do some training hikes to work out any physical issues you might have, and how to manage them. The only bad time to walk the Bibbulmun is summer. This creates a logistical nightmare. If youre on a tight budget, its still possible to put together a kit with gear from AliExpress and sale items watch this space for gear reviews on how to make that happen! Its a good idea to split your food into two parcels and bury them in different places to reduce the chances of losing everything. Home Trip Planner Distance Calculator. Australia: Bibbulmun Track - Doing Miles The name comes from the Bibbulmun, or Noongar people, Indigenous Australians . I love that people do that just for the love of helping. WA runner Shane Johnstone breaks Bibbulmun Track record with 1000km in Doing the whole bib is a dream of mine, but for now day trips will have to suffice! Open the map and click on a hut and then there is a button to download photos - so do that on Wi-Fi too. Short and sweet, to the point, just what I needed. Near Perth, the campsites are closer together, allowing most hikers to walk two sections in a day known as double hutting. Pingerup Plains, the swamps comprising days . Not a fussy eater at all, just after the basic hiker foods. Its designed to help decide which part of the 1000 km Track youd like to walk and to give you all the planning information you need. Bibbulmun track record smashed in gruelling 'run, crawl and scramble' Flood traps family of five who hike to safety after days isolated at Ill call them and ask and add something to the blog about that section, it probably warrants a mention. I have opted for. Bibbulmun Track - Slower Hiking It was another early settler who arrived a year later, Pemberton Walcott, who gave the town its name. The Archer family became trapped in their remote cabin when floodwaters rapidly rose last month After three days they hiked out, with three young children, including a baby, to their neighbour's place They are now rebuilding and say they look forward to moving back to their 'rainforest homestead' Thanks for the reply. It is a great community of enthusiastic Bibb Track hikers, supporters and the Bibbulmun Track Foundation. The Bibbulmun's Wagyl or Rainbow Serpent blaze. Your email address will not be published. Very jealous, Ill add it to my ever-growing bucket list. They cost nearly $700 and dont look like much, but theyre probably the best money Ive ever spent on hiking gear. I just googled the Via Dinarica and it looks amazing! The Bibbulmun Track is a walking trail located in Western Australia running over 1000km between Kalamunda in the north and Albany in the south. In Pemberton purchase two days worth of food to reach Northcliffe. Hi Anna, With that decided, training should have been next on the list, but I was pretty fit so figured I didnt need to do much of that. I also maintain a rigorous stretching routine when Im on multi-day hikes, to keep my legs from seizing up and to protect my knees. If you are doing more than a day walk on the Track, you will need to take a lot of equipment: sleeping gear, cooking equipment and food, a change of clothing, basic toiletries, a first aid kit and maybe a tent. Therefore, if my boots fit well at the heels, my second toes end up getting battered on hikes and eventually, the nails turn black and drop off. Many people undertake this journey as a section hike, doing pieces of it over a period of months and even years. Western Australia, AU Distance 992.8 km Vertical Gain 17,500 m The Bibbulmun Track is one of the world's great long distance walk trails, stretching 1000km from Kalamunda in the Perth Hills, to Albany on the south coast, winding through the heart of the scenic South West of Western Australia. I tried to allow at least one rest day in each town to stock up on supplies, do my washing, shower, eat and, most importantly, rest. Im hooked on my fitbit for tracking my hikes but they run out of juice so quickly thanks man! I want to buy food as I go like you suggested, support the communities along the way, always choose that option. It will probably be very uncomfortable sleeping on the ground but you might be able to cope for two nights. As were planning on doing the entire 1,000 km in 45 days, well need to skip some of the huts and plan carefully so we can resupply and rest where possible. After some months now of planning and preparing the walk is almost upon me. Walkers should always check the current Track conditions before embarking on a walk. Should just bite the bullet and get one! Spring is really recommended to see all the blooming flowers. Today, Pemberton has a population of just over a thousand people. Over its (roughly) 1000-kilometer length, the Bibbulmun winds its way through dense native forests, passes through a handful of sleepy country towns, climbs up and down ranges with magnificent views, and traverses the white, sandy beaches of WA's powerful southern coast. Food planning & resupplying on the Bibbulmun Track! More to come, I'm sure. Bibbulmun Track | 9 Section Bibbulmun Track Itinerary, WA This series will show you what it's like to thru-hike the 1002 km (623 mile) Bibbulmun Track in Western Australia, including the terrain, life in camp, the b. These pages provide youth group leaders with the necessary tools to plan, lead and complete a successful expedition on the Bibbulmun Track. as we pass through the eight track towns along the route, but other than that will be camping out in the specially designated campsites for Thru-hikers with only the snakes for company. BIB2016 | Walking With Wired Every piece of kit I own has been weighed and weighed up for its usefulness vs. weight. The Duke of Edinburghs International Award, . Able to buy peanut butter, tortilla flatbread and instant pasta meals like those kind of things? Suggest you make a post on one of the Bib track sites on facebook as lots of experts there. The Bibbulmun Track passes through some remote areas of Western Australia, so once youre on the Track you need to know how to stay on it. May 4th 2016 It is the night before (it actually isn't but I am now writing this all in retrospect) and I am so very excited. The most important item on any hike is a pair of comfortable, well worn-in boots. Those that walk every step of the way can be registered as end-to-enders. Bibbulmun Planner then met with a track veteran, "Wrong Way Jim" (eeeeekkk) at the Bibbulmun Track Foundation (BTF) to hone it further. Many Different Landforms. Have booked to complete it later this year. Somewhere in the world: Track so, if you walk in the spring when water is plentiful and temperatures are not too high, you could get away with carrying about two litres of water. We have been planning in earnest for a few weeks now and we have been using a huge excel spreadsheet to help us battle the logistics one step at a time. Many campsites also have a fireplace, but between October and May fires are banned or restricted. Like anything, this can vary enormously in price and quality. One of many shelters with covered tables and water tanks. Pembertons first settler was Edward Brockman, the son of Perths first mayor, who moved to the area in 1861 to breed horses. Water is available from tanks at each of the 48 campsites along the. Id read an article about the newly aligned Bibbulmun Track that would be opening later in the year, but hadnt thought much more about it. There's a chance of no water, with many days the temperatures up in the high 30's, and some days reaching 40C and beyond. You should always use this calculator in conjunction with the Bibbulmun Track maps and guidebooks as whilst the distances are a good guide, they are rounded to the nearest 100 metres. BT Day 35: Mt Dale to Helena 918.6km (29.3km) June 21, 2021. Bibbulmun Track camp site rebuilt after bushfires It was a useful meeting in that he gave some good key advice on certain sections and we spoke at length about the inlet crossings to be factored in. Charting my travels around the world, one adventure at a time. Cooking for two, I prepared and dehydrated batches of 8-12 serves (4-6 days) of 11 different dishes, once or twice a week during our preparation time rather than all at once at the end, so the task wasn't too overwhelming. Karri trees grow in the high rainfall areas of south west Australia. I am hiking only a section of the Bibbulmum (two nights) during July (not the best time, Im sure) but I was wondering if you think I really need a sleeping mat? Deciding what equipment you need for a Bibbulmun Track walk doesn't have to be a daunting process. For example, I discovered from the registers that the Track markers on the Monadnocks (a series of exposed rocky hills) were piles of rocks instead of the usual waugals. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. In August of 2018 after 2.5 years of planning I started my thru-hike of the 1005km Bibbulmun Track in Western Australia. Overall my resupply plan worked out better than I could have imagined along the track. That way the cooler areas in the south would be warming up, but were unlikely to be too hot, by the time I got there. Bibbulmun Track Video December 29, 2021. As a rough guide, there should be five waugals per kilometre in forest areas, and two per kilometre in more open areas. Ive got a Wilderness Equipment Discovery 1 (medium), but I bought it in 1998 so things will have moved on since then! It will come in very useful when I finally get to do my own E2E. What a contradiction! In my defence, I find it difficult to get well-fitting boots because my second toes are longer than my big toes. Over 1000km, the walk traverses red ironstone gravel in the Darling Range, elevated granite domes with vast views, coastal cliffs of jagged limestone, peaty swamp plains, gorges with cascading . Do you keep your phone on you? Unfortunately, in the 1930s they found themselves out of work again when the Great Depression hit and many families had to leave their properties. As with all long distance hiking, the lighter your pack the better your journey will be. If youre picky about what you eat or you have specific dietary requirements, you can make dried meals with a dehydrator and vacuum sealer, and ship them to yourself along the way. Nowadays, I use an ultraviolet wand which doesnt affect the taste of the water. If youre of average fitness, you could expect to finish the Bibbulmun in somewhere between 40 and 65 days, depending on your pace and how many rest days you take in towns. Most of the towns on the Bibbulmun Track are serviced by buses, but they are infrequent and may need to be booked in advance. If some of the forums are anything to go by, people have hiked the APT and PCT - much longer trails than we are planning for - with as little as 5 kg base-packs (the weight of your bag before any food or drink is added). BT Day 34: Monadnocks to Mt Dale 889.5km (33.3km) June 21, 2021. The stores arent that basic, you should be able to get all those items you mentioned. Bibbulmun Track - Albany to Denmark - Australian Walking Holidays If you have a car, you can drive to an accessible place on the Track, walk to a certain point then retrace your steps back to the car. The karri tree is one of the tallest species in the world, reaching heights of ninety metres, and some of the tallest karri trees in the area were used as fire lookouts from the 1930s to the 1960s. It may not have the most spectacular scenery for most of it, but it somehow wins the heart of everyone that hikes it for the pleasant experience. A practice walk of three or more days should give a good indication of how much food you need, otherwise allow about one kilogram of food per day. Bibbulmun guide | Going Solo During the workshop, Susan asked everyone to talk about what their dream trip would be. Weve bought a Sawyer Squeeze Filter - apparently it gets rid of 99.9% of bacteria and only weighs 85 grams (I did say weight was now the only thing I think about!). Tank water should be treated, either with a filter, a UV lamp or some chemical treatment method. I waited for my turn, not knowing which of the places on my bucket list to choose. The track goes through every resupply town, which is also rare to find. Many of these groupies were British ex-servicemen who had returned from WWI to find there were no jobs for them. Either plan to supplement your meals with town-bought supplies, or make sure you cook up a decent range of dishes. Distance Calculator | Bibbulmun Track But its still an awesome pack with a really strong hip strap. The WA Parks Foundation is running two prize draws online throughout March to encourage membership to help support the Foundations, Dark Sky Festival celebrates total solar eclipse, The Dark Sky Festival from 19 to 21 April will take place in the Shires of Ashburton, Carnarvon and Exmouth, Signing up to protect endangered black cockatoos, Murdoch University is working closely with Main Roads Western Australia on projects to minimise the impact of motorists and road. It was quite a process!! You need to be a special type of person to live in them and I admire people who thrive in these conditions I know I couldnt. Bibbulmun Track Food planning & resupplying on the Bibbulmun Track! Today there is still a timber mill in Pemberton, surrounded by old mill cottages, but tourism is also important for the towns survival. The next thing I needed to do in preparation for hiking the Bibbulmun Track (see my previous blog for the background to this crazy idea!) A practice walk of three or more days should give a good indication of how much food you need, otherwise allow about one kilogram of food per day. Two of the original fire lookout trees can still be climbed by daring visitors. Bibbulmun Track | Local Travel Tips Bibbulmun Track in Denmark WA - Denmark, Western Australia I decided to see what my heart picked for me when the time came. In 1913 timber mills were established in Pemberton to supply half a million sleepers for the Trans-Australian Railway line. Also, the campsites, which are located between 10 and 20 kilometres apart, are closer together near Perth, which is useful for end to end walkers to ease themselves into condition. They have very straight trunks that dont separate into branches until high up near the tops of the trees so they were in great demand for railway sleepers. Its important to ensure your pack fits comfortably and has a good hip belt to keep the weight on your hips rather than on your shoulders. But for the purposes of a non-picky hiker, theyre perfectly adequate. You will know the right one when it comes along! Im quite an experienced hiker, and find your blog post very usefull. Since I started using this I havent had a blister. Autumn (March to May) is another good time weather-wise, though water supplies will be low if you set off early in the season before the rain. There is also a natural outdoor pool, but it wasnt warm enough for that when we were there. It also helped me to better understand my bodys abilities, and made me realise how much more I could be doing with my life! Experiencing the Bibbulmun Track - WA Parks Foundation Awesome write up thank you! A combination approach really worked well for me. Whether you are thinking about planning your first ever walk on the Track or wondering which section to walk next, the Trip Planner pages will assist you regardless of your level of experience.