When should you set off your PLB (Personal Locator Beacon)?

What do you do if you’re lost while hiking?

Should you turn off your beacon once you are “not lost”?

In this post, Talie, a wonderfully adventurous lady we have been communicating with for a while,  tells us about the time she was “lost” in the Frenchman’s Cap area in Tasmania.

Talie generally bushwalks solo and,  from reading her different hiking trip reports from around the world, is very safety conscious and careful.  In this trip last year, she became “geographically challenged” and spent a night out in the bush.

Here is her story:

I was hiking the Frenchman’s Cap track.  I had camped by the second bridge next to the Loddon River.  I put most of my gear in the bottom of my pack, having removed the top and the hip belt, and hung it in a tree (along with my food bag).  The “day pack” that I took the next morning (which was made up from the backpack top and the hip belt) had in it:  Rain jacket, dry shirt, lunch food, water, bug repellent, map, and sun screen.

Later I was very upset with myself for omitting what I call my “emergency bag”.  It was still in my pack at the campsite! What  I had left behind was a compass, candle,  lighter,  small torch (headlamp) and basic first aid.  Bummer!

Lake Vera

Somewhere my watch got pulled off my arm, and I didn’t even realize it.  And then at one point I slipped at the edge of the river and there went my reading glasses (things were going from bad to worse!).  Finally I realized that I was going to be there overnight – so I got up out of the river bed (unfortunately my feet were still very wet) onto the side of a hill where there was a little less brush.

As it got dark, I put on my dry shirt (I had a light weight fleece and my rain gear on my top) and placed my damp shirt around my legs, which actually did keep them a bit warmer.  I was very glad of the bug repellant since the mosquitos were hungry!  It was a long night and very dark!  A possum came by, I could hear him moving in the bush, and scolded me for about 20 minutes (I guess).  There wasn’t much I could do – since I couldn’t see him.

The next morning, when it got light – I followed the creek a little while longer, and then realized that that was fruitless.  So I came out of the woods, to realize that I had really gone in a circle – classic lost person stuff!  I wandered out into the button grass (my legs wouldn’t take any more bush-bashing).  I knew that the weather was supposed to change the next day, and the clouds were coming in pretty fast.

Scratches on Talie"s leg

That was when I decided that I needed to “pull the plug” and activated the EPRB/ PLB  (I really wish I had given it another hour!).  After staying in one spot for about 2 hours – I was going slightly hypothermic, I knew I needed to move.  So I headed out following the button grass – figuring that between me and the far ridge, the trail had to be there.  Sure enough, after about 1/2 hour, I saw some heads bobbing on the track – and was happy to become “unlost”.

I decided to de-activate the beacon hoping that the “troups” weren’t on their way.  I got to my camp in about an hour and a half, gathered up my gear, and started heading out.  I was partway up the hill when I heard the helicopter come into the valley.  Bummer!  I didn’t know how to contact him (they told me later that I should have left the beacon on) – so I continued to hike out, planning on contacting them when I reached the trailhead.

As I came up into the carpark, the helicopter landed right there and we had a long discussion about how the whole experience had unfolded.  There were very professional, caring and efficient – and I have since sent a donation to the Tasmanian Air Rescue Service!

The "Rescue" chopper

Many thanks to Talie for sharing her story. Talie is very much a “died in the wool” solo backpacker.  Three days after her Frenchman’s Cap adventure, she soloed the Overland Track (and loved it!).  (And the week before she soloed the Walls of Jerusalem.)  She then headed off to New Zealand, still soloing and getting off the beaten track here (but not too far off the “track”!

You can read all of Talie’s adventures at her blog: TalieM’s Weblog..  She is a very busy woman!

This is the link to her Tasmanian hikes

Have you ever been “geographically challenged” while hiking?

Have you had to set of a PLB / EPIRB?

We would love to read about your experiences.  Leave us a comment below if you would like to share.

From hiking Australia to Explorer
In this post we continue the series of interviews with interesting outdoors people that have inspired us to keep getting into the outdoors!

Louis-Philippe Loncke is a Belgian explorer who discovered hiking in Australia back in 2004. This experience has led him to bushwalk all over the country and to become a maniac in unsupported treks to remote corners of Tasmania or deserts.  His 2008 world first expedition across the Simpson desert brought him the respect from the explorers’ community. Just in Australia he has over 3000km of walking and an impressive resume of Firsts:

In just 12 days he crossed the entire West MacDonnells National Park unsupported from Mount Zeil to Alice Springs. He climbed Mount Zeil, Razorback, Sonder and  Giles underway. He carried all his food for the trip and only took water from waterholes (no tanks). The trek was 330km long and he thus walked the entire Larapinta trail except off-track from Ormiston Gorge to Mount Giles and then a direct off-track part to join back the Larapinta.

The Track is below the water, Dusky Track NZ but I hiked with half Scuba diving wetsuit to avoid hypothermia

Two weeks after completing the “Mountains of the Outback” trek, he walked in the same unsupported way across Fraser Island from its Southern to Northern tip in 9 days. He used the official Fraser walk and the beach up to Orchid beach then went inland to cover the last 26km in 3 days of jungle, almost impenetrable vines, drylakes and sand dunes without seeing a single dingo !

The most daunting trek was a 49 day trek (without food resupply!) across Tasmania’s wilderness starting from Cradle Valley to the South Cape climbing 19 peaks from Mount Ossa to Federation peak passing through Mount Anne.

Tasmania Overland Start Dove Lake Nov 2004

It took him 2 weeks of bush bashing from Federation peak to reach the South Coast track mainly following the New River with a leg infected with the trench foot disease. That’s an average of 2km per day to cover 30km as the crow flies. Having a broken GPS and the only way to locate himself was by triangulation when climbing into the trees when it was possible. All his routes can be found on his website.

Tasmania Wild Mountains Dec 2006 - At Cradle Mountain

So, to the questions

How about a bit of background on yourself.  Live where? Work where?

I was born in Mouscron in 1977, a small town in Belgium at the border with France. I didn’t do many sports in my youth but was a boyscout and learned how to use a map and compass but no real 2-3 day hiking before backpacking Australia in 2004-2005. I live and work in Brussels as management consultant.

How did you first get into adventuring/ hiking / trekking?  Any particular mentor or group?

Before going to Australia, a friend invited me on a weekend walking trip in Ireland. I had no clue that there existed hiking socks and bought my first boots for the trip. He used the “Walking in Ireland” from the Lonely Planet to guide us. In Australia, I came to scuba dive and found the same book for Australia in a bookshop while looking for a road atlas. I started doing a few hikes with it in the Blue Mountains and after 6 months I had covered more than 1100km in 40+ bushwalks. I remember reading that I needed gaiters for Tasmania but had no clue of what it was, never heard the word in my mother tongue before. I bought a pair and also a fuel stove. After a hike in the Grampians, I was invited by a couple to stay with them for 2 nights. During one of the evenings we watched “Alone across Australia” from Jon Muir. I was amazed by his achievement and never thought I’d be doing myself some real adventures. Jon Muir is still the biggest adventurer to me with Mike Horn, both in different disciplines but both pushed beyond limits of what was thought impossible. I could even say, what most contemporary adventurers don’t even imagine as it’s close to be mad gutsy insane.

Looking Approach Mount Zeil NW side Sept 2006

After Australia, I moved on to New Zealand for the summer. I was in extremely good shape, trained, lightweight style and fast as walking longer hours aiming at completing the maximum of tramps in half the recommended days, except for the Dusky track, which I did alone in bad weather. On that specific tramp, I was with 2 other parties: 3 young Israeli who just finished the 2 years army duty and 3 professional US Marine Corps. We each covered the daily distance in roughly the same time. It was the hardest and most dangerous hike we all had done. One of the Marines told me at the end he was amazed by my solo walking skills, adding the Dusky was one of the hardest things he’s done with crossing Alaska on ski just above it. So I understood that with proper fitness, training, gear and will to mental ability to push and still be smiling I could do great long walks but didn’t know I would be doing world first expeditions just a few years after.

Solo or with someone? Who is your preferred hiking partner?

Resting vast dry Lake Simpson Desert

I prefer to go solo, especially on unsupported treks. It’s very hard to find a partner who wants to share the same preparations, commitments and aims. Even if this was ok, he/she should be able to have the same fitness as I have (not stronger, not weaker). A difference pace will in total increase the time to cover the distance and in some ways decrease safety (catching up someone who waits can lead to less focus and this is where accidents happen). But some easier walks or I’d say normal known routes, being in group is more fun.  The other advantage of being not solo is being able to take easier photos or video of someone in action. I never have a camera crew following me in extreme environments. And it certainly adds safety to call for help if someone falls in a hole, crevasse or would collapse from being tired or attacked by a wild animal. My last expedition to Everest Base Camp wasn’t solo. It was not easy to lead 2 walking partners who were fitter and less tired and didn’t often wait for me.

If you had a couple of months off just to hike, what would be the three multi day hikes in your country ( or nearby) you would complete?

The GR20 in Corsica (France) & the length of the Pyrenees (France-Spain) and certainly a trek in Scandinavia maybe Lapland (Finland).

Alright, unlimited finances, money and time what would be the three  multi day international treks  you would complete?

The Te Araroa in New Zealand, Peru to South Patagonia, Alaska or entire Himalayas. But that’s excluding kayak treks and my next hardcore expeditions which I intend to start in a few years.

My three favourite bits of gear are? Why?

Wilsons Promontory Sealers Cove 2004

I like my old MSR Zoid 1 tent. Small, light, safe. Any 800gram sleeping bag rated to 0° C or less. A beanie. It’s hot and is also a cushion.

I really hate it when I am  hiking / trekking and …..?

I see trash or people smoking or playing music. It’s just unfair to be in the wild and be reminded of our cities. Worse: kids having a portable videogame with them !

I knew we were in trouble on that trip when …….

You’re going up and it starts snowing and you don’t want to go down before you reach the summit. The decision between reason and passion! Reason should be taken of course.

What trips have you planned in the next 12 months?

I’m preparing an attempt to be the first to cross Iceland unsupported from North to South (not the “easy” trek inland) from the highest to lowest latitude. It’s a double first as during the summer part I’ll take GPS points to be followed 6 months later during the winter part in close to 100% darkness. It’s very scary to imagine walking in whiteouts in the dark or should I say blackouts ? You can follow the adventure and the preparations of this Iceland Trek. Now I’m busy to design a special Kevlar carbon fiber pulka where I can sleep in it to resist heavy winds and the weight of the snow, I call it the sleeppulka for the moment, no final name for it yet.

What is your favourite outdoor website?

I watch daily the adventure blog and the explorersweb.

Following the New River in Tasmania saved his life

What is your favourite outdoor hiking gear store?

In Sydney, I used to go the Activate Outdoors, it felt they were more independent and had more experience because a bit older than in the other nearby shops. They were the first Aussies who knew about my first crazy long walks and they eventually decided to support me. In Europe I go often to Decathlon. Their Quechua brand for outdoor is good for general purpose. They don’t sell specific expedition gear.

Many thanks to Louis-Philippe for agreeing to this interview. Please take the time to check out the blogs he has kept on his adventures, they are wild reading!

We are always on the lookout for more interviews to share on Our Hiking Blog. Drop us an email if you are keen,  or know of someone inspirational that we could contact!

Read about Frank & Sues downloadable book on doing the Overland Track

Vous songez à voyager en Australie pour la Tasmanie randonnée Overland Track? (Thinking of travelling to Australia to hike Tasmania’s Overland Track?)

Would you love to read a trip report écrite en français? (a trip report in French)

Can’t read French but just want to see some great pictures of the Overland Track from Cradle Mountain to Lake St Clair y compris la faune, de paysages, des cascades et “Track” (including the wildlife, scenery, waterfalls and “Track”)

We discovered a really nice blog maintained by Yann, called Off the Beaten Track where he has just written up a great trip report on the Overland Track from Cradle Mountain to Lake St Clair in Tasmania.

The fun bit is that it is written in French!

Yann at Lake Will with Barn Bluff in the background

On contacting Yann, he was very happy to share his information AND to translate the post into English.   In the spirit of internationalism  and Franco / Australian solidarity on Rememberance Day we have selected parts of his post and shared them here in French and English

Who is Yann? What is he up to? – We asked him and his response was:

Hard question, I’m just traveling because I had enough of my job after 7 years, and I had a good opportunity at the beginning of this year. I really like trekking, so I chose places where I’ve a good opportunity for a trek, I try to do it. Trekking is a kind of “drugs” for me, but a good one

You can just put my name and write another globetrotter around the world who loves to be off the beaten track.

This trip report is from October (the Australian Spring) and we share Yann’s tips for doing the Overland Track in French and English.

A few tips:

# Quelques conseils :

• La bible électronique : Frank & Sue Wall partagent sur leur blog toutes leurs expériences lors de nombreuses randonnées, dont l’Overland Track. Un livre électronique qui détaille tout ce vous devez savoir sur cette célèbre randonnée est disponible via sur blog. Je vous le recommande !
• The Electronic Bible : Frank & Sue Wall Blog share their experiences in all their many tours, including the Overland Track. A eBook which details everything you need to know about this famous hiking is available via blog. I recommend it!

• Transports : après de nombreuses recherches, je pense avoir trouver la façon la moins chère de voyager pour effectuer cette randonnée au départ de Melbourne.
  • Commencez par réserver un vol Melbourne – Launceston avec Tiger Airways un mardi. Le coût est d’environ 40 AUD avec un sac à dos de 15 kg.
  • Prenez ensuite un bus, Tassielink, qui vous enmènera depuis Launceston jusqu’à l’entrée du parc national (à Cradle Valley). Un ticket de bus spécial Overland Track est disponible, permettant d’arriver au nord, puis de quitter par le sud. Comptez tout de même 99 AUD.
  • Une fois la randonnée finie, un autre bus vous transportera depuis le lac St-Clair jusqu’à Hobart. Ce trajet est compris dans prix du billet précédemment mentionné.
  • La randonnée durant 5 et 6 jours, le retour depuis Hobart à Melbourne peut facilement s’effectuer un mardi, le jour de la semaine où le prix des billets d’avion est le moins cher. Le coût est identique qu’à l’aller avec la même compagnie aérienne.
• Transport : After much research, I think I find the cheapest way to travel to do this walk away from Melbourne.
  • Start by booking a flight Melbourne – Launceston with Tiger Airways a Tuesday. The cost is about 40 AUD with a backpack of 15 kg.
  • Take a bus TassielinkThat you Enmene from Launceston to the entrance of National Park (in Cradle Valley). A special bus ticket Overland Track is available for reaching the north, then exit through the south. Count still 99 AUD.
  • After hiking over, another bus will transport you from Lake St. Clair to Hobart. This course is included in the ticket price listed above.
  • The hike for 5 and 6 days, returning to Melbourne from Hobart can easily be done on a Tuesday, the day of the week the price of airfare is cheaper. The cost is the same as going with the same airline.
• Nourriture : penser à arriver à Launceston une journée avant le départ du bus pour Cradle Valley afin d’y acheter nourriture et gaz. Et cela pour deux bonnes raisons :
  • Les feux de camp étant interdit, il est nécessaire d’emporter avec soit une, voir deux petites bouteilles de gaz. Et comme vous pouvez l’imaginer, impossible de prendre du gaz dans l’avion, il est donc nécessaire de l’acheter une fois arrivée en Tasmanie.Si comme moi, votre avion arrive en début de soirée, une fois que tout est fermé, pas de panique ! Un grand supermarché, nommé Kmart, est ouvert 24h sur 24 et vend du matériel de camping, y compris ces fameuses bouteilles de gaz dont vous aurez tant besoin durant votre randonnée.
  • Des règles très strictes en vigueur en Tasmanie interdisent l’importation de fruits et légumes. Achetez simplement votre nourriture une fois arrivé sur place. Plusieurs supermarchés sont ouverts tard, voir toute la nuit.
  • Pensez à déballer toute la nourriture afin de la mettre dans des sac Ziploc. Il est facilement possible de gagner un voir deux kilogrammes en se séparant de tous les emballages inutiles. Au final, le poids de la nourriture pour 6 jours sera d’environ 4 à 5 kg, avec un surplus journalier de 2 kg pour l’eau.
• Food : Thinking to arrive at Launceston a day before the bus to Cradle Valley to buy food and gas. And for two good reasons:
  • Campfires are prohibited, it is necessary to win with either one or two small bottles of gas. And as you can imagine, impossible to take gas in the plane, it is necessary to buy after arrival in Tasmania.

If like me, your plane arrives early evening, when everything is closed, do not panic! A large supermarket, named Kmart, Is open 24 hours on 24 and sells camping equipment, including the famous gas cylinders so you’ll need during your hike.
Strict rules in force in Tasmania prohibit the importation of fruits and vegetables. Just buy your food once you arrive on site. Many supermarkets are open late, see all night.

• • Remember to unpack all the food to put in bag Ziploc. It is easily possible to see win a two kilograms by dividing all unnecessary packaging. Finally, the weight of food for 6 days will be about 4 to 5 kg, with a daily surplus of 2 kg for water.
• Droit d’entrée : un système de réservation entre en vigueur pendant la période de plus grande fréquentation, soit du 1er novembre au 31 avril. En dehors de cette période, vous pouvez économiser le droit d’entrée, soit 160 AUD, ce qui n’est pas négligeable. Le droit d’entrée au parc (différent de celui précédemment cité) est obligatoire tout au long de l’année. Il est valable deux mois et coûte 28 AUD, et permet de visiter tous les parcs nationaux de Tasmanie.
• Right of entry : A reservation system enter into force during the period of greatest attendance, from November 1 to April 31. Outside this period, you can save the entrance fee, or 160 AUD, which is not negligible. The entrance fee to the park (other than that mentioned above) is required throughout the year. It is valid for two months and costs 28 AUD, and can visit all the national parks of Tasmania.

Many thanks to Yann for allowing us to share his terrific blog post.  For all you non French readers, open the blog post,  Overland Track – Amazing Tasmania and more , in Google and block out the text, Google Translate should open and will prompt you to translate the post.  Good luck! (and apologies for some of the French to English translation…)

In this post we continue with Larry Hamilton’s guest post on hiking the South Coast Track in Southern Tasmania.

The South Coast Track runs between Melaluka and Cockle Creek in the South West Heritage area in Tasmania. It combines spectacular coastal hiking with some (a lot) of slog through inland sections with mud and more mud….

Part Two commences from the Louisa Creek campsite before he heads up the Ironbound Range, a climb notorious for difficult weather conditions and a very steep exposed climb.

Day Four 22 June

I was up by 5.30 am packing up in the dark and on the track before dawn at 7.45am. It was a beautiful, clear, still morning and the weather report for the area was for heavy fog. That wasn’t evident in the Louisa River valley but as I ascended the Ironbounds the fog rolled in over the ranges and through the valleys from the west. I was above the fog by the time it arrived and so got a very pretty view of the mountains poking out of the fog for most of the day. And I walked in clear weather for the whole of the day. I got to the top of the Ironbounds at 11.30am and was pleased to have had a cool day for the climb. Tackling the climb on a hot summer’s day wouldn’t be my idea of fun.

Views from the Ironbound Range- great weather


I hit the Ironbounds high camp at midday, had lunch and a look around the campsite. The descent was trickier than the ascent as everyone finds and I reached the low camp at 2.30pm and thought carefully about continuing as dusk was not that far away. I decided to push on and almost immediately came across a number of big trees down across the track and my pet hate (yellow, slimy mud! I much prefer the peaty black mud) this combination slowed me down considerably, probably contributed to by some weariness from the climb and descent.

I got into camp as dusk was descending at 4.15pm in pretty dim light and was pleased to have done so. Little Deadmans Bay is a pretty spot and I thought I’d take another rest day to have a good look at it and its surroundings on the morrow.

(Ed: Check out this post Hiking the South Coast Track Solo by a very fit woman)

Day Five 23 June

Having resolved to take a rest day I woke up feeling fresh and eager to continue and as a result thought again about continuing. The forecast was for deteriorating weather and drizzle in the evening so I fought the tendency to keep moving and instead I took advantage of the sunshine and pretty location to dry things out, relax and take some photos.

Deadmans Bay

Day Six 24 June

The drizzle didn’t eventuate yesterday or last night and while the weather was evidently coming, it was not a frontal gale coming from the west but more heavy overcast and increasing drizzle. It is an easy walk from Little Deadmans Bay to the New River Lagoon and the rain started while walking on the beach approaching the lagoon. I had an interesting half hour trying to put on a tarp/poncho I had brought with me and would have been good entertainment for an observer as I struggled to get it draped as it is intended to be. When I eventually got it on I had a good laugh at my tracks on the beach. It looked as if I’d had a moment of madness dancing and pirouetting around in the midst of a sober and solitary trail up to and on from that mad dance. I enjoyed the walk along the beach.

Somehow the wind and the drizzle matched the wildness of the waves, the windswept beach with its jetsam of bull kelp and the pacific gulls and oyster catchers along the shore. As the wind wasn’t all that strong and was mostly from a northerly direction the crossing was uneventful and uncomplicated. I was impressed by how many wombat and wallaby tracks there were along the banks of the lagoon.

The boat at New River Lagoon – it is heavier than it looks!

Day Seven 25 June

The morning forecast was for increasing showers and rain for the next four days but while there were some heavy showers, most of the early rain was drizzle really so I packed up and headed for Surprise Bay. I got pretty wet on the walk to Surprise Bay as the showers certainly got heavier so I decided to camp there after a short day to wait out the worst of the rain. It was a nice walk though. The crossing of Milford Creek was a thigh-deep wade and it looked like it was rising.

By the time I got to Surprise Bay the creek at the west end of the beach was running pretty strongly and was turbulent with froth and dark with tannin so that I had no idea how deep it was. It turned out to be above waist deep with a strong current but I managed to keep my feet. The campsite above the beach was quite large with a good selection of sites to pitch a tent so I set up my tent and tarp and added my poncho/tarp to the set-up which allowed me quite a bit of dry space to sit under outside of my tent.

New River Lagoon from the air

Leeches!

I came across my first leech here. I can’t say I’d missed them earlier in the walk as I’m not too fond of the little suckers but I’d been surprised by their relative absence and had puzzled over why this might have been the case. I can only think that the salty air and seaside environment was something that they weren’t fond of. I always carry salt to deal with them and know how much they dislike it.

For this trip I was keen to try some pyrethrin spray that my research indicated should be effective with leeches. So the first leech was experiment number one and it was one leech down. Even here there were not many leeches and because of that I suppose I got careless. After retiring to my sleeping bag after dark something bothered me while I was lying there reflecting on the day. On turning on my led lantern I discovered a leech stretching from the inside of the inner tent towards my cheek, only a few centimetres away. A flurry of activity and some more spray and scratch leech number two. That had me checking the inside of my tent pretty carefully to make sure that there were no more to surprise me inside the tent and that the inner was zipped up fully.

When it gets dark at 5pm and doesn’t get light again until 7.30am I tend to spend a lot of time in my sleeping bag and really too much time trying to get some sleep. Winter walking is a way of catching up on sleep and I wouldn’t recommend it for insomniacs. At night I value the mp3 player and little radio, even when the reception is pretty crappy.

Related Posts

The South Coast Track – Solo Winter Trip report by Larry Hamilton – Part One
Larry’s Port Davey Trip Report- great reading
Gear List for Wilderness Bushwalking Trip – Larry Hamilton’s excellent gear list
Stuck between Louisa and Faraway Creeks – Our adventure on the South Coast Track
Hiking the South Coast Track – our first (and last time)

The Bibbulmun Track is one of the world’s great long distance walk trails, stretching nearly 1000kms from Kalamunda, a suburb in the hills on the outskirts of Perth, to the historic town of Albany on the south coast of Australia.

In this post, our “End to Ender” Dave Tomlinson, shares his experience on planning, equipment, food, shelter, clothing, cooking and navigation.

There is some great information in this post to assist anyone planning all or part of the Bibbulman Track – something we would love to undertake in the future.

Shelter
The Bibbulmun Track has wooden shelters generally spaced between 13km and 24km apart. The average distance would be about 18km, although in the Kalamunda National Park they are only about 10km apart. I recommend passing through every second one in that section.

Inside the Waalegh shelter – great facilities

At the time of year I completed the track I had 80% of the campsites totally to myself. So there was no need to carry a tent and I appreciated not having the extra weight. I could assure anyone walking in summer that you’d always find accommodation in the shelters. However, the most popular period for hiking is in spring time when the wildflowers are out. Based on what I read in some of the logbooks, I couldn’t give the same assurance during this season.
The Waalegh shelter – water tank and fireplace

The facilities of the track are world class and very well maintained. I often thought of the wooden shelters as large ‘bus stops’, with three sides that always offered protection from the prevailing winds. There was a difference between the shelters in the northern half and those in the south. Those in the north had a picnic table in the middle and hardboard bunks on either side. In the south the sleeping platform extended around two walls in a large L shape with the picnic table in the remaining space. Both would be able to sleep a maximum of 16 people.

The campsites were generally in a very pleasant location and well landscaped. Apart from the shelter and picnic table, there was a pit toilet that often had toilet paper. There was a large rainwater tank beside the shelter and this is checked by park staff through the dry season to ensure there is always an adequate supply. There was always a fireplace that can usually be used for cooking but I respected the summer fire ban and used my camp stove instead. Most sites also had a second picnic table outside the shelter.

The one campsite which was different from the others was Mount Wells. This was fully enclosed hut because it’s in an exposed and often windy location. You feel a bit like Scott in the Antarctic staying there but as the wind whistles around outside you appreciate having the four walls and it’s a nice view when you awake in the morning.

Stove
My camp stove is a simple arrangement that folds up into a small pouch. It uses the butane gas canisters that have a threaded attachment to the stove. I found, on average, that one standard size canister would last about a week and they were easily found at every town along the track. There was one occasion when I ran out of gas and had to (very carefully) break the fire ban to cook.
The offending fireplace…
Clothing
Again, this depends largely on the time of year. I walked during February and March which is the warmest time of the year in Western Australia. So, I usually only needed t-shirt and shorts when I was hiking during the day. Sometimes I’d use a light windbreaker along the southern coast but it was never cold. It was sometimes cool in the evenings so I put on a sweater and long pants. Altogether, I only had about four days of rain in seven weeks but appreciated having my Goretex jacket when it did.

One of the most important recommendations I could make about clothing relates to your feet. They are what will carry you each day and you must look after them. Firstly, ensure your boots are well broken in and comfortable. Secondly, wear two pairs of socks and always carry at least one other pair. Wearing a thin pair of socks under your hiking socks will help prevent blisters. Also, ensure that your toenails are always cut short, especially in sections that involve hills.

Sleeping Bag
My sleeping bag is rated 5ºC and this was adequate…just! There were some nights, especially in the southern section, where I needed my warm clothing inside my bag at night. Obviously, the rating of your sleeping bag will depend on the season you are walking but I’d make a simple recommendation: go 5ºC below what you think you’ll require. A bag with a hood is best, especially in the colder conditions.

Other equipment
Apart from my clothing, sleeping bag and cooking equipment, there were a number of other important items that should be taken. If you are hiking in summer then ensure you have good supplies of sun cream and insect repellent. A basic kit and first aid knowledge are essential, especially if you are hiking alone. Know what to do if you get a snake bite.

I had a headlight and very small torch as a back up. If you enjoy the camp logbooks as I did, there is usually plenty of reading at each site but I recommend taking a book and also a journal. In such tranquility, I enjoyed writing about my thoughts and experiences each day. I also recommend taking an MP3 player. Listening to some music for half an hour is always a pleasant way to end the day. The one thing that I wish I hadn’t taken is my deodorant. I meant well but really…who needs it out there?

A couple of things I did find very useful were an inflatable pillow and a net you can wear on your head to keep flies and mosquitoes away. I didn’t need the latter too often but really I valued it sometimes. I found my pair of gaiters to be useful in the southern sections that involved walking though sand dunes. Never forget your sunhat, especially in summer and I recommend carrying a beanie at any time of the year.

Food
Food, glorious food. In planning any hiking trip, this is undoubtedly one of the first considerations. Between Kalamunda and Albany, the Bibbulmun Track goes through a total of seven towns, past a roadhouse and a camping ground. So, you always need to be supplied for between three and ten days along the way.
Mushrooms along the Track – don’t think this one is edible