WALK REPORT – Bibbulmun Track – Kalamunda to Albany

961 km (597 mi) End to End – Completed August – October in 2003

Bibbulmun Track End to End Certificate

Introduction | Accessing the Track | Maps/Documentation  | Track Sections |Others Track Notes/Resources

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INTRODUCTION

The Bibbulmun Track is the longest walk trail in Western Australia, approximately 961 km in length.  The actual distance does vary marginally as the track is subject to frequent re-alignment (both temporary and permanent).  The Track’s northern trailhead is Kalamunda, a hills suburb of Perth and the southern trail head is at Albany, on the southern coast of Western Australia.  The Track leaves Kalamunda, travelling through jarrah/marri forests, before entering the karri forests and then the tingle forests as it snakes south. Eventually the Track emerges on the southern ocean for the final coastal run into Albany, hence it is often referred to as the forest to the coast track.  Along the way there are 48 campsites (three-sided shelter, bush toilet, water tank, picnic tables, and fire ring) and the Track passes through seven towns. Over the length of the Track, an average days walk is approximately 18 km (based on a 54 day walk).  The track is very accessible, allowing for short family walks, to day walks to overnighters, to going end to end.

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ASSESSING THE TRACK 

The northern trailhead is approximately 26 km east from the Perth General Post Office and is located on the corner of Mundaring Weir Road and Railway Road, Kalamunda (hills suburb of Perth).

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The southern trailhead is 409 km south of Perth (via road) at the Old Railway Station on Proudlove Parade (300 metres east of the southern end of York Street), Albany.

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Northern Trailhead

Public transport  to the northern trailhead is via Transperth buses which service Kalamunda regularly from Perth city. See the 285, 287; 298, 300; 302; 303 timetables. There is no rail service to Kalamunda.

Southern Trailhead

The main public transport provider to the southern trailhead is Transwa.  Transwa services Albany daily.  The applicable timetables are S1, S2, and S3.

Other major access points include North Bannister, Dwellingup, Balingup, Pemberton, Northcliffe, Walpole, and Denmark.

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MAPS/DOCUMENTATION

The main documentation on the track are the two guidebooks published by the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) (formally the Department of Conservation and Land Management (CALM)).  These are “A guide to the Bibbulmun Track: Northern Half” (2nd Edition) which covers the Track from Kalamunda to Donnelly River Village and “A guide to the Bibbulmun Track: Southern Half” (2nd Edition) which covers the Track from Donnelly River Village to Albany.

In addition to the guidebooks, DEC publishes a series of eight maps covering the track.  Maps 1 to 4 cover the northern half  and maps 5 to 8 cover the southern half.  The maps where updated in 2003 and are in a scale of 1:50 000 and printed on virtually rip-proof and water proof paper.   The respective maps are:

DEC also publishes the maps in a northern series and a southern series map pack, generally at a reduced price over the single maps. There is also a DVD/Video available, titled “Getting on Track – Making the Most of your Walk.”

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TRACK SECTIONS

The Bibbulmun Track is “divided” into 58 sections.  While the Track is divided into sections, its is not uncommon for end to end enders or section walkers to walk more than one section in a day, so the sections are delineated only by the placement of campsites or towns and should only be a guide to planning a walk schedule.  Sections between towns which have public transport access (or reasonable resupply options) are highlighted in red.

In the comments sections I have detailed my 2003 walk itinerary. With hindsight I would do it a little differently, including cutting out the rest days at Dwellingup and Collie and leaving my options open for Denmark and Pemberton.  Also I would walk straight through to West Cape Howe from Denmark unless having to walk around the inlet. In the northern section, Waalegh or Beraking straight through to Brookton is quite possible, saving another day.  With these changes alone, my walk time could have been reduced by six days.

Other points worth noting when planning and walking the Track:

• A good source of local information is the relevant Department of Environment and Conservation office which manages the section of Track of interest.
• It is not uncommon to find mosquito larvae in the water tanks at the campsites. The larvae can be easily filtered out with a piece of cloth or stocking over the tap. I personally carry a stocking for this purpose. If you find one on the water tank’s tap please leave it there for other walkers.
• The water colour in the tanks often has a brown tinge.  This is a result of tannin in the water. It has no impact on the taste, just how it looks.

Gringer Creek is two kilometres from North Banister Road House. Transwabuses stop at the roadhouse

14

Whitehorse Hills

Mount Wells

14.5

168

802.3

Day 10 through to Mt Wells

15

Mount Wells

Chadoora

14.9

182.9

787.8

Day 11 through to Chadoora

16

Chadoora

Dwellingup

19.4

202.3

772.9

Day 12 through to Dwellingup
Day 13 rest day in Dwellingup

Dwellingup is a small town with a supermarket, however, it is not serviced by Transwa or other public transport.

17

Dwellingup

Swamp Oak

13.1

215.4

753.5

Day 14 through to Swamp Oak

18

Swamp Oak

Murray

18.5

233.9

740.4

Day 15 through to Murray

19

Murray

Dookanelly

17.7

251.6

721.9

Day 16 through to Dookanelly

20

Dookanelly

Possum Springs

19.3

270.9

704.2

Day 17 through to Possum Springs

21

Possum Springs

Yourdamung

18.6

289.5

684.9

Day 18 through to Yourdamung
A NO firespolicy applies at Yourdamung campsite ; fuel stoves only.

22

Yourdamung

Harris Dam

13.6

303.1

666.3

Day 19 through to Harris Dam

23

Harris Dam

Collie

21.3

324.4

652.7

Day 20 through to Collie
Day 21 rest day in Collie

24

Collie

Yabberup

19.6

344.0

631.4

Day 22 through to Yabberup

25

Yabberup

Noggerup

17.7

361.7

611.8

Day 23 through to Noggerup

26

Noggerup

Grimwade

21.9

383.6

594.1

Day 24 through to Grimwade

27

Grimwade

Balingup

22.4

406

572.2

Day 25 through to Balingup
Balingup, whilst being a small town and is serviced by Transwa.

Gas canisters now available at Balingup

April 29, 2007: Called in on the General Store – found walker “supplies” to be very limited and mostly unsuitable. I would not recommend relying on the store for resupply. Donnelly River Village continues to be a better option.

28

Balingup

Blackwood

17.7

423.7

549.8

Day 26 through to Blackwood

A NO firespolicy applies at Blackwood campsite; fuel stoves only.

29

Blackwood

Gregory Brook

18.0

441.7

532.1

Day 27 through to Gregory Brook

30

Gregory Brook

Donnelly River Village

20.5

462.2

514.1

Day 28 through to Donnelly River Village
Donnelly River Village does carry some walker supplies and they can get supplies in from Manjimup overnight.

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OTHER TRACK NOTES/RESOURCES

• Col Girdler’s planning notes and diary of this walk of the track south to north (PDF ~ 223 kb).
• Department of Environment and Conservation Bibbulmun Track pages
• Aushiker Yahoo! group pages – good place to talk to fellow walkers with experience of the Track
• Bibbulmun Track Foundation

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