Day 3: Ball Creek to Helena
We acknowledge the Nyoongar People as the traditional custodians of the land and waters along the Bibbulmun Track
More extraordinary wildflowers today after a night of bucketing rain and storms. The bright sun and wet foliage highlight the vivid colours of spring.
The classic black and yellow of the Australian bush, here Acacia drumondii, early succession after fire. The colours somehow seem more intense than those in South Australia
Its a short 9.4 km day with only 250 m climbing, but some of the climbs are surprisingly steep, and the scenery stunning… so we take our time!
We wake to find a tiny puddle in the top corner of our Triplex, user error as the high corner was pegged too flat. The new grosgrain braid along the mesh seam – a change from our replaced Triplex – was too horizontal and wicked water from the corner. The day also turns out to be very showery with alternating sunshine, heavy rain and even hail, but the Visp raingear is perfect for these conditions because it is completely dry within ten minutes, and so breathable that it’s comfortable to keep on between showers. Hut and campsite pictures at the end, as always.
There are many lovely spots like this to stop along the track today - Geoff is on the track top right
Almost straight out of camp on the shady hillside, we find new orchid species, the Midge orchid (Cyrtostylis huegelii), and Pterostylis nana complex. Together with helmet orchids (Corybas), these species often occur on southerly aspects and areas too shady for other orchids.
We need to backtrack 200m and on the way I spot this beautiful Native Rose (Diplolaena drummondii). We are trying to keep our eyes peeled for the waugul signs but we walked straight past a small turnoff from a larger path. Later we hear that someone else did the same thing but didn’t realise their mistake for some distance - kilometres, in fact. This is quite surprising because the wauguls are spaced quite regularly. If you haven’t seen one for a while, check your map or mapping app!
Time to stop for a break. It’s bright and sunny now, but we’re still wearing rain gear. The showers are coming and going so fast it’s not worth taking them off! Our sitpad is a piece of cheap Clark Rubber foam that we also use in the vestibule, or under our inflatable mats. Sitpads are great when wearing rainpants of any kind to extend their life.
Another break - just to enjoy this lovely creek
Tribonanthes longipetala grows in the mossy areas near granite
The colours are terrific. Yellow wattle, orange peas and grey green regrowth, plus a nice open path.
But in other places the path is overgrown with this rather stinky Trymalium sp. It’s soft to push through, but it would be somewhat nightmarish in peak tick season. We’ve been diligently checking nooks and crannies at bedtime before getting into our sleeping bags!
Just look at this glorious Australian bush, so different to anywhere else in the world. The Zamias and Xanthorrhoea lend a prehistoric ambience.
A short distance east up Allen Rd is a waterfall view. This would be spectacular after really heavy rain.
Delightful walking through the granite and wandoo forest. The sky is ominously dark ahead.
Cowslip orchid (Caladenia flava). These are very common, but this is the first one I’ve seen in flower. Very exciting!
More regenerating bush, this time casuarina and eucalyptus. The vegetation is incredibly variable.
Isopogon formosus, and just look at that colour in the background!
We come across a small area of granite that supports one of the most spectacular displays of wildflowers I’ve ever seen. The number crammed into a tiny area takes my breath away. We spend a good half hour enjoying the views, both closeup and across the valley.
More open granite areas with views across the range.
I’ve never seen such a profusion of colour. We stop for some time here, exploring the granite outcrop and me trying to capture the effect. It’s pretty much impossible, it’s such a jumble. Isn’t it amazing that, were you to decorate with such a mashup of colour, it would look awful, but in nature it just appeals to the deep primal lizard brain in all of us.
Just wow.
We reach Helena Hut, which is a new rammed earth and iron Taj Mahal after fire destroyed the original a few years ago. It’s stunning, and stunningly positioned for views.
Geoff makes a cuppa while I sort out the bedding in the tent
It is so refreshing to see huts designed by people who know what hikers need, rather than by architects who create beautiful but useless buildings; I’m thinking of you, Kangaroo Island Wilderness Walk! The latter had very high ceilings angled upwards rather than with a protective verandah, and occasionally facing into the weather, so the rain just blew right to the back of them. The huts we’ve seen so far have been perfectly oriented. The only rather strange design glitch here is that the accessible toilet is up a steep inaccessible road.
And the campsites and their views are every bit as beautiful. Each pad has a small channel around the edges for drainage here, too. The campsites are nicely spaced: nearby but not too close. It’s surprisingly rare to see such attention to detail, and built by hikers who know their stuff.
We’ve had another wonderful day and are also getting to know our hut companions. I’m already beginning to realise that one of the most unexpected yet rewarding experiences of this hike will be the wonderful people we’ll meet. Let’s face it: anyone who sets out to hike 1,000km is going to be interesting!
