We’re on a massive high after our first Bibbulmun Track adventure – which was a huge success! Three West Australian couples joined our experienced guides Heather and Trev for the first-ever Bibbulmun Track 6-Day “Walpole Wilderness Experience”. We hiked some of the best sections of the Bibbulmun Track on Western Australia’s rugged and pristine south coast with expert guiding, waterfront accommodation and delicious catering!
.
The journey includes exploring imposing granite peaks. Peaceful rivers. Wetlands and breathtaking beaches. And fascinating indigenous and European history. The area is also home to 400-year-old majestic tingle forests, which occur nowhere else in the world! We have three more Bibbulmun offerings this year so book soon to avoid disappointment.
.
Bibbulmun Track adventure a “wonderful” experience
Jim and Julie McNeill joined us previously for a guided end-to-end experience on Margaret River’s Cape to Cape Track. And they jumped at the chance to take part in our first Bibbulmun expedition. “The whole six days was a highlight for me. It’s just been wonderful,” Julie says.
.
“I did it, you guys encouraged me, and there were so many things along the way to keep going for,” she went on. “I love the forest. And I also love the beach. When I looked at the program, I just thought, ‘This sounds like us’. And it certainly has been. I can’t thank you enough. It’s been great!” Her husband and fellow hiker Jim says the towering forest of red and yellow tingle trees was a thrill. “I didn’t appreciate how many you would see and the size of them. They are just spectacular,” he says.
.
Forest and sea make for Bibbulmun highlights
Brad and Karen Wearn had also joined us previously on the Cape to Cape Track, choosing the self-guided hiking option. And they too said they were excited to sign up for our Bibbulmun offering. Karen says: “You just pick out the best of everything. There’s so much to see down here. You bring it all together. I loved walking out of the forest and seeing the sea. And then being thoroughly confused while walking along the coast, and wondering which I preferred!”
.
Karen went on to say: “Other highlights were seeing the rolling valleys. And sitting with my feet in water, drinking wine at the end of a hike. That was special! Also just the knowledge the guides have. I learned so much!”
.
Her husband Brad says the giant tingle trees were simply stunning. “And being able to touch the trees. That was quite a spiritual thing,” he says. Meanwhile, he also loved an indigenous acknowledgement of country, which Heather did at a peaceful bend of the Frankland River known as Monastery Landing. “Heather’s call to country was spine tingling,” Brad says. “I still get goosebumps when I think about it. Thank you so much for sharing that. I also loved the end of the Day Four walk, where the bush changed dramatically. And really, the whole day was pretty incredible as the landscape changed from the forest to the coast. That was amazing.”
.
Walking, wine and cheese a winning combination
Head guide Heather Schofield said her highlight moment was finishing the Day Four hike from the tingle forest to Conspicuous Cliff – and arriving to enjoy a wine tasting and local cheese platter, while cooling the feet off in a natural spring that flows down to the ocean. “When we were sitting there with our feet in the water, a glass vino and our local cheese… That was a moment that I’d envisioned when I planned the itinerary,” she says. “I thought, ‘A wine tasting, right now, is going to be beautiful’. And it was everything I could have imagined! For me, seeing all these ideas I had while putting the program together actually become a reality, is just amazing!”
.
A close connection to an unexplored corner of WA
For our final hiking couple, Susan and Paul Durrant, it was the first time they’d sighed up for an experience with Cape To Cape Explorer Tours. But we reckon they’ll be back to hike the Cape to Cape Track with us after having such a good time on the Bibbulmun.
.
“I learned heaps about Walpole and Nornalup, which was an area I didn’t know much about before,” Susan says. “Visiting Monastery Landing, sitting there so peaceful and quiet, was incredible. I also loved walking through areas where bushfire had been. The trees were black and the regrowth was so green and healthy. It just looked beautiful.” Paul meanwhile says a highlight was getting to know our guides. “I really enjoyed the information and knowledge from the guides. And meeting you and chatting to you about your lives. Plus all the walking, of course. Walking through the tall timber was special, that’s for sure,” he says.
.
Wow, great feetback! We’re certainly still on a high from our week in wonderful Walpole walking “the Bibb”. And we can’t wait for the next trips spread throughout 2021. Our March trip is already booked out and the others are fulling up fast! Click HERE to book your Bibbulmun Track adventure now or HERE to read more and see the full itinerary. Hope to see you on the Bibbulmun Track with us soon!!
.
