Day Two
Boys will be boys, as they say and when they get together you are wise to expect a wind-up or a jape at some point. After performing my final ablutions for the night I returned to the hut to go to bed and found a green snake beside my sleeping platform. Fortunately, it was a rubber one, a fact which was quite clear from some distance away. As you can imagine, my walking companions expected at the very least a wee shriek and a jump and were slightly disappointed at my calm demeanour. Terry being the main culprit was disappointed to have carried the snake all the way from home only to have the damp squib response. He was not so calm and collected at four o' clock in the morning when a real snake decided to take up residence at his sleeping platform! We knew Terry was an Irish Charmer; we didn't know he was a snake charmer as well!!!
We were all blissfully asleep when Terry got up in the middle of the night, as middle-aged men do (sorry Terry). As he did so his head torch picked up something on the wall studs besde his bed. Unsure what it was he went closer for a wee look and jumped back when he realised it was a snake. In the dark and poor light of the torch it was difficult to ascertain what kind of snake it was. Pandemonium ensued as we all jumped out of bed, looking for more lights to shine on the bloody thing. When you have one snake, you imagine there are a hundred more of its brothers and sisters close by. In the darkness you worry about where to walk, where to sit, where they are?
Terrys' best friend
Once the pandemonium had died we were eventualy able to ascertain that it was a python and not one of the more venomous snakes that also live locally. Despite the relief that it was a python, there was no way any of us were going back to bed so we set about reviving the fire and having a brew before breakfasting and getting back on the road.
Despite the earlier kerfuffle it was very pleasant sitting round the fire and watching the sun break over the Darling Hills. It was initially very peaceful but with the ever present sounds of the forest growing louder as the sun rose higher over the hills and gave birth to the day.
Despite the earlier kerfuffle it was very pleasant sitting round the fire and watching the sun break over the Darling Hills. It was initially very peaceful but with the ever present sounds of the forest growing louder as the sun rose higher over the hills and gave birth to the day.
Day Breaking
A last check on our slithery friend showed he was on the move and we did not give much for the chances of the mouse we had seen in the hut before light faded last night. Retracing our steps from yesterday, we moved back up the hill to continue our progress along the Bibbulmun. Initially, our route was much like the walking of yesterday with close confinement on both sides from the thick undergrowth and the the towering jarra forest.
If like me you are a morning man, this was a delightful time to be out walking. There was still morning mist settled on the lower reaches of the valleys and dew dotting the webs of the many spiders that make their living on the plants of the forest floor. In contrast to yesterday afternoon, it was initially wonderfully cool which made the walking so much easier. We knew it would not last and that before day's end we would experience high temperatures again.
If like me you are a morning man, this was a delightful time to be out walking. There was still morning mist settled on the lower reaches of the valleys and dew dotting the webs of the many spiders that make their living on the plants of the forest floor. In contrast to yesterday afternoon, it was initially wonderfully cool which made the walking so much easier. We knew it would not last and that before day's end we would experience high temperatures again.
Changing Tracks
As we walked we became more hemmed in by the forest and undergrowth and, as the day went on the atmosphere became very close and moistly hot. In the early part of the morning the paths were narrow and it was difficult at times to see where you were placing your feet. Later on the paths widened as we neared or actually walked on one or two of the access roads that criss cross the area around Mundaring Weir, only to change again in to narrow paths in a broad and open expanse of forest.
Views Across the Bush
We stopped for lunch at Helena Camp Hut, which had the same set up as the other huts. It struck us that where they have place the huts always entails a walk down hill, only to have to come back up when you want to move on. A small but irritating point we found as we tired.
From Helena Camp the going was slightly easier, albeit there were still small inclines to be walked. The forest canopy was more open, with more light coming through.
From Helena Camp the going was slightly easier, albeit there were still small inclines to be walked. The forest canopy was more open, with more light coming through.
We continued to have stunning views when the forest opened up. Approaching the end of the walk our pace had slowed considerably and we were able to take time enjoy the vistas. As we progressed along the sides of the dam (which we could not actually see) the roads widened for a time and it felt quite luxurious to be walking in wide open spaces.
Views Toward Mundaring
This is not one specific growing environment but a seemingly endless series of micro-climates with the dominant flower or shrub species changing about every five hundred yards. Sure there were common species, often in huge drifts that caught the eye and when first seen took the breath away. But the stars of the show, the blue diamonds in the mix, were the exquisitely beautiful, often individual blooms, that were to be found growing on the forest floor. Simply stunning little orchids or small alpine plants growing in the most inhospitable, rocky but obviously perfect conditions.
Wild Flowers
The end when it came seemed quite sudden. One minute walking in the forest, the next on the edges of the car park. While we were all ready to stop, it was with an element of sadness that our wee adventure was over.
It was exhilarating, wonderful, marvellous, exciting, rewarding, ever-changing, stunning, beautiful, enigmatic, mysterious and strangely addictive. I fell in love with the vast and varied range of flowers that grow here, the black and green parakeets, the kangaroos watching us closely from the deep forest, the four-foot python that joined us in the sleeping hut trying to get away from the cold of the night and taking a wee shine to Terry in the process. The walking was harder than I thought it would be and the heat as difficult to manage as I expected. The company was exceptional; the challenge envigorating after walking for a couple of months of on the flat expanses of Lincolnshire and Norfolk. In addition, it was good preparation for the next challenge of a four-day hike on the glorious Milford Track in Southland, New Zealand.
It was exhilarating, wonderful, marvellous, exciting, rewarding, ever-changing, stunning, beautiful, enigmatic, mysterious and strangely addictive. I fell in love with the vast and varied range of flowers that grow here, the black and green parakeets, the kangaroos watching us closely from the deep forest, the four-foot python that joined us in the sleeping hut trying to get away from the cold of the night and taking a wee shine to Terry in the process. The walking was harder than I thought it would be and the heat as difficult to manage as I expected. The company was exceptional; the challenge envigorating after walking for a couple of months of on the flat expanses of Lincolnshire and Norfolk. In addition, it was good preparation for the next challenge of a four-day hike on the glorious Milford Track in Southland, New Zealand.