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. If youre an experienced long-distance hiker, you could aim to finish in as little as a month. You may be able to ship a resupply to the cafe, called the Three Ways Road House. Metal rungs were hammered into the tree trunks to form a spiral ladder leading up to a look out in the canopy of the tree. ! I vividly remember the day I committed to walk the Bibbulmun Track. 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. It traverses the Darling Range and has inspired reflections about the state of the Western Australian environment by William J. Ive only done Bibbulmun day hikes as of yet. We have included all campsites, towns, recreation sites and legal vehicle access points as shown by the red car on the Bibbulmun Track maps and guidebooks. I waited for my turn, not knowing which of the places on my bucket list to choose. When buying a backpack, try on as many packs as you can before making a decision, and ask the shop assistant to add weight to them and adjust the straps to fit your body so you can assess how the pack distributes the weight. Spring and autumn are the most popular times to walk the track, but winter is my favourite because I love seeing all the creeks and rivers in full flow. The track is one of the world's longest walking trails stretching from Perth to Albany. It is managed by government agencies, and has a foundation. Trekking The Bibbulmun Track End to End - Planning. There are eight towns along the way, where well be able to buy supplies, but other than that, well be relying on what we carry to keep us going. Flood traps family of five who hike to safety after days isolated at The solitude and peace on this trail is incredibly unique for one so near civilization. The next most important consideration for a long distance hike is your pack. At this time the wild flowers (including orchids) are out, temperatures are moderate, and the streams and water tanks are likely to have plenty of water in them. Posted on July 8, 2018 The only bad time to walk the Bibbulmun is summer. Some things Im curious about: if you dont mind answering: What do you bring to take photos? What my heart chose surprised even me. Matt. 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. I take a Sony A6000 camera, which I have attached to my backpack with a Peak Designs capture clip. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. my partner and I are planning to do the Bibbulmun Track starting ~14th of September (we're arriving 10th of September in Perth from Europe) and we're looking for some advice. Anyone with an average level of fitness should be able to complete an end-to-end, so long as they actively manage their body and dont injure themselves. 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. While cooking and dehydrating meals took extra time & energy, this allowed me to enjoy meals that were more delicious, full of veggies & legumes, lighter & cheaper than many supermarket options. It may be several weeks before you arrive there on foot, so make sure your food parcel is water- and vermin-proof by packing the food in plastic bags, inside plastic boxes, inside another large plastic bag. Each campsite has a three-sided shelter, a water tank, a drop toilet and picnic tables. You will need to take some sort of shelter, both for safety reasons (getting caught out inbetween the huts) and just because sometimes the huts do get full. 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 WAs powerful southern coast. This well blazed trail travels through many national parks and state forests with various terrain that ranges from dense forest to beautiful coastland. Scroll down for a Map of the Bibbulmun Track through Denmark WA. I found these answers by completing some research on the Bibbulmun Track website, Facebook, Google maps, and asking people who had previously hiked the track. A great option to have when the rain hits. Hi Anna, I am planning a walk from Pemberton to Northcliffe in September. It is roughly 1000 kilometers in length. Experiencing the Bibbulmun Track - WA Parks Foundation South Australia, Western Australia & Northern Territory, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHfaBZT Q&index=15, https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc sp=sharing. So far, our base packs come to approx. It is named 'Bibbulmun' after a group of . It is situated in a valley surrounded by karri forests, so its history is inextricably linked to forestry and logging. Reflections from the reality & how it all worked out. Bibbulmun Track (WA, Australia) | Fastest Known Time Still buying from towns did provide some good flexibility. Top-line results of the planning so far: 8 resupply towns + two possible food drops, Having been brought up hiking in the bogs of Dartmoor, the Peak Districts moorlands and the soggy Scottish Highlands, Ive always owned hardcore walking boots, with hard soles and waterproof casings. I have met a lot of people with the same foot conformation so, if this applies to you, you may need to choose between sore toes or blisters on your heels. If youre attempting an end-to-end for the first time, youll inevitably develop your own way of living on the track that will probably vary a little from the directions in this guide. Blisters are a big problem for many hikers, so its worth experimenting with different shoe and sock combinations to see what works for you. Hi! 10 kg each. Celebrate our 25th year with an adventure! How much water youll need to take will depend upon the time of year. It doesnt do much to help the toe nail situation though! This includes how to get there, highlights, interesting places, weather forecasts, Track conditions, the Track towns and photos. The rest includes a teeny, tiny cooker and gas canister, down jacket, one change of clothes, basic hygiene kit, first aid kit and basic electronics. So I thought it might be helpful to share in a little more detail some of the things I considered when organising food for the trip. As with all long distance hiking, the lighter your pack the better your journey will be. 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. 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! This creates a logistical nightmare. Charting my travels around the world, one adventure at a time. Bibbulmun Track - Group Guided Day Walks Home Trip Planner Distance Calculator. Me most of all that article had obviously made a bigger impression on me than Id imagined. How big were the towns and what were their supermarkets/food stores/cooperatives like for resupplying? For me, that meant getting a pair of custom orthotics from my podiatrist after experiencing some serious arch pain on multi-day hikes in the Darling Range. One of my favourite places to escape to is a little town called Pemberton, 335 kilometres south of Perth. These pages are bursting with information to help you have a safe and pleasant journey. 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' From Perth, there are a couple of public buses that will take us straight to the Northern Terminus of the Bibbulmun Track in Kalamunda. Country towns in Western Australia are spread out throughout this massive state; small pockets of civilisation with miles of bush in between them. How do you keep it charged, do you have a solar charger of some sort? Bibbulmun Track Trip Planner | Bibbulmun Track The Bibbulmun Track stretches 1,000 km from Kalamunda in Perth to Albany in the south-west. Information for bushwalkers from bushwalkers, by Empacitator Wed 22 Jan, 2014 12:20 am, by Empacitator Fri 24 Jan, 2014 10:58 am, by InspirationOutdoors Mon 27 Jan, 2014 1:33 pm, Return to South Australia, Western Australia & Northern Territory, Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 0 guests. But why? Nowadays, I use an ultraviolet wand which doesnt affect the taste of the water. There are buses from all the main track towns to Perth or Albany in case we get injured and need to bail. 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. 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. March 27, 2018 Bibbulmun Track Planning - Spreadsheets and an obsession with weight In May this year, Tim and I will be flying to Western Australia to take on our biggest challenge yet; we'll be hiking the Bibbulmun track, 1,000 km through the remote Australian wilderness. Hi we are considering heading over to WA from SA in September to experience a section of the Bibbulmun Track, imagining that the border will be open by then. Pick one itinerary or join several together to customise your Bibbulmun Track holiday adventure. I created a spreadsheet which recorded, for each date, the starting and finishing points and the number of kilometres between them. Visitors can go four-wheel driving or mountain biking or fish for trout and marron. A range of tasty Back Country Cuisine meals are available in select stores along the Track. 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. The Bibbulmun Track is a 623mi/1,002km trail that runs near the Southwest coast of Australia from Kalamunda (near Perth) to Albany. 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. Walking through the massive karri trees as they stretch high above you like a natural cathedral is awe inspiring, and we were lucky enough to see emus and kangaroos, the two native animals on the Commonwealth Coat of Arms. On my first attempt at hiking the Bibbulmun Track end to end, I was thwarted by very nasty blisters, caused by my boots being slightly too loose and rubbing on my heels. I have since found a fabulous tape called fixumol, which I put on my heels and toes at the start of a hike as a preventative measure and add more of as hot-spots begin to develop. I think the more packs i try the more i go crazy. The most well-known is the Gloucester Tree, which is located only a couple of kilometres out of Pemberton.Despite not being very confident about heights, I climbed the Gloucester Tree once in the late 1980s so do not feel the need to climb it again. As with all long distance hiking, the lighter your pack the better your journey will be. Follow the bright yellow waugyl through towering forests, over creeks and rivers, along wild beaches and up and over some impressive granite features. Bibbulmun track record smashed in gruelling 'run, crawl and scramble' 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. Testing out the Sawyer Filter in a murky Peak District stream. Let's see how we go! Walking the Bibbulmun takes some preparation, but its something that anyone of average fitness and mobility should be able to achieve. On an excel spreadsheet I mapped out my entire walk highlighting where I was planning to stay each night, how many days I would be on the track, how many nights I would be in each town to provide an overall understanding of where I would be for each day and for each meal. Im hooked on my fitbit for tracking my hikes but they run out of juice so quickly thanks man! Answering these questions helped me map out how manybreakfast, lunches, dinners & snacks I would need across the hike, & where they would potentially come from along the way. Pembertons first settler was Edward Brockman, the son of Perths first mayor, who moved to the area in 1861 to breed horses. Doing it sandals should surely count for more than a regular end-to-end. It was originally envisaged by keen bushwalker Geoff Schafer, in 1972. ), while still leaving opportunities to add to my lunch & snack supplies. Bibbulmun Track Full Route | Map, Guide - Western Australia, Australia 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. Bibbulmun Track - Slower Hiking Therefore, we will put "30 day fixed", "7 day auction", etc in this column. Due to its size, the Track is divided into nine sections. You should have a separate inventory spreadsheet where you record how much the item cost you to . 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). For gear reviews, I often rely on Outdoor Gear Lab. In August of 2018 after 2.5 years of planning I started my thru-hike of the 1005km Bibbulmun Track in Western Australia. View topic - Bibbulmun Track Questions/Answers - Bushwalk While on the contrary I bought packets of sugary lollies straight from the huge supermarket at home and packed them in my food parcels. After all, hiking is only walking for a long time. 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. 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. Premier Partner of the Foundation and the Bibbulmun Track maintenance volunteer program. 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. Youll need more if you walk when the water supply is less reliable. Over the last couple of weeks before I left for the Bibbulmun Track, I was up until midnight planning my itinerary, counting sections, cooking up curries, dehydrating meals, weighing portions & allocating food for each day. Many people undertake this journey as a section hike, doing pieces of it over a period of months and even years. Bibbulmun guide | Going Solo Hey Ben! Good luck! This occurs on the first stretch (on a north to south hike) between Kalamunda and Dwellingup and involves walking for at least 10 days with no opportunities to resupply. Thats literally just a petrol station with very basic, expensive options, although it does have an attached cafe so you can have at least one decent hot meal. Bibbulmun Track in Denmark WA - Denmark, Western Australia Dont know why I packed them), and not enough dried fruit & nut snacks. Location/temp range/specific trip description: Seems roughly 0 to 30 degrees C (32-86 degrees F), I'm not very sure though. An Australian owned one-stop-shop for outdoor and adventure equipment! For advice specific to the Bibbulmun, the Bibbulmun Track Hikers Facebook group is a useful resource. On my first attempt at hiking the Bibbulmun Track end to end, I was thwarted by very nasty blisters, caused by my boots being slightly too loose and rubbing on my heels. 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!) Glad you found my post useful. 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. Luckily, the huts along the way collect rainwater, so well always have a supply of drinking water once we have purified it. Full-day walks average about 16 km. Mmm, difficult question! It will come in very useful when I finally get to do my own E2E. The Bibbulmun Track takes hikers through the Karri trees of the southern forests | credit: Bibbulmun Track Foundation. The Bibbulmun Track often has temporary diversions and permanent realignments for various reasons, which can extend the distance to be walked on any day. It was quite a process!! The Perth ultra-endurance runner crossed the finish line at Kalamunda this afternoon, completing the 1000km journey in 11 days, seven hours and eight minutes. Walkers should always check the current Track conditions before embarking on a walk. I took water purification tablets on my first hike, but the treated water tasted so foul I couldnt drink it! Copyright 2023 Bibbulmun Track Foundation. I ate out in town more than I had originally planned, and so a few of my homemade meals were repacked for the next section. Either plan to supplement your meals with town-bought supplies, or make sure you cook up a decent range of dishes.