Final Post

Manfred rang yesterday from Richard's house which is in William Bay (not Peaceful Bay as reported before) to bring me up to date on the current situation. He said that since the very steep climb up Mt Clare he had been suffering with pain in the groin area and so he visited Denmark Hospital to get it checked out. Fortunately he did not have a hernia as he suspected, however, it was time to take stock and decide whether or not to continue on to Albany. After much thought and debate he has decided not to continue on with David & Tony.

Manfred is staying at the house while Richard, Tony & David walk from Walpole towards Denmark. Richard will leave the walk on Sunday and he an Manfred will then drive back to Perth on Monday. In the meantime Manfred is enjoying a very peaceful and quiet rest at William Bay. The weather is quite cool but there is plenty of wood available to light the hearth and sit and enjoy the warmth. He is enjoying the time to read his bible and meditate. Very relaxing after the gruelling walk.

Day 13 - 07 Nov 2010 - Long Point - Mt Clare

Received a text message today. They have arrived safely at Mt Clare. Tomorrow they will arrive in Walpole at which time be will be in contact by phone.

Update: Manfred just phoned from the top of Mt Clare. Both David and he are well. Some minor injuries, ie blisters, sore muscles but otherwise no major complaints. The hiking has been pretty tough and each night and rest day very welcome. Manfred saw a black snake but did not stop to make friends with it. (Wonder why). There have also been sightings of Tiger Snakes by other hikers. These are very dangerous and the bites can be fatal if help is not at hand.

Today they had company on their walk from Murray, Bruce and Bob. However, these men then continued on to Walpole. At the campsite they were met by friends of David, Richard & Tony. Richard has a house near Peaceful Bay and both he an Tony walked from Walpole to Mt. Clare to meet up with the guys. The will walk back with them tomorrow and possibly Manfred & David will have at least one night in a house.

They usually get up at about 4:45am and are on the track by 6:30am. Manfred said that the scenery is beautiful and they have also seen (and photographed) heaps of wild flowers. Can't wait for the photos.

The last bit of today's walk was uphill at a quite steep angle so reaching the summit was a very welcome site for them. As we were speaking a group of young teenage boys (about 15 aged between 14-16) arrived at the campsite with 2 group leaders and were busy setting up tents. Tonight may not be as quite as the guys were hoping for.

Have picked up a couple of photos off the net:


First one is of the track to Mt Clare and the second is the campsite.

It was really great to hear from Manfred and know that he was well and safe. Wasn't worried yet, but probably would have been if I had not heard by tomorrow.

Day 12 - 06 Nov 2010 - Woolbales - Long Point

Still no contact. No news is good news.

Day 11 - 05 Nov 2010 - Mt Chance - Woolbales

Sorry, still nothing to report. The are now getting close to the beach part of the walk. I'm looking forward to seeing some of the photos when they finally get back home.

Day 10 - 04 Nov 2010 - Dog Pool - Mt Chance

No news again. Looked up some info on the web as follows:

No fires allowed from here to Albany. Nice easy walk in spite of the distance. Reedy swamps and prolific wildflowers add character to the rugged Pingerup Plains. Mixture of jarrah and karri trees at various places. Be sure to climb to the top of Mount chance for the inspirational views.

http://old.cia.com.au/ianj/australia/Bibbulmun/Track/Bibbulmun-Track.shtml

Day 9 - 03 Nov 2010 - Rest Day??

No news as yet.

Day 8 - 02 Nov 2010 - Lake Maringup - Dog Pool.

No contact again. This trek was 24.5km, approx 10km longer than the previous two days. I think this was around the area that they were planning another rest day. Probably won't hear from them until they get to Walpole.

Day 7 - 01 Nov 2010 - Gardiner - Lake Maringup

No contact again today.

Day 6 - 31 Oct 2010 - Northcliffe - Gardiner

No phone call today. Will assume they arrived at Gardiner, but don't have phone coverage.

Day 5 - 30 Oct 2010 - Rest Day - Northcliffe

Manfred and David enjoyed their rest day today. They did the shopping for the next leg of the walk and filled and weighed their packs. They have wisely decided to have another rest day in 4days time instead of doing the 8day hike without a rest stop. Tonight it will be dinner at the hotel again, such a welcome change from the camp tucker, then another sleep in a good bed. Tomorrow they plan to be up around 5am and back on the track at 6am.

Picture of the Northcliffe Hotel.


















Mount Chudalup
The "rock" of Northcliffe is one of the most impressive attractions in the area. Standing on the top of the rock looking out to sea or over the forest, you can easily imagine you are the only person ever to have set foot upon the place. The view is awe-inspiring. (Extract from http://www.northcliffe.org.au).

Day 4 - 29 Oct 2010 - Schafe to Northcliffe

Received a text message at 7:45pm to call Manfred. David has a mobile phone, just for the journey, which they turn on around 6pm in the evening. I tried calling but the phone rang out. Seems that both men were busy tucking into another good meal, this time Manfred was enjoying a snapper at the Northcliffe Hotel.

Called back and had a chat with Manfred for a short while. He said that the 14km travelled today was not too bad. The weather was better than yesterday and the track was not as hilly. The walk along the Warren River was beautiful and photo's were taken, which I won't get until the end of the journey. They saw two kangaroos on the way, but thankfully no snakes.

Tomorrow is going to be a "rest" day. They will be checking their food supplies, topping up from the local stores and trying to repack their backpacks for the 8day journey to to Walpole. This is the longest stretch and possibly the most gruelling, so will be a good test of their determination to finish at Albany.

Day 3 - 28 Oct 2010 - Warren to Schafer

Spoke to Manfred on the mobile this evening round 6pm. After a long, hilly, wet & stormy walk they arrived at Schafer, a distance of 21.1km. Tonight they are in "luxury" accommodation. They are staying at the Watermark Kilns which is about 300mtrs from the hut. The following link http://www.watermarkkilns.com.au/bibbulmun.html will take you to a web page showing details of the accommodation. Trevor & Jeanette Hulcup will be showing them some true country hospitality which includes Dinner & Breakfast.

Both men were in fine spirits but very tired so an early night was planned.

That's all for today, folks.

Day 2 - 27 Oct 2010 - Pemberton - Warren

Today's hike is from Pemberton to Warren a distince of 21.7km. Manfred and David have done this walk before so the terrain is not unfamiliar. Not sure if the mobile will work from here so may not have any further information until much later.

4:34 - Just received a text message saying they had arrived safely in Warren.

Day 1 - 26 Oct 2010 - Pemberton

David arrived at 10am with Patrick and Peter who were driving them down to Pemberton. This was very welcome news for me as I would have done it otherwise. Manfred had his pack ready to go and as soon as they arrived he loaded it into their car and they were off.

I received a call during the afternoon to say that they had arrived safely. They were going to share a meal with Patrick and Peter before these gallant gentlemen drove home, then off to the Backpackers to get a very welcome nights sleep. They planned to set off in the morning.