Day 45: Pemberton to Warren
We acknowledge the Nyoongar People as the traditional custodians of the land and waters along the Bibbulmun Track
Beaut water views at The Cascades
The section from Pemberton to Walpole is exciting. You get to experience the famous (or infamous!) Pingerup Plains, the swamps comprising days of wading. You’ll see the first giant tingle trees, large enough to literally drive a truck through. And you’ll walk the first beaches and dunes… but that is a week away yet.
Overview map
Use Bibbulmun Track Foundation Map 5 Pemberton
Many ups and downs along this part of the track make it a long day even when we shorten it by starting at the Gloucester Tree.
If you’ve slackpacked the Gloucester Tree while on your rest day in Pemberton as we did, a few kilometres will be cut from today’s hike if you get dropped there in the morning. Another option is to catch the tram to the Cascades, and slackpack back to town from there on your rest day, then the next morning catch a taxi back to the Cascades and continue to Warren. This helpfully shortens the total distance a little (Gloucester Tree) or significantly (Cascades): you can see from the elevation trace that today has a lot of gain and loss, and is one of the toughest not only for this reason, but also because you are at the start of a long section with a pack full of food. We have not done a drop at Northcliffe, figuring it’s just two additional days, but from our Making Longer Days Easier article, you’ll see a resupply there would have made them much lighter!
Today’s hike is also a walk in the woods with some lovely river scenes.
Even away from the main rivers, we’re seeing ever more water. Being from South Australia, we find this a refreshing change, although New Zealanders will laugh at the puddles!
The weather is terrific. Checking the map is a convenient excuse for a rest!
There is an enormous amount of deadfall across the track. And we see our first snakes, two within an hour, a brown dugite and a darker tiger snake. They are both very fast and disappear too quickly to photograph, but there will be many more opportunities.
Neither Geoff nor I are particularly afraid of snakes but have a healthy respect for them. As I generally walk in front, looking for orchids and flowers, I’m usually the one to spot most snakes as well. When this happens, I immediately say, “Stop!”, so that Geoff knows to do so at the same time, and also knows it’s a snake. “Stop,” is more effective than “Snake!” because it reinforces the most appropriate action when you see one.
Ah, that’s more like it: a genuine amount of water! The Cascades is a delightful spot for a break.
Also along this section is a tiny patch of tree ferns, the only ones we see anywhere on the track.
Crowea angustifolia ssp platyphylla with a native bee
Geoff has pictures of me like this in New Zealand, Iceland, Italy, France…
Pink and white forms of Crowea with blue Hovea
Caladenia flava ssp sylvestris
Caladenia latifolia
Officially, it’s considered rude to stop right on tracks and trails for a break but, when we see no-one all day, this isn’t really relevant. On busier tracks where you’re blocking other hikers, of course it’s more appropriate to move a short distance away.
There aren’t too many pictures from today because I need all my energy for the ups and downs! There is almost no flat ground anywhere; this is a rare exception… an old section of bullock trail that we cross.
A short bit of flat!
Bossiaea ornata (Broad-leafed Brown Pea). There are so many different yellow and brown peas!
Another flat bit of green track. Just delightful!
A native morel mushroom. Most morels are edible (but beware, there is a lookalike genus and not all native Australian morels have been evaluated!) and, unlike most fungi, they usually appear in spring rather than autumn. We often see them on hikes but they are invariably in National Parks or reserves, so we leave them to spread their spores. At home in South Australia, I gather porcini, wood blewits, blushers and other introduced mushrooms in my local neighbourhood.
And here we are at the hut at last, surrounded by those towering karri.
And, once again, lovely campsites. Of all the hikes we’ve done, the Bibbulmun has the most consistently excellent pitches we’ve experienced. The sites have been chosen and constructed by people with hiking experience rather than designers sitting in city head offices, and it shows.
Geoff prepares dinner. Look, there’s a block splitter and another little wood shed filled with jarrah. Luuuxxxuuury!
The walk today has been tiring but I’m at the stage where I now know I can complete the entire distance, barring accidents. Geoff has felt this way all along. It’s good to be back on the track.
