Day three of my 335km hike from Northcliffe to Albany.

Distance: 25.7km.

Terrain: Flat and easy.

An old 4WD track leads you through more magnificent karri forest on the way out of Lake Maringup.

Bonny and I awoke early on day three, as we were pretty eager to get an early start on the first “long” day of the hike (in Bibb terms). After my hearty breakfast of oats with a generous topping of sugar (way better than yesterday’s revolting eggs) we set off on the 4WD track that loosely winds its way around Lake Maringup.

The track took us through some spectacularly thick karri forest where you’ve really got no option but to follow the waugyls. The morning sun streamed through the canopy, making for a real Fern Gully vibe on the forest floor. Every now and then we’d walk along elevated duckboards over low-lying sections of the track that are inundated in winter. It’s not necessary to walk along them in the dry months, but way more fun than walking along the dirty ground like a plebe. (I called Bonny a plebe while she did so – she took it in good humour)

Fancy.

After a handful of kilometres the track emerges into more open plains, where thick groupings of bushes replace the towering karri trees of the forest. We stopped for morning tea at one of the many “significant footbridge”s described in the guidebook, so named to distinguish them from the many insignificant footbridges (read: planks) you cross pretty regularly in this section.

The trail followed more sandy tracks for much of the day, crossing a couple of gravel roads on its path through the open plains. These plains are a recurring feature nearly all the way to Mandalay Beach, and they make up for their lack of soaring greenery with spectacular 360-degree vistas. The unimpeded views make you much more aware of how quickly you’re travelling, as the hills that dot the horizon move in and out of view with surprising speed.

Views for miles.

The open, flat terrain got me in the zone for hiking, so I went ahead of Bonny and zipped through the section until the track returned to the forest. I took a break on a convenient fallen log, which was improved immeasurably by my foam sit pad. True ultralight hikers might consider it a luxury, but being able to put something soft and dry between you and whatever you’re sitting on is essential in my books. The $25 Thermarest Z-Seat is the gold standard of sit pads, but $2 knock offs are available on eBay that do the job almost as well, and weigh virtually nothing. I’ve got the latter.

Bonny arrived soon after, and we walked another short section of forest together before the track reached Dog Road. This wide, well maintained gravel road made for an easy if uninspiring final 5km for the day, on the way into Dog Pool campsite.

Dog Pool shelter

Another rammed earth shelter, Dog Pool sits next to a bend in the river that can apparently turn into a torrent in winter. When we visited, it was little more than a couple of ponds of stagnant black water. Never one to turn down the prospect of a swim, Bonny dived in while I gave myself a prison shower in knee-deep water.

At the shelter we met Carla, a solo hiker from Tasmania who’d made it from Albany despite being tormented by blisters. She told us one had become infected, and she was considering dropping out in Northcliffe. I found out later that she did so, but returned to the track not long after to turn her E2E into a sectional. I love the perseverance of people on the track! It’s really inspiring to see it in action, even if things didn’t go as they were originally planned.

Not long after we’d arrived, we were treated to a brief rain shower. Good thing we didn’t leave Lake Maringup half an hour later or we’d be sodden!

It was nice and cosy in here.

The rain persuaded me to sleep inside the shelter – something I hardly ever do given how much I love my tent. Thankfully, no snorers!

This is the first in a series of reviews of Bibbulmun sections on my quest to a sectional end-to-end!

This section was the start of my longest hiking trip yet by far – 16 days and 335km from the tiny town of Northcliffe to the southern terminus in Albany. Last year I did a very wet eight-day stretch from Balingup to Pemberton, but I wanted to test myself on a hike longer than two weeks to see if I could really hack the thru-hiker lifestyle. I was joined by my friend Bonny for the first six days of this trip.

Distance: 15.3km

Terrain: Flat and easy

We’d planned an easy, relatively short walk of 15.3km for day one because we had to make the three-hour drive down from Perth in the morning, and hand over Bonny’s car to local track angel Wendy in Northcliffe. The plan was to leave the car at Wendy’s, then Wendy would pick Bonny up from Mandalay Beach six days later, and bring me a resupply box at the same time. Wendy’s generosity with her time meant I didn’t have to lug eight days of supplies all the way to Walpole, and it saved us both from having to do a time-consuming car shuffle on day one. Thanks Wendy!

After we dropped off Bonny’s car at Wendy’s place just outside of Northcliffe, Wendy gave us lift back to the trailhead in the middle of town. The weather was sunny and cool, perfect for walking. After a few leg swings and final checking of gear, we were off.

Eep.

The Bibbulmun follows some old disused train tracks on its way south out of Northcliffe, passing a wooden distance marker near the trail head. There’s a small burned section less than a kilometre out of town, caused by a recent bushfire. Shortly after the track crosses the main road,and begins winding its way along the boundaries of farms and houses before crossing Wheatley Coast Road and plunging into thick forest. A bit over an hour in we stopped at a wooden footbridge over a picturesque creek for lunch.

How’s the serenity?

I was relieved to find my buff (kind of like a cylindrical bandana) in one of my bag’s hip pockets after thinking I’d accidentally left it behind. My buff was one of my favourite pieces of gear for the whole hike – not only does it keep the sun off your neck, but it doubles as a handy cloth when you need to dry wet items.

After munching on a wrap with salami and rehydrated hommus (surprisingly good), we packed up and headed for the camp site. The trail becomes unnervingly sandy just a few kilometres out of Northcliffe, a reminder that the town is only about 30km from the coast, despite its forest vibes.

Disclaimer: Sand and I do not get along. I would even go so far as to say I hate hiking on soft sand. Beaches are for short barefoot strolls and swimming, not slogging along for hour after miserable hour. (Take note Bibb Track Foundation!) Sand gets everywhere, including between your toes to cause blisters, which is (partly) what killed my very first attempt at a multi-day hike on the Cape to Cape in 2016. It’s also supremely unsatisfying to walk on, as it takes about three times the effort to cover the same distance you would on hard ground.

Fortunately around Northcliffe, the sandy ground is firm and not any harder to walk on that dirt. I wish I could say that for the South Coast sections! Around the half way mark we spotted our first tiger snake, who dutifully slithered out of our way before either of us could take a photo. It would be the first of many.

Shortly before the shelter the track crosses what the guidebook describes as a “significant footbridge” over a wide stretch of the Gardner River. A great spot for another break.

Before long we’d reached the shelter, one of the newer rammed earth designs that nobody seems to like near the river’s edge. The rammed earth structures lack the rustic charm of the old timber shelters, but they are much more resistant to fire and so probably necessary in this bushfire-prone part of the world.

At Gardner we met a retired Canadian guy named Gerald, who’d hiked all the way from Albany in considerable pain, necessitating long recovery stops in Denmark and Walpole. I heard later on that he dropped out shortly after we met him, hopefully he can get himself fixed up and have another crack at it. Bonny and I went for a splash down in the river, which runs below the camp site. At this point it’s not much more than a shallow trickle in late March, but there was enough water to get clean. We made dinner at a picnic table thoughtfully placed by the river, then I retired to my tent while Bonny slept in the shelter.

Day one done!