Bibbulmun Track
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The Bibbulmun Track is a long distance path in Western Australia. It runs from Kalamunda, east of Perth to Albany and is just over 963 km long.
It consists of around 50 sections. Each section is approximately one day's walk, except for the northernmost 150km or so, where the sections consist of half-day walks. At the end of each section is either a town or a purpose-built campsite. Each campsite consists of a three-sided hut with wooden sleeping platforms, a water tank, a pit toilet, picnic tables and cleared tent sites. In the northern half, most campsites also have a BBQ pit and plate (open fires are banned in the southern section).
The track is almost all through state forest, national parks and other reserves, with only a few small sections of farmland. The first half of the track is through the Jarrah forests of the Darling Range. It then moves through flatter tall Karri forests until reaching the coastline near the town of Walpole. The remainder of the track is through coastal forest and scrub along the south coast, in some sections routed along sandy beaches.
The major towns the track passes through are Dwellingup, Collie, Bailingup, Pemberton, Walpole and Denmark.
Highlights of the track include:
- Monadnocks area and Mt Cooke
- Murray River Valley
- Karri Forests between Donnelly River and Denmark
- Tingle forest near Walpole
- Coastal scenery along the south coast
- Wildlife along the south coast such as seals, dolphins and whales
The Bubbulmun Track is managed by the state government Department of Conservation and Land Management (CALM) and volunteers.
Most people choose to walk sections of the track for one or a few days at a time. Hardy walkers who walk the track from beginning to end typically do so in 6 to 8 weeks. The recommended time to walk the track is during the wildflower season of spring ( September - November), going from north to south as the wildflower season starts later in the southern areas. In summer the weather can be very hot and water will be hard to find except in the water tanks at the campsites. Winter can be wet, especially in the southern areas.
External links
- Bibbulmun Track Foundation (http://www.bibbulmuntrack.org.au/)
- Bibbulmun Track information from CALM (http://www.calm.wa.gov.au/tourism/bibbulmun_splash.html)