Our first night in the hotel we couldn’t get much sleep. Some couple in a near by room were getting it on big time. It went on for so long we wondered if it was a couple having the best night of their life keeping everyone awake with their pleasurable moans, groans, grunting & screams or if it was some dude playing a porno video loudly over & over. I managed some sleep but Ambles was hypersensitive to all these non – bush noises. Everything kept him awake. The electronic humming, the fridge making a constant loud gargling sound, the heater switching on & off loudly, a dog barking outside & cars going pass on the road.

Ambles was looking tired & sick as we had breakfast joined with John, Lindsay, Geoff & Lisa. I finished off the clothes washing. Ambles went shopping in the general store & pharmacy bumping into Deb whom was waiting for Mel outside the Podiatry centre. We went looking for lunch but there isn’t much in Pemberton. Was feeling tired walking up & down the street! The ladies in the visitor centre were lovely recommending places to eat. One of the ladies has a really deep, like a mans voice. So for lunch Ambles had a huge main meal of Marron, chips & veggies but couldn’t finish it. I had a hamburger & we were joined by John & Lindsay as they are staying at the Pemberton Hotel as well. John went to the hairdressers & got his hair buzz cut short. Geoff & Lisa had walked back out onto the track after Geoff got his hair done. We didn’t see Daisyfish leave as she stayed further down the street at the YHA.

Deb & I had planned to climb the Gloucester tree that afternoon so I trotted up to their motel room, more quiet where they are & right next to the Bibbulmun track. Mel was in happy spirits as the podiatrist told her to keep strapping her foot, she is on the right track & no reason why she can’t continue onto Albany. So very pleasing😊. It was a 6km return walk for me as we walked along the Bibbulmun track south that goes right pass the tree. The Gloucester tree, an old fire lookout, stands 53 metres tall, with metal rungs that spiral up the tree to a wooden platform. There were lots of tourists around, some that braved climbing the tree, others that had a photo on the bottom rungs. Deb & I made easy work going up, taking photos &  going back down inside 30 minutes.

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The evening saw Deb, Mel, John & Lindsay & us back at the Pemberton pub for dinner. Only John & Lindsay had fish n chips from next door so ordered a sundae dessert each & joined us. That sundae dessert looked so good, we ordered one each to share after dinner. Deb was telling Ambles that he is losing too much weight & should make sure he is getting enough nutrients into his body as he is obviously burning more than he is putting in. I keep telling him to eat but he is still eating small & not finishing his meals. John & Lindsay left but us four stayed longer, had 2 bottles of wine between us, then Ambles got us all a nightcap each of the finest port! Some cute older French guy was sweet talking to Deb & Mel, his wife quickly escorted him out the door! Poor guy, all he wanted was a sundae ice cream & no one wanted to share one with him😂. Yep, went up to the room into bed where I quickly passed out in the land of nod😆.

Our second full rest day started with my parents arriving with our food resupply box. It was after 7am, so we all sat down for breakfast first joining John & Lindsay having their breakfast before they leave today. My parents shuttled our next box down to Northcliffe while we organised what we needed & didn’t. My new Sawyer filter had arrived plus my new Luci solar inflatable light! Exciting 😁. Upon their return at my request we went to the famous Lavender & Berry Farm to try their infamous Berry pancakes. It was only early but they already were busy with a long wait on the pancakes. That just wasn’t good enough! So we waited 40 odd minutes for these pancakes anyway. I would rate them 3/5. They were a generous size & yummy, but wouldn’t say they were amazing & worth the long wait! Lucky we had booked our 3rd night as the Hotel is fully booked tonight 😁.

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Ambles went in to see the doctor as Mel told him it would be a very wise idea to see the doctor about his cold & make sure he hasn’t got anything sinister or needing antibiotics for. The doctor don’t know what he has, doesn’t want to prescribe him antibiotics so gave him something for the throat & told him to rest, including not  walking tomorrow. But we want to get moving again so we will leave early & take it easy. I took another wander around the streets, visited the Crossing Bakery that has amazing cakes & assortments. They didn’t have much left but I got two sweets for us to enjoy on the track tomorrow 😊. Visited the Holy Smoke cafe that has a beautiful quiet garden setting with the sound of birds all around. Checked out certain places that are shown in the movie ‘Jasper Jones’, the filming took place here in Pemberton & is their little claim to fame. Then back to the pub for dinner tonight as the Treehouse Wine Bar & Tapas is closed today! They open Wednesday to Sunday normally. So disappointing. So many cafes & such have closed which is a shame. If I had to choose then Balingup is more nicer as everyone is so warm & friendly. Pemberton is a lovely town, so picturesque with its old cottages, tall trees, greenery, bird life, history & all that, but I don’t find it as warm & inviting. I did find the ladies at the visitor centre & Pemberton Hotel to be very friendly & helpful, but don’t get that vibe anywhere else. It has been great to finally visit here & I look forward to visiting Northcliffe for the first time. It is 31kms by car & 59kms on foot via the Bibbulmun track! It was only four of us remaining at the pub tonight, Deb, Mel & us, finding more out about each other. Mel says like she said the last two nights, “The salad bar is amazing! The best salad I have had on this trip!” As she goes back for seconds. Some random guy stopped to chat to us saying, “What is with all the puffer jackets?! Is there a sale on?” He went on about rich people & cars before walking away. Very random!😂 And another nightcap of Port for me & Mel, Baileys for Deb & Ambles should see us all get a good nights sleep before the walk tomorrow!

30/9: We had a mischievous night critter in our midst last night. Larger than a mouse, possibly a possum, I heard my rubbish bag fall off the picnic table seat & dragged across the ground. Then I heard something moving about, wasn’t keen on shining my head torch on it, so I stayed quiet listening to its antics. Suddenly thought: my ZPacks front pouch with the camera has my trail mix & bar inside! It will find it knock it to the ground & wreck the camera! So I quickly reached up, grabbed my ZPacks pouch tucking it safely inside my sleeping bag. Later when I got up for the toilet I was shit! Where’s my rubbish bag gone? It’s disappeared! In the morning, we found this critter has a fetish for gross yucky stuff that smells like food. Our greasy fatty bacterial & who knows what else harbouring dishwashing scourer must have been a prized steal as was Daisyfish‘s chux cloth as both had vanished off the table with my rubbish. I had to nudge Ambles whom didn’t stir after his 5am alarm had gone off. He was wearing ear plugs now & had slept well.

As we were packing up, Deb found my rubbish, the critter had dragged my bag under the steps & pulled all my rubbish out leaving it all scattered along the length of the log underneath. Lucky I had emptied the bag yesterday & there wasn’t much in it. Ambles empty goon bags were strewn about, that critter must have been pissed (no pun intended😂) to find them empty of liquid. Then Ambles couldn’t find his hat. I told him he probably packed it already but he reckoned that critter had stolen it, making a cozy nest bed somewhere with his hat & the dirty scourer. Well we left at 6.30am to kick ass on today’s hike of 25kms into Pemberton. Why do they make it such a long walk into town?! I AM NOT IMPRESSED!! We farewelled Deb & Mel whom were the last there enjoying a coffee before hitting the track. Yep, walk pass the shelter, turn left & straight up a nice steep incline, no mucking about warming us up first! The weather was overcast, sort of like mist but not, and humid. Rain was forecasted from midday onwards. It is magnificent these Karri trees, a photo just cannot capture the impressive length, these trees grow straight as a ruler high to the sky. The birds were chirping & I was feeling good today. My feet were better, my ankle not as sore. Despite Ambles having some cold, a nasty cough, he was cranking it up big time, we were moving at 4.5kms an hour. He finds now if he walks fast, his knee doesn’t hurt. If he ambles, his knee starts hurting. But he says he can’t go fast all the time. The walking poles he never used as he claimed they changed his gait. Now he uses his poles every day & finds they help him to walk faster. Well everyone he met in the past did tell him that!

Most of the walk today is through more forest with an easy flat gradient. Weaving through different forest areas including a short walk through another farmers paddock. We arrived at the Big Brook Arboretum to have a lengthy 30 minute break after doing 15kms. I was starting to slow, the bottoms of my feet hurting trying to keep up with Ambles. I’m in trouble now he has found his new fast speed! On we went pass the Big Brook Dam, the pavement was harsh on our feet. We were glad to get off it for the second long hill incline of the day. We were prepared to eat on the track but with less than 4kms to go by 11.30, we thought nah! Get into town & have lunch at the pub instead! Those last few kilometres were taxing but, our feet were hot & hurting. The sun had come out & Ambles was complaining his head & neck were getting sunburnt without his cap. We passed two male hikers going north & they said they were heading to Donnelly Village over the next couple of days. Not sure if they realise the length of the section to there & that it was midday & they had over 20kms to get to Beedelup Shelter? They reckon they would get there in 3 hours but they were meandering when we saw them. We were tired so just kept plugging away, left foot, right foot, repeat….

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It certainly was warm with blue skies when we hit the main road of Pemberton. And another record breaking of 25kms in 6 hours! Go Ambles! We may have to change his name from Ambling 😆. Plus he is sick so an amazing effort! We stopped in at the Visitor Centre first, then the pharmacy which was closed, so Ambles hotfooted (still no pun intended 😂) over to IGA to find cough mixture for his cold. Then we checked in and made sure we got a 3rd night. Ambles decided on two rest days, so he can recover from his ailments & our battered bodies recover from that last whole challenging section! We grabbed lunch, quickly joined by Deb & Mel whom had just arrived still with their backpacks on, John & Lindsay, Geoff Lisa all four refreshed, showered & clean while us four smelt funky as! John ordered a large pizza eating the whole lot! And I thought I had a big appetite 😂. I ordered my standard BLT with a pint of beer, went down a treat alright. Ambles ordered a big T Bone steak and pint of Guinness. The weather quickly changed as Deb & Mel left to go up the road to their accommodation & in no time it was cold & raining! All we had to do was grab our backpacks & retire to our room to scrub & clean ourselves head to toe. My clothes are so gross I already set to washing them! Mind you, after washing my tops, the stink & sweat has ingrained into the fabric around the armpits, I could still smell it but not as strong. And Ambles found his cap – was sitting in one of his front pouches! So it would have been easy to get it out & put it on without stopping had he known!

John booked a table for all 9 of us for dinner in the pub. Our last catch up as our group we had become over the last week. Ambles had slicked back his unruly long growing hair with hair wax I got for him earlier, was keen to see if anyone noticed but no one did or if they did, didn’t say anything. We all stayed up way pass hiker bedtime, enjoying this last evening together before we part ways. Yet some of us may bump into each other further along the track – who knows? This journey is full of surprises, joy, new friendships & magical moments.

29/9: There is noticeably more birds along this whole section from DRV. 5am this morning the Kookaburras close by erupted into a loud chorus of laughter. Then other birds joined in, the air filled with birdsong. I will really miss this, waking up to birds & looking out to the trees & bushes outside our ‘bedroom’. Enjoy a hot cuppa while admiring nature & the surrounds. So glorious!

Ambles didn’t sleep so well, John kept him awake with his loud snoring through out the night. Ambles let me have an extra half hour sleep in & we got up at 5.30am with Deb whom also rose early. She told Mel they would leave late & walk slow because of Mel’s foot, but she was awake from 3am in her tent & couldn’t stay in bed any longer. Geoff & Lisa left first followed by John & Lindsay, Daisyfish, us with Deb & Mel last. Another cool morning, a bit on the cold side. Could barely warm up before we hit a big incline hill. Who put this bastard of a hill here?! We had several fallen logs, large branches & other obstacles to get around, over or under. This section is full of them! Ambles grumbles when he steps on a stick & the other end of it flicks up scratching his other leg. I have legs covered in scratches from this section only! Plus many mozzie bites up & down both legs – they have seen better days.🤔 Most of the track was easier than yesterday with lots of little ‘burp’ hills. But those small ups felt like hard work, our bodies were still tired & recovering from yesterday’s Rollercoaster. I spotted many teeny weenie snail orchids along the path. Those cute little birds would flutter down the path, stop & watch me, as I got close, they would repeat fluttering further along, stopping, watching & taking off again. The small delights I get on the track. 😊Ambles was sweating with effort, still fighting some niggling cold. His backpack he has worked out is the wrong size. He got a large instead of a medium & the bag sits pass his butt. Even when he gets his new belt, probably won’t make much difference. He’s upset about wasting so much money buying the wrong size, he aren’t gonna fork out another $450 for another one in a hurry.

We stopped after a good 13kms in at Carey Brook, a nice little waterfall spot to have a mini break. There’s this amazing tree close by, the Karri Marri Tree – A Karri tree with a conjoined twin growing out the side of it being a Marri tree. Deb & Mel went by & we asked how Mel was doing. She had re strapped her foot with strapping tape Daisyfish gave her. (She had already used up all of hers) Said yesterday her pain was a 9/10, today it was a 2/10 which was very pleasing to hear. She is doing well but they decided to skip the cafe at Karri Valley Resort & go straight to the shelter. Ambles also was not interested so it was just me doing the kilometre side trip. I gave some lunch for Ambles to take & have at the shelter & I was off, racing up another long steep hill. Why do we stop for a break just before a big hill climb?! The day had warmed up considerably & I was sweating away & dreaming of swimming in a river, just going in with all my clothes on. The landscape changes as we move into Beedelup National Park with more wildflowers again. It’s a Sunday long weekend so the gorgeous Karri Valley Resort was swarming with many people, lots of kids & foreign tourists. I looked quite the part amongst them – a dirty, stinky hiker coming through. Got many looks. 😆Never been here before & what a great spot! Gorgeous wooden chalets overlooking the dam. People fishing, kayaking, swimming, walking. A mini golf course nearby. There is no cafe but a fancy looking restaurant with an equally fancy looking menu rich in price. Thought, nah, will just go to the general store there & settle for a cold coke & ice cream. Would stand out like dogs balls in there anyhow! Sat on an outside table under the shade of a tree & ate my packet of tuna, consumed my coke & ice cream & felt damn good afterwards! I reckon what really made me want to go in was off loading my smelly bag of rubbish & empty wine bottles. Was bloody ecstatic dropping all that in a trash can! That side trip took an hour but was so worth it!  It took another hour to get to the shelter after a 22km walk for me including the side trips. I trooped onwards & upwards to Beedelup Falls which was swarming with more terrorists (ah hum – tourists)😁, as I lapped the falls circuit twice for good measure before finding the toilet & Bibbulmun Track South out of there. Was pretty good but, nice falls, wanted to go stand under the falls with all my clothes on. Didn’t know about the secret swimming spot next to frogs leap jetty that Daisyfish found & had a swim at. In fact I was 20 metres from it not realising – darn! Never mind, finished the rest of the walk under the warm sun. Got in at 2pm, an hour after Ambles. Geoff & Lisa had stopped for lunch & a break before continuing on up the track. They want to make a shorter walk into Pemberton tomorrow by free camping 8 odd kms further on.

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I had time to relax & have a stand & splash in the running Brook next to the shelter. The water was refreshingly cold & only calf deep. Ambles refused to even put his feet in. This shelter is again like the Beavis design with the same setup firewood storage shed for Ambles to get a campfire going. Cute little Snail Orchids line across the front of the shelter like they are ‘chatting’ to us. Daisyfish was last in after 4pm, having a most enjoyable day with long rest breaks & getting some swimming in. Some people walk back in to Karri Valley Resort for dinner as it isn’t far away – 2 odd kms. But we can’t be bothered. Got our backcountry meal, the last of our vino & honey whiskey. 😁Tomorrow night a pub meal awaits us in Pemberton! Poor Ambles & Lindsay were looking miserable at the picnic table, both suffering different ailments. Lindsay has suffered bruising to his ribs after a fall days ago so think that was hurting him a bit. Ambles has his bugger of a cold with a headache & annoying cough. He was so drained he went to bed at 6.30pm.  He was like, “How did I get a cold out here?! Not fair!” I stayed up awhile longer by the fire reading before snuggling into bed.

28/9: Well I slept better but Ambles didn’t, was kept awake listening to everyone snoring. Told Deb later he gotta set up the tent😁. The suffering northbound hiker got up to drink some water, started vomiting again, crawled back into his bag. Ambles got up 4.45am just eager to get going so as always he is the first up. The suffering guy complained the tank water was making him sick, but he only ate breakfast yesterday & nothing else, obviously was dehydrated as well. Daisyfish gave him advice that he must eat & keep his fluids up, that’s why he is so sick. He didn’t have any water purification tablets & asked Deb for some. She didn’t have enough to offload some but I had heaps, & another box in the car so I gave him two sheets. He wanted to pay me but I told him no that’s fine. In hindsight, I should have offloaded my empty mini glass wine bottles for him to carry back to One Tree Bridge & put in the bin – darn! We doubt he listened to the advice as he set off. Hope he will be alright, if he passes out, that group of 17 will stumble upon him. Of course Brad was gone quick as you like double hutting into DRV. We noticed Brad wasn’t wearing proper boots but trail sandals with socks. Both northbound hikers & Daisyfish set off before the rest of us. Ambles grumbled, “I get up first & everyone leaves before me! And I’m sick of being last one into camp!” Pouting Ambles still had an itchy throat & the sniffles. He reckons he is going to lose a toenail on the toe that has been sore awhile. The nail has gone black. Oh dear😕. Geoff had pitched his tent with the front viewing people going in & out the toilet, I thought that was an interesting choice.😀

We left camp after Daisyfish at 6.30am. Pumped for the day ahead, this is a challenging section, the profile elevation looks similar to sharks teeth. And when the guide book talks about steep ascents, steep descents, (multiple times I may add,) and if you got a jet booster attached to your pack, now would be the time to use it, engage walking poles here! Well, it all doesn’t sound good. Also described as the Donnelly River Roller Coaster. So as the roller coaster starts, you hike along comfortably slowing climbing up, up, to the top, then WHOOSH! The ride begins taking you down a steep incline & over a gorgeous Karri tree bridge. Lindsay & John leapfrog with us for a bit & John told me he had a bone to pick with Ambles – he wasn’t using his axe to cut a pathway through all the fallen trees, logs & big branches for everyone 😂. I was in a good mood singing verses like, “Show us your teeth!” & “Rollercoaster of love! Roller coaster doo doo doo!” I later changed this to Rollercoaster of pain! We had our first steep long climb joined by John, Lindsay, Deb, Mel & Daisyfish. And we successfully knocked out one of 11 inclines. Ambles was on fire, he even took the lead for awhile there, & we had covered over 8kms of Rollercoaster hills within 2.5hours. Ambles was running low on petrol, started to slow as we had another steep long descent (my knees protested) that switchbacked downwards, followed by one horrible long steep ascent. It was so long, we had to stop & start 50 times, sweat pouring off our bodies, making these grunting & groaning sounds all the way up, our bodies so bent forward our heads almost kissed the ground in front. At the top, my shirt was half soaked in sweat, had no oxygen in my lungs so found a log to take a breather, ate some trail mix, lollies & vegemite peanuts to re fuel. Could really kill for a Mars bar right about now! Ambles kept on moving. We had achieved 12.8kms by 10am which was pretty amazing considering the terrain. Then Geoff & Lisa go pass me, looking pretty fresh & not wrecked like me! Darn, they just don’t make hikers like they use to😂. I thought, ‘They can’t be human! Wahhhhh!😭’

Caught up with Ambles as we continued onwards with 5kms to go. It was a hard slog day,  but at least shorter with 20kms to Beavis. The track today follows the river but doesn’t provide much river views, you are usually up away from the river. The last steep zigzag descent really upset my knees & they started to throb painfully with each downward step. At least the rest of the way was relatively easy with short little pimply ups & downs, arriving 12.05pm with Ambles just behind me. Yah! Was so happy to arrive at camp & have the afternoon there! This shelter has the same design as Brookton & Possum Springs but not rammed earth. The sides had been recently painted with lacquer the smell was still strong & surface very sticky to touch. Again, firewood & axe supplied. Really like the campsites in this section, volunteers have gone to a lot of effort in supplying cut up firewood in a storage area for hikers to use. There is a still pond of water brown & green. We were deciding if we should swim in it so Lindsay tried it out first, came out horrified with a leech attached to his leg. Well that settled that! Geoff & Lisa got in not long after us. The tent sites are in a particular spot – on the way to the toilet! Geoff & Lisa decided to set their tent smack bang in the middle of the track heading south. I hoped no night hiker would turn up walking into their tent, you never know actually anything happens out here!

After lunch, I joined Deb & Lisa on the small wooden bridge for some yoga. We went through some poses, stretching out muscles & tired bodies. Daisyfish came in as we were still in yoga class, walking through the middle of us to the shelter 😆. Lucky she has a free standing tent she set it up inside the shelter to hide from all the zillions of insects & buzzing flies here! Ambles got more help from Dr Deb on his backpack. He was going to cut the belt some more, but Deb found him a solution without cutting, he seems happier now with it, the backpack isn’t weighing down on his shoulders as much – so cooking with gas! It was a relaxing afternoon, some people napped, or read a book or just lay down resting. The days weather was beautiful, cool, some sun but not too much.

Daisyfish was happy to get a campfire going late in the day, chopping up firewood with John helping while Ambles lit it up. Mel is suffering from Plantar Fasciitis she thinks in her left foot. Her arch is very painful making descents a struggle. Each step hurts. We hope she can make it into Pemberton, get some rest & arch support in her boot & be able to continue on. She is one tough cookie & determined to make it to Albany. We all are now, our leg may break, we will still continue on, dragging our leg behind us. Push on no matter what! That’s how determined we all are now. Everyone gathered around the campfire chatting until hikers bedtime. Our Pemberton bound tramily😊.

27/9: Hmmmmmmm, first shelter I’ve come across so far with a vermin problem. Failed to get much sleep due to a mouse epidemic. Mice trying to get into my rubbish bag on the picnic table several times, knocking over Lindsay’s cooking pot with a loud clang. Scurrying across the roof & sounded like something was gnawing or scratching wood loudly. Daisyfish flashed her head torch about couple of times to pinpoint the culprits. Only kept us two awake. Deb was fast asleep in the middle. Ambles was dead to the world as was Lindsay & the other culprit keeping me awake was John snoring loudly below me constantly for the better part of the night. Then I also had to get up to go to the toilet twice.

When I finally dozed off, probably only got a few hours sleep in, then Ambles nudged me at 5am. Nope! Wasn’t getting up, was tired & grumpy, stayed in bed another 20 minutes. The sleeping bag liner is much more constricted. I can barely move now, & it doesn’t have a hood so I used my food bags to stop my pillow from wandering off. But yes, it is a lot warmer inside my liner now. So in our group we have Lindsay, whom we first thought odd guy, but we have gotten to know him & he’s a pretty nice bloke we have conversations about walks in NZ and the Camino. He started on his own & met John, whom is from Goondiwindi hiking on his own. They both formed a friendship & have now been travelling together. Lindsay is always first to be ready, backpack on, poles in hand, full balaclava on face, dressed head to toe, waits for John, then off they go, usually don’t catch up to them until the next campsite. John is a pretty nice easy going guy, easy to talk to & joke with. The mice managed to chew a hole in his food bag unfortunately at least they didn’t get to his food. The two guys left first, followed by Daisyfish keen on an early start. We left before Deb & Mel, both inspiring women to meet, Deb is actually planning on doing the Bicentennial walk 5000kms from Qld to Victoria in the coming years. Will take her 8 months! Last out is Lisa & Geoff from Welly, NZ. They are comfortable tenters which I wish we were, we don’t see much of them. They are either at their tent enjoying their privacy or passing us on the track. Sometimes they join us at the picnic table & are friendly to chat with. Then you have me & Ambles in the mix, our trail group compliments each other nicely.

So I was happy to meander along today. It was a too long 24.2kms so knew it was going to be a painfully long day. Ambles complained he was getting a cold & it must be from me after my cold 4 weeks ago! Yeah right 😆My backpack felt full of bricks, even after I offloaded some food to Ambles whom offered to take extra weight. Spotted two new Orchid flowers & was snapping photos. Got me Orchid eyes on now😊. Then Ambles continued ahead, didn’t catch him for like 2 odd hours. Was walking alone, enjoying the cool morning, pleasant forest walk. Didn’t see anyone until I got to the lovely Green Island camping grounds where Daisyfish was taking a break. She asked did I see her arrows pointing to the orchids? I noticed Orchids but not her arrows. I’m so observant sometimes 😏. This is common for hikers in front to leave arrows pointing to something of interest or a turn in the track not clearly marked. I continued onwards into the marshes on a narrow goat trail right by the river. Ended up seeing Ambles at One Tree Bridge, which is a display of the remains of One Tree Bridge, a fallen Karri made into a bridge. Also had toilets there & picnic table so I had a break, Ambles kept going mumbling about walking on his own, but he chose to not take a break & he is walking too fast! I had too much a break, Daisyfish had gone by followed by a loud crashing sound of some tree or large branch falling down somewhere nearby & I was taking up the rear as I increased speed to catch up. Low & behold – I spotted Ambles lying on his mattress he had blown up right in front of the halfway sign. Daisyfish had also put down her ground sheet taking a rest. Ambles was like, “Well I was waiting 15 minutes!” We had made it halfway – 501kms! We only another 501kms to go!😁

We cracked open the two small bottles of sparkling white wine & consumed these over lunch. Then Daisyfish & I were crawled up on our mats resting as I hijacked Ambles mattress! Could stay all afternoon. But we had another 8kms so we had to press on. Daisyfish took off before us as we leisurely packed up. Only 600 metres down the track still stands the old half way marker without the signs attached. Seems silly actually. That last section was a killer. Ambles felt tired & started slowing down to his normal Ambling speed so I took off in front. Most of the track was flat & lacking in Waugal markers that frustrated me. But I knew I was on track. There were more branches, fallen logs, twigs & more to dodge again. So many branches & trees fall down right across the path! The river is always close with the track going near & away from it, so pretty to look at when you get glimpses. This section is the nicest in my book. Then there is the normal hill ascent & descents right near the end. By then you have run out of juice, feet are hurting so much, you bend right over your poles dragging yourself upwards with a slow shuffle. Looking like a 100 year old woman😂. Caught up & surprised Daisyfish whom was singing out loud listening to her music. Had 2 more kms, my feet felt every step, my heels really sore. Pass over the beautiful Karri log bridge after another little pimply climb & walk 200 metres off a spur trail into the lovely Boarding House Campsite where everyone else had been already a couple of hours. Started walking at 7am & arrived at 3pm – super long day😕. I went down to the river on a short side trail where John was dunking his swollen feet into the cold water. I did the same to my feet, then as I smelt so bad, took my change of clothes & stripped off washing the cold water over me. Damn felt so good! That part of the river was full of rocks & shallow so could only swat in there splashing water over myself. Ambles had not been so far away turning up 10 minutes later. He said he saw his first snake on the track. He stopped, stared at the snake, the snake stared back at him. Then he pulled out his phone to take a video & the snake was like, ‘Piss off! I’m not your free entertainment!’ and quickly slithered off into the bushes.

Two more hikers are staying here both travelling north. The first was this overweight big guy, just doing a section to DRV I think. Really exhausted, staggered in looking delirious, like death on legs, he slurred his words when he spoke. Lindsay gave up his spot & bunked with John. The guy put down his sleeping bag crawled inside & was out like a light. Woke up later at 6.30pm, went to the toilet making some terrible vomiting sounds, returned & passed out again. The other guy, Brad, is a nobo end to ender, a minimalist hiker that double huts & had double hutted today coming in at 5pm – looked like he didn’t even raise a sweat on those jigsaw teeth climbs we got tomorrow. He was fortunate to get the remaining spot next to the other new guy that was snoring loudly. He has 30 days to do the whole track & was on day 15. Deb & Mel beat even the boys in but chose to tent as does Geoff & Lisa. Still full tonight with 11 of us.

Ambles & I chatted with Mel whom joined us for a bit on this seat overlooking the river. Mel had done the Mundi Biddi 5 years ago. And doing very well considering she broke two of her ribs in May this year mountain biking, now hiking the Bibbulmun Track with a full backpack. Her doctor advised her to delay the walk, but here she is, going great guns, no problems at all. But she had trouble keeping up with Deb today whom was a mega machine, not just her normal machine self! Ambles was too tired to start a campfire, again this campsite is equipped with an Axe & storage area containing lots of chopped up firewood. Daisyfish told him she will do the fire – & she did! Got it started & looked after it. Ambles was grateful & impressed. Everyone called it an early night at only 6.30pm! I stayed back on my own by the campfire for a bit longer. Sure had been a tough day.

26/9: Our bed was super cosy but sleep eluded us, more so for Ambles whom only got 2 hours sleep. More duck sounding frogs were going off all night. Generally after town day, everyone is slow to get moving again,enjoying a sleep in, later breakfast & more rest before setting off. But not Ambles unfortunately! He still wants to get up at 5am & get going ASAP! I’m awake at 5am, staying snuggled warm in bed until 6am before getting up. I can be very stubborn😆. Ambles heated himself up a pork & cider pie I got him from the general store. I just had porridge. We left at 7.30am, walking pass the cottages & school bunkhouse. It was pretty quiet, one guy was feeding the Emus & we only saw John moving about on the veranda of the old school.

Today saw an easy 16km walk mostly flat through the first half, walking now amongst the tall trees, though Jarrah & then into magnificent Karri Forest. Again there had been a recent controlled burn through this whole 16km section maybe more than 3 odd months ago as there was some green foliage coming back. Hardly any wildflowers. You already know my opinion on the matter! The Mundi Biddi & Bibbulmun start crossing over & at times share a part of the track. Lucky for us there were no cyclists baring down at us. We were back to our normal speeds, sometimes Ambles was in front, sometimes me. I was taking it nice & easy. My left cankle was so swollen & sore from yesterday after pushing it too hard, it was kind of like resting it today but not resting it. Still managed to get more scratches on my right leg this time from branches coming up & slicing my skin. A few curses here & there. The weather was cool, overcast & twice tried to rain but only drizzled slightly.

We arrived just shy of 12pm at the Shelter, that came up unexpectedly quick. Our trail magic had arrived with another 4 days of food to unlighten my load plus my new sleeping bag liner. I had managed to rip my silk liner a bit so happy to swap them out. Hopefully my new sea to summit thermolite liner keeps me warmer on those chilly nights. We organised ourselves & lunch. Another gem of a spot with the river right outside the front of the shelter. A permanent peaceful swimming hole, lovely on a warm day. Unfortunately after stopping, the temperature dropped, became quite cold & I felt dog tired, yawning so much I hopped into my sleeping bag for some afternoon rest. Ambles had the same idea to get an afternoon snooze in.

Everyone else rolled in gradually after their late morning starts. Deb & Mel as predicted were next in, as they walk very fast & left after 9.30am. Then Daisyfish, John & Lindsay with Geoff & Lisa bringing up the rear. Lucky they all got in before it started to rain more heavily. There’s already a firewood storage area containing heaps of firewood & a big axe to cut them up. Ambles didn’t need his axe here! We heard a loud BANG! Thought a tree branch had come down close by, was only Daisyfish closing the toilet door😁.

After the rain stopped & a hot chocolate, Ambles easily got a campfire going as we all hovered around the warmth sharing stories & laughs. Enjoying these campfires while we have them. Tomorrow this shelter will have a group of 17, lucky we are moving on, though Ambles likes this spot for staying a few days fishing…..no😆. 

Ambles said to everyone that he reckoned someone would turn up late. He had this feeling. But he was wrong. Even when the kookaburras starting laughing on dusk, he goes, “There’s someone coming! They laugh when someone is coming!” But it was their final laugh before bed. No one else showed up.

What’s in the box with the trail log book & red book here? Besides the usual Bibb flyers & plants list, a bible & maths puzzle book in case you were bored😏.

25/9: ***DELAYED BLOG UPDATES***Had somewhat of a peaceful nights sleep, what with all the night sounds, the constant trickling water flowing through the brook, frogs croaking, or that one frog that sounds like a duck quacking, crickets & other nocturnal animal sounds. Ambles got up at 5.10am which got everyone else moving too. Not a town day but village day! And a long 22.5kms hike in front of us. While we were first up, we were last to leave southbound leaving the guy that turned up at 5pm yesterday going to Balingup behind on his own. Does it count as 5 shelters without toilet paper because the tiny amount left in this toilet ran out this morning?!

Straight off Ambles had cranked into top gear, no sore knee he was determined to walk as fast and far as he could before he had any issues. So with roller skates on, we zipped pass Daisyfish yelling out to her, “Milkshake & a hearty BLT are calling us, can’t stop!” We completed a whopping 4.4kms in the first hour! A huge personal best. The wildflowers were an explosion of colour so many yellows with blues dotting here & there. It was all so gorgeous & easy walking. We kept on rolling at a rate of knots, catching up to John & Lindsay at Willow Springs campground just finishing their break & were they surprised to see us after only 2 hours walking we had managed just over 10kms! John said to me, “Hey! Are you poking him with your pole making him walk faster!” No, it was all Ambles new found speed.

The next section was flat but with so many trip hazards as was the part before Willow Springs, the ground was littered with leaves hiding twigs, rocks, branches, fallen logs to get around or over. Some people crawled under them. We chose to clamber over the roots & stuff cursing, probably the worse alternative. And the branches from trees & large bushes sticking out in the path, I just swiped them aside with my poles. Marched on we did, finally getting tired & slowing down after 16kms. Getting into the tall trees now, providing another delight. It was suppose to rain but was pleasantly cool walking weather. With 1.5kms to go, Ambles increased his speed galloping down & up the only hill climbs we had. My feet & left cankle were tired & aching, I had to tell him to slow down! If you can believe it! In under 5.5hours, arriving 10 minutes short of midday, we made it in to DRV yippee! Straight to the general store where we ordered BLT’s with Vanilla milkshakes. 😊Daisyfish came in looking like she had run an marathon at 12.30pm, re fueling quickly as well on food. Everyone else was staying at the school Bunkhouse in dormitory bunkbed rooms or using the free shelter close by. Many hikers before us had been disgusted with the accommodation voicing their outrage on social media how dirty it was, the kitchen & bunkrooms were not cleaned, wet used towels still laying on the beds from days before. Ambles & I were the only ones staying at the other end of the village at the loco motel. Our own private room with kitchen & bathroom. So nice, clean! Bed feels lovely! Nice hot shower to make me feel human again. Heated room very cosy & warm😊. Could stay here more than one night! Ambles tried to rest in bed but we had workers below us banging & drilling away with their music blaring. It is surprisingly quick how our room looks like a bomb went off. Doesn’t take long to empty our backpack contents everywhere!

We took a walk to the school bunkhouse. Everyone was hanging out, caught up with Deb & Mel, they had 3 nights to themselves at both shelters & last night lucky them! Tomorrow we all leave for Pemberton so there will be 9 of us plus any extra section hikers. Checked out their communal kitchen & seems to be all cleaned up well. Jumped on the weigh scales which showed I still weighed the same but Ambles has lost 6 kgs. He is going to be a walking scarecrow before long! Lindsay said to Ambles, “You know, we weren’t happy to see you earlier when you came into Willow Springs Campgrounds. We had been cranking it up a notch to get there, then you bloody show up! And you are suppose to have a bad knee!” We had friendly Kangaroos & Emus walking around us. A man offered some roo feed to us & we had Kangaroos eating from our hands. I got a greedy Emu that pecked at the feed in my hand with its hard beak, they are aggressive buggers. Stayed away from them & only fed the Roos. DRV is a magical spot, just so lovely & peaceful here. At least tonight we have a room all to ourselves to enjoy. We have Beef Lasagna from the general store to heat up for our dinner & our one glass of red wine each. Unfortunately, the general store doesn’t sell alcohol! And today was the second time for the whole trip where we walked together the entire time.

My poor, poor feet are feeling like they have been put through a grinder & made into mince meat. I gave them lots of rubs & talked sweetly to them encouraging my feet & ankles to keep going – we have some arduous days ahead with many hills to go up & down. And we reach the halfway mark very soon – can’t believe it!😁

5am wake up start after a pretty good sleep actually but can’t rush, this campsite is too beautiful especially with thick fog below us in the valley. Frank & June were quick to leave – town day! Makes you get up lickerdy spit & get on the road. But they had no pub meal or pint of beer to look forward to. We left late almost 7am but Lindsay & John quickly overtook us on the steep slippery downhill descent called Cardiac Hill – more for going up than down. Ambles left knee had been good, but this hill made it start throbbing again & becoming swollen like before. And though he had tried to adjust the webbing on his backpack hip belt yesterday, it was still digging in & painful. So he wasn’t in for a good day.

Down the bottom of the hill we pass through another farmland property. We are lucky that the owners allow Bibb hikers to go through. Their dog, a big white one, obviously use to hikers but still vocalises at everyone madly barking away first at me, then Ambles coming up the rear – following behind him still barking away. We soon leave the property going through a few gates, by the Blackwood river then over it. I knew there was a long uphill walk to do here so I left Ambles behind, choking on my dust, as I zoomed upwards over pea gravel, rocks & honkey nuts up that dirt road up, up, up, bloody hell! Up, up, up gotta be at the top shortly?! Up, up, up pass the top of Millstream Dam & up, up, up some bloody more! Had a break as soon as I was descending, needed it. Lisa & Geoff that hadn’t even packed their tent when we left camp went flying pass me here! Daisyfish caught up & so did Ambles surprising me how fast he went up that hill. But I quickly left them both behind, powering up for the rest of the 19kms to Gregory Brook Shelter.

The sun was out warming up the hike a tad too much. But the wildflowers here were amazing! So many different varieties, spotted more Jug Orchids, more cowslip orchids. Very, very pretty. Some more hill climbs but not as bad. Felt tired 2kms out, just kept thinking of dunking my hot feet in that cold water there at the shelter motivated me to keep going, arriving 12.20pm. John, Lindsay, Lisa & Geoff were all there laughing & chatting in their little Tramily we didn’t feel a part of yet. Went into the Gregory Brook creek below the shelter, stood in it a couple of minutes before my hot feet realised how icy cold the water was & started to protest. Went in 4 times, splashing cold water over me. Instantly felt better! Ambles came in 40 minutes later very sore, hot, frustrated & no mood to talk. Despite the Goanna Heat cream & knee brace, his left knee was swollen & painful. His backpack uncomfortable. Not a happy Ambles! He was almost going to stop & cook up his noodles on the track, but his knee was feeling better. Daisyfish  was not too far behind him, suffering as well with hot, sore feet.

After our lunch, Ambles went into the Brook to ice his swollen knee in the water.  Everyone seem to collapse all retiring to their sleeping bags, it became a quiet afternoon. Only Ambles was out & about collecting firewood but wasn’t much around. A lot of that bad wood. But he got a fire going. Daisyfish offered to help him collect firewood, but when he turned around, she was out for the count, asleep in her sleeping bag. I helped him, finding some dead blackboy further up the track. I’m still moving about but really should go rest a bit. Read a bit. Long walk into DRV tomorrow so we will want an early start. And all these March flies are being dreadfully pesky. Hung my sweat clothes out to dry, they ended up covered in ants! Let’s hope Ambles knee is better tomorrow. 🤔

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Was another cold & misty morning at 5am in Balingup. Ambles was up early cooking up a steak for his breakfast 😆. The bed felt so good I reluctantly got out at 5.30 & had my normal staple breakfast I have at home, porridge & fresh strawberries. I could easily stay another day, and then another day….. but we had to keep going, so I farewelled our cosy cottage with the fireplace still going, closing the door at 7am & heading off after Ambles into town. Daisyfish was saying goodbye to her Kirby & Tim as we walked by & quickly joined us as we walked out of town & through the lovely Golden Tree Valley Park.

Legs felt slow & sluggish as Daisyfish & I took the lead chatting & walking along. We even spotted another Orchid to my delight. The White Spider Orchid! I saw two of them. We stopped for a 10 minute break at the bench with a view – view of rolling farmlands & so much greenery. Ambles caught up & kept going. Well Ambles must have strapped a rocket to his backpack & I didn’t catch him until the cow paddocks 3kms from the Shelter. I had become the ambler today!😊 We did this section south to north so I enjoyed going back through the opposite way. And it felt like yesterday when we were last here. We follow some of the Greenbushes loop trail along the way. Magpies threatened to swoop me couple of times as I was passing moo cows in the paddocks by the road. I stuck my poles up in the air waved them about to show those Magpies I meant business!

I remembered last time walking through the farmers paddock was a highlight as the cows greeted me. Today they didn’t want to know me keeping far down the paddock & all I got was dodging their sloppy diarrhoea poos all over the track. Then the hill climb started, man I was tired today, struggletown on those hills. Caught up to Ambles whom then got a phone call from DRV about the accommodation & so he paid over the phone standing in a cow paddock as you do. We continued up, up, up through the pine plantation now, all lovely. But warm, 24 degrees kind of glaring & cloudy but sunny weather. Sweated up the final hill to the top. Managed to scratch up my left leg on some sharp sticks by the path, must be tired🤔. Ambles was so pleased with himself, “18.6kms in 5 hours! With no break!” And I may add he arrived at Blackwood Shelter first with me right behind him 12.10pm.

This guy called Frank was already there. He said he could hear a tinkle noise well before he saw us was trying to work out where it came from then saw my little noisy bell hanging off my backpack.  Ambles left his bell with his old backpack. I’m very disappointed with him doing that! My bell feels lonely now😂. Frank is middle aged 50 odd I’m guessing, started in Pemberton & heading north to Kalamunda. Frank likes to talk so Ambles quickly moved away feeling annoyed by him. And Frank likes opera music, playing it out loud for awhile. I’m not a fan of Opera / classical music just saying😏. I prefer the sounds of the bush, birds talking & crickets cricketing. So I moved quickly away too. Daisyfish wasn’t too far behind us arriving & got settled in, she told me off for putting too much vegemite on my bread! Out here, I squeeze some vegemite straight from the tube onto my finger eating it straight! Tastes good😁.  73 year old June came in next walking north to Collie. Then our other Sobo’s (southbounders) Lindsay & John turned up at 2pm.

We were all settled in the Shelter & now that I was here, it felt cool. I’m guessing this place gets windy as one side wall has a barrier up to stop the wind somewhat. I remembered one year ago we were here. I met this lady thur hiking, really felt inspired by her. I told her we had plans to thur hike the following year & she said, “Yeah, you can do it most definitely!” Now here I am actually doing it! Feels surreal. Feels good to be out here. I’m pumped for the challenges that lay ahead. And feel so lucky to be able to do this together with Ambles🙂. Deb & Mel left a hello message for us & Daisyfish in the red book & in 2 days we will be seeing them again. Daisyfish reckons she is going to change my name from Rose to Tinkerbell because of my bell & green clothing😂.

I rested my cankle, (swollen left ankle) reading my book out in the lovely sunshine. It had been so cold, I was totally sucking in all the warmth I could get. And we have gorgeous views down into the valley, rolling hills & pine plantations below. Ambles Aarn was better but still not right so he was on face time, with a specialist in NZ, playing with the hip belt, actually cutting off pieces with scissors while he waits for a new hip belt piece to come from NZ. Geez! My Osprey is so much simpler! We watched Lindsay practice his golf swings with his hiking pole. Someone was snoring. Frank had stopped talking. And we found out the Balingup Tavern is closed due to a fire starting in the kitchen last night! No business for the next month or so due to the fire damage. That is terrible news! What a shame indeed☹️. At least the owner is ok only had smoke inhalation & been treated.

Ambles is counting, this one is the 4th Shelter toilet with no loo paper. The old Blackwood Shelter burned down years ago, use to be surrounded by trees but they have all been cut down after the fire so now it is very barren up here. No camp fires allowed here as you can guess! So dinner early as normal & then off to bed! Just on 5pm we had two late hikers roll in Geoff & Lisa from Wellington NZ. Packed house tonight! Lindsay commented to Ambles, “I better not be with you guys when you reach Walpole as Wayne wants to be joining you for the rest of the way!” We also hope Wayne won’t be joining us😏. We got a great sunset before retiring to bed😊.

We are so use to waking up early, 5.15am I was awake & it was freezing outside down to 0 degrees the town covered in Mist. Staying in bed sounded a good idea. Funny on your day off, the bottom of the feet hurt! Ambles cooked up the eggs on toast. Yummy 😊.

I walked into town to get a lovely 15 minute neck, shoulder & back massage. Went into the Visitor Centre & met the lovely Raelean Bailey. She said come back with my husband so she can take a photo of us. She loves meeting the Bibbulmun hikers & putting their photos up on the Facebook page. Yes, Balingup is a lovely little town, people are so friendly & happy.  Ambles had me run some errands to get him something for his sore toe, newspaper & a takeaway cappuccino while he you tubed & tried to correct his backpack. I checked out Tinderbox- what an amazing store full of nice smells! A day of washing, organising & fixing things. We organised our accommodations in DRV & Pemberton especially as it will be the school holidays & long weekend.

Kerry, our amazing trail angel arrived midday with Food Box number 5. We sorted through what we needed over the next 4 days, then it was off to Balingup Tavern for lunch. Only there was a long wait for our food, which gave us lots of time to catch up while Kerry’s dog Stig, tried to discreetly crawl his way over to other tables containing food. We left close to 3pm with overfull bellies. Spotted Steve Sertis from the Bibbulmun Track Foundation returning his walkers back to Perth after a workshop weekend. We gave a quick hello then hurried to the Visitor Centre before Raelean closed the doors for a photo. She loved meeting Ambles as well & wanted a selfie with us!

We finished our super great rest day with going back to the Balingup Tavern for dinner. We were still full but we couldn’t get dinner anywhere else. Ambles wanted to order Uber eats, I said good luck with that! Lindsay had hogged the Ute car that cottage guests can use for both of the days. So again we had to walk down, meeting up with Daisyfish, her son Kirby & partner Tim. Then there was Wayne ordering his Jug of Beer. As promised, he gave his Kathmandu belt for Ambles to keep. Was spinning more stories over dinner. Believable stories or not, Wayne has been an interesting guy to meet over this last 10 odd days, tomorrow he gets on a bus for home. Said he wants to walk with us into Albany now so was asking Ambles what date is our last day on the track. Daisyfish corrected us that Wayne did not catch her napping on the last big hill in, rather she was laying on the log listening to her audiobook with her headphones. And yes she is continuing her walk with us tomorrow – yahhh! We had our meals & left first to walk back, have a ‘nightcap’ drink & get some shuteye. Back on the track tomorrow!