Bibbulmun Track Day 24 – Wandering Miner

Day 24

22.5 km

Cum 488.5 km

Camped: No camping; Donnely River Village

Today started extra early as Alan, Mr walk 50-60km a day easy, wakes up at 04h00. I personally believe people like that should sleep in a tent and not wake everyone up!

Most of the day was relatively unexciting as there was plenty of kilometres of walking through overgrown plant tunnels.

A few hours out of the hut the track does go past the first lot of karri trees. These are eucalyptus trees that lose their bark and have a ghostly grey, white appearance. The forest floor is littered with their bark! Anywhere in the proximity is covered by long shreds !

A little while later I came across Wilson camp, not really an official Bibbulmun track camp, it is a small 4 person shelter, tank and toilet.

Most of the track from here was on wider track and with more karri trees. I also spotted new orchids- snail orchids I believe-growing on a mossy, decomposing log.

Walking into the village was pretty cool. The village used to be a timber mill based village. Now the timber mill has been closed since 1978 and the town turned into a holiday village. The old timber houses are used as holiday rentals, in a quiet little place surrounded by forest. The village is also well known for having tame emus and kangaroos as well as “28” lorikeets. They are to tame for my liking and love to steal people’s food!

First things first I had a beef lasagne and coffee for lunch, booked my place at the old school house bunk room and had a shower! Then did laundry.

Feeling much cleaner I noticed that the others that had stayed in camp with us last night, had also arrived and so chatted to them before their lift arrived .

Peter will be doing a double hut day tomorrow, so will be a day ahead of me, but will see him in Pemberton.

Rusty will probably catch up as he isn’t resting in Pemberton but here in DRV with some mates.

I found out that there was some mobile phone signal behind a few cottages in the village and went there to try sort accommodation for Pemberton. Took a while but got there in the end!