Check out this photo diary from our new adventure – the Bibbulmun Track 6-Day Walpole Wilderness Experience. It involves hiking some of the best sections of the Bibbulmun Track on Western Australia’s rugged and pristine south coast over 6 days with expert guiding, waterfront accommodation and delicious catering!
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Our hikers explore tranquil forests. Imposing granite peaks. Peaceful rivers. Wetlands and breathtaking beaches. The area is also home to 400-year-old majestic tingle forests, which occur nowhere else in the world!
Day 1: Arrival day and group barbecue
Day 1 of the Walpole Wilderness Experience involves making your own way to the Walpole region, 410km south of Perth. And checking in at Coalmine Beach Holiday Park. Relax and unwind for the afternoon before enjoying a delicious group barbecue with fresh salads prepared for you at the camp kitchen. Meet your guides and fellow hikers. And receive a briefing on the week ahead. You’ll also receive a hamper packed with all your breakfast needs for the week.
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Day 2: Coalmine Beach-Walpole Wilderness Experience
Prepare your breakfast from your supplied hamper and hop on our bus for a transfer to John Rate Lookout. Named after a district forester who discovered a new species on tingle tree, the lookout offers great views over Walpole and the coastline you will be hiking. Set out on your first taste of Bibbulmun Track with a 6.5km downhill walk into Walpole township, finishing at the beautiful Nornalup Inlet. Here, we join local legend Gary Muir for a 2-hour WOW Wilderness Ecocruise (you’ll even see your accommodation from the water during the trip).
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Tuck into a tasty picnic lunch waiting for you on the banks of the inlet after the cruise. In the afternoon, hike on the Bibbulmun Track for 4km along the shores of the inlet. Walk into your accommodation. Enjoy a hearty dinner prepared at your accommodation.
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Day 3: Tingle forest with Tree Top Walk
Enjoy breakfast from your supply hamper and get ready to experience the magic of the tingle forest! We walk out of our accommodation on the Bibbulmun Track for an exhilarating 7km – it’s mostly uphill but the spectacular views are worth every step. Stop at several look-outs for plenty of Instagram moments. Plunge into the forest, stopping at the Giant Tingle Tree. It’s a towering red tingle tree hollowed out by fire with the widest base of any known eucalyptus tree in the world! Enjoy another delicious lunch under the forest canopy.
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Then, it’s on to the Valley Of The Giants Tree Top Walk. This world-renowned attraction is a 600m walkway soaring 40m into the tree tops. It also has excellent walking trails on the ground meandering among the tingles. On the way home, we stop for an early diner at family-run Nornabar. It’s a beautiful restaurant right on the Franklin River whose Sri Lankan chefs do a mean curry as well as a fabulous selection of Mediterranean and western cuisine.
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Day 4: Bush to beach – and a swim
After breakfast at Coalmine Beach and a short bus ride back to the Valley Of The Giants, we’re back on the Bibbulmun Track where we left off yesterday. Today’s hike is 15km. Walk out of the magical tingle forest (mostly downhill!) to Conspicious Cliff. It’s home to unspoiled beach, limestone cliffs and granite headlands.
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Enjoy lunch on the Track while taking in the epic coastal scenery, with the option for a swim to cap off the day. Before departing Conspicuous Cliff, enjoy a beach-side wine tasting of local wine and cheese board. Relax back at the accommodation. Then sit down to a tasty dinner prepared for you.
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Day 5: Walking by the seaside – with fish and chips
Breakfast and morning transfer back to Conspicious Cliff, where we hike by the seaside on the Bibbulmun Track through a series of gorgeous bays and over stunning granite headlands.
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Hugging the coast for a total of 15km, we finish at the aptly-named Peaceful Bay. Enjoy lunch on the Track. And then tuck into a sunset seafood dinner at the fabulous Peaceful Bay Fish n Chips restaurant.
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Day 6: Departure day.
Wake up, enjoy breakfast and check out of your accommodation. Head home or continue your exploration of the south coast.