Category: Damn Long Walks

The next 5 days have all blurred in together as nothing too exciting happened so a quick post to let you know that I am still here. I have passed the 500km mark so half way to Albany.

Thursday was 24 km with rain on and off all day on the way to TomRoad campsite. The flaura is changing today and there was moss on the fallen logs and even ferns growing. We walked alongside the Donnelly River for most of the day through some muddy puddles and over fallen trees. I began to feel like I was at home.

There are 8 of us in  my Tramily now.  Peter ( the firemaker) who has been with me for about 12 nights, Sharon, whi is walking this section but usually does 100 mike events, Mary the 79 year old from Brisbane,  her two mates, Michael and Bill (60s or 70s) Neville  79 and his son in law.

We had a couple of days with rain which made a good change. Sharon usually arrived first  me second and then the others trapsed in like drowned wombats over the next hour. We all ate, made a hot drink then climbed into our sleeping bags for a Nana nap, to read a book or just get warmed up.

Most were in bed by 6.30 but I stayed up and read my book until about 8pm, otherwise I just toss and turn listening to the chorus of snoring. This group all gave nice rhythmical snores, no sleep apnea.

Friday was just another day really but the track gave me a couple of pleasant moments.  Mud,  a few metres of steep gnarly rocks, the first ladder, slightly off centre and some puddles and lots of overhanging branches (wet from rain yesterday) Very pretty day.

Flies and mossies at the hut  so some put their  tents up on the sleeping platform. I topped and tailed with Sharon.  

Passed half way mark.  At the last couple of huts we had rats eating into some food bags. Usually I climb into my sleeping bag and put on my eye mask and ear plugs and become oblivious to anything that happens diluri g the night. But at Beavis Hut I was aware that Mary was fighting off rodents. I left her to it.

At the next hut I was kast to go to bed and the rats started their high junks before I had a chance to get settled. So I ended up poking at the damn rats with my walking pole as they skuttled around the rafters jumping onto the food bags that were hanging up.

I don’t mind mice and got quite used to them on Te Araroa but rats are another kevel altogether. Everyone else slept through but I didn’t get much sleep at all. Some food bags were raided.

Sunday we walked into Pemberton where I am having a rest day today. I have made a (hopefully) rat proof hanger for my food bag. The Aussies tell me that I can’t be too down on rats because they are native animals and have more right to be here than me. Well I don’t care. They are not having my food.

Today I was introduced to the Snotty Gobble. It is the common name  of this tree, named because of the fruits. I don’t think I will try them.

Sharon had stopped on the track to make a coffee so I sat and had one too. We walked the rest of the 22km together and she pointed out the Snotty Gobble to me.

Into Donnelly River village today. It was a mill town but the mill closed in 1977. Some locals pitched in and bought the 35 mill houses and went about marketing the place as a good stopover for those on the Bibbulmun and the Murambingi cycle track and as a family holiday destination.

The emus and kangaroos roam freely around and are very friendly.  Being school holidays the houses were all booked out with families. Dozens kids were riding their bikes around, in and out of the trees and buildings barefooted, no helmets just as I did as a kid.

The little general store was busy with kids spending their daily allowance on bags of mixed lollies and chippies, cyclists and walkers scoffing down bacon and egg rolls and parents drinking lattes. No pub but Peter managed to find someone to “sell” him a couple of beers.

This long walking asks a lot of your body and if we aren’t careful it can wreck the only body you have. One day you will wake up with creaky knees, sore hips and feet that resemble bags of mince meat. But this track has been well designed to reduce the chances of this occurring. There are campsites an easy 4 to 6 hours apart. (15 to 24km) This sometimes seems not far enough to walk in a day especially with the track being mostly flat and not technical at all.

But to double hut would put unnecessary strain on your body. Just sit and enjoy the rest of the day and have time to process the mornings walk. There is no need to go onto the point of breaking. Some do as they have time constrains. “I only have 30 days leave” they say as they plough on as I sit and eat a leisurely lunch.

Then a few days down the track I may see that their name is no longer in the hut book. They have pulled out, way before their 30 days leave is up, with broken bits. They can sit with their feet up, recuperating, for the remainder of their holiday and go back to work saying they didn’t make it to the end. Better to have made more realistic goals; do half this year and the remainder another year.

But in saying that some do make the 1000km in much less time than I plan. 60 days is my goal, basically one hut a day and a rest day in each town. I tell them that my end date is my date of death. I can keep walking until I die, if I want to. I am pretty sure that is not going to be how it plays out. I will need to work to top up the bank account at some stage.

I sat with my new friend at the Visitors Centre drinking coffee while I updated my website before leaving town at about 8:15.

Today I walked through a Tree Reserve which had many trees from all over the world. The grass was green and there was a couple of ponds and wee creeks. I could smell cattle and sheep poops so felt a little more at home.

This was followed by the Greenbush walk which was green. After that was an old tin mining area and another dam.

Then later the trail went through a farm with cows with their calves playing close by to talk to. I walked the well worn path up the hill thinking about steaks. Pine forests abound and with a 200 metre altitude gain there was a nice view from Blackwood Campsite. A day of changes to keep me occupied.

I sat with Scott and a section walker, Sharon, and ate my lunch while waiting for Peter to arrive. We were going on another couple of kilometers to his friends farm where we had booked dongas to sleep in.

It was a bit cooler today, only about 16 ° and overcast so I was feeling comfortable. I am definitely feeling fitter and stronger. Now I can easily squat down to use the taps which are usually at the bottom of the tanks. When I started I was moan and groan and creak doing so.

Peter turned up about an hour later giving me time yo enjoy my cheese and crackers and soup. Then it was the steepest and longest downhill on the trail to Peters friends dongas.

They have pasture fed chickens which are kept safe from foxes and wild cats at night by Maremma dogs. Beautiful big wooly creatures that must struggle with the heat in the summer.

There was hot showers snd beers in the fridge so I sat in the sun watching the Number 28 birds and crows whilst reading my book.

We had dinner with the farmers who were to be up early the next day to harvest some chickens for market. Bush fires had decimated their farm, house and buildings 2 years ago so they were still living in a shed and rebuilding.

I was off at 6am this morning. 2 of the ladies going the other way were having a 5am get up so I decided to join them for an early get up.  I am usually awake before 5am anyway as we are in bed before 8pm. That is a long time to lay down.

My aim was to arrive by noon at Balingup and minimise the amount of time walking in the heat of the day.  What this meant was I was first on the track so I copped all the spider webs.  My face was covered with them but I did not see any spiders. I think they string their webs across the track to get us walkers then sit back and laugh at us as we go through. No doubt I will come face to face with a big Aussie spider at some stage.

By 9am I was out of the bush briefly walking alongside a farm. A few sheep bleating made a change of sound.  I am not sure what the trees are.

Pretty yellow grass flowers today. Found a nice log to site and eat my 6 dates for morning tea. I must remember to buy some snakes at Balingup to add to my snacks bag.

I arrived at my hosts at 11.30 and was shown to my home for the night, a caravan.  Yvette and Kevin have a lovely home surrounded by bush.  After a shower I felt a new woman and was also pleased to see that I had lost over 5kg in weight. I saw a sign on a steep part of Te Araroa that said “Sweat is just fat crying” So if you need to lose weight just go for a damn long walk. If anyone finds my lost fat on the track they can keep it.

After hanging out my washing I wandered the 800 metres into town to do a bit of shopping and catch up with the others for food and a beer from the General  Store, in the park. I felt a bit like a hobo sitting drinking in the park.

Then I made a new friend outside the Visitors Centre. She looked over my shoulder as I updated my website. She didn’t have much to say. I suppose she has heard it all before as about as about 80,000 people are said to walk all or sections each year.

This tree had shed most of it’s bark.

Left first at 7am to try and beat the 27 degree day expected. 22km day lots of ankle breakers on the track and good interval training. Little ups and downs.

I had a couple of “sat on a log” phone calls today which was lovely. It is nice to catch up with friends and family back home. At my early lunch stop I rang ahead to Balingup where I was planning a rest day in 2 days time. There wasn’t many options as the pub had burnt down and the camping ground was just a transit park. This means byo tent or caravan but no cabins. I wasn’t keen on sleeping in my tent on a day in town so rang a lady on the list who had a caravan to let for $50 a night. With no pub and only one shop and a day time cafe I decided to only stay one night.

I saw my first mushroom. 8km in first 2 hours so sat for break listening to nice chirpybirds, not screechy ones.

22 km day with quite a few wee ups and downs, 3 good rest stops and I took 6hrs 15min.

At camp tonight we had 3 people going NOBO and us 4 southbounders. SOBOs. It was a warm night but we still lit the firepit. This is done to help clear all the drppoed wood from around the hut to help reduce the chance of the hut burning down in a bush fire. So lots of wood is used which concerned me at first. In NZ we have limited firewood so would not waste any at all.

I had a fun evening with 7 of us for dinner at the Victoria Hotel.

Scott, Jessie , Peter and I all went on to Yabberup Camp the next day. It was 23° so probably the hottest day so far. I played hair and tortoise with Scott who has recently walked a long trail in USA. The other 2 arrived an hour or so after us.

Not much to say about the trail except we passed over the Mungabingi Track a few times. That is the bike trail from Kalamundra to Albany.

I also skirted alongside the Mungalup Damn which must be the town water supply as no swimming or anything else.

I had seen on the map that there was another camp site by a river  500 metres from Yabberup Camp.  I thought I would drop my gear at our camp and then go back for a swim.  However I should have realised that a river in Western Australia would hardly get my feet wet.  So I carried on and had a wash in my pot behind the hut instead.  A few more buzzing flies today and more rustling in the bush and again more flat walking crossing roads and meandering through the bush.

Left at 7.10am after best night’s sleep so far. I was on my new mattress and didn’t have to blow it up every 2 hours and shared the hut with only Glen who hardly scored at all.

I was away at 7.10 before the 2 guys and presumed they would catch me on top of a mountain. I walked along a flat track for a few kms smelling the eucalyptus trees and occasionally a dead kangaroo, black tailed cockatoos kept me company on the fine morning.

I could hear trucks and large machinery working well before I saw the large cleared area to my left. I had read that the track went through a mining area so I was watching the operation trying to work out what they were mining. I stopped to take a photo of the new plantings around the perimeter, pleased that this was happening to counteract the bush that had been felled.

The further I walked the more I realised that it wasnt a mine but was the local rubbish tip. (landfill, refuse centre). That explained the dead kangaroos I had been smelling!

By 9am I was ready for a break and found a good log of the side of the track to sit on. I remembered to stomp and stamp my way to the log to scare off any snake and other critters.

I checked my app and saw that I had made a mistake and had missed a turnoff 1.5km back. I was so busy watching the site that I had missed it. So now I was a grumpy woman on a mission to get back to the track. I damn near ran back alongside that refuse tip reminding myself that I was now in charge of directions. I didn’t have Rebecca or Cameron with his smart watch that called out if we were off track. I was the little blue dot and I was supposed to be on the red track. I was only 800 metres from where I should have been as the crow flies but I am not a crow.

I caught up with Steve and Glen to find that Steve, the faster one, had made the same error as me but Glen had come along and got him back before he had gone too far. That made me feel better. I wasn’t the only one to get it wrong.

We played leap frog for the rest of the morning with me being very careful at each turn. Steve took another wrong turn which made me feel even better. Am I horrible for being happy about other people making mistakes?

Anyway I arrived at White Horse Hills camp at 12.50. My aim for the day was 1pm so even with a 3km detour I did well. Four days of running behind Cameron has done some good.

Steve and Glen stopped for a drink and a toilet then headed off to do another 15 km. I had my lunch, a wash and found 1 tick on my tummy which I removed successfully. I lazed in the sun feeling pleased that the buzzing flies were not wanting to land on me. Maybe I smell so bad that the flies won’t even land on me. Nine days without a shower wearing the same clothes will do that to me.

I was about to drop off to sleep when an E2E S2N man arrived. He was on the home straight and had lots of hints for me about what was coming up. He also told me that the flies were buzzing around looking for a mate to copulation with in mid air. Very clever I thought. They will then go and lay lots of maggots so that in a couple of weeks time the place will be teaming with flies. Something to look forward to. I will now go and put my food bag in the big plastic bin.

He also took great delight in telling me that a python snake lives under one of the bunks in the next huton the top of Mt Wells. These Aussues sure like to scare us Kiwis.

There are nice raised camp spots around the hut that reminded me of my hiking in Patagonia with my friend Frances. So I rang her and had a good chat.

Today’s tally. 1 tick, 1 emu, 1 kangaroo, 1 wrong turn, 1 mountain and one rubbish tip. Warm day perfect walking weather