Day 1: Kalamunda Trail Head to Hewett’s Hill
We acknowledge the Nyoongar People as the traditional custodians of the land and waters along the Bibbulmun Track
We catch a taxi to Kalamunda, buy lunch rolls at the supermarket, and walk across the road to the trail head. Such a simple, no fuss start after all that preparation! And we’re off on our 1000 km adventure!
We’re soon in lovely jarrah forest with glimpses across the misty valley. The path is well graded and easy underfoot.
Here’s an overview map that puts our first day (in red) into context with the journey to the first town (in yellow) and the rest of the way to Albany!
Kalamunda to Dwellingup Overview
And here are today’s details. Use the Bibbulmun Track Foundation Map 1 The Darling Range
Kalamunda to Hewett’s Hill - 10.2 km distance with 310 m elevation gain
You can see from the figures that, although the first day is short, after an initial descent, there is plenty of climbing to do!
The walk through jarrah and casuarina is a complete delight and, in spring, you’ll see wildflowers and views immediately. Even so close to Perth, there’s almost no one on the track, just a group of three lasses and one solo hiker. And only a few at the hut including another couple who are doing a Slow Hike just like us! Wonderful!
Kalamunda Trail Head - It’s raining, but we’re so excited it doesn’t faze us one bit!
We are wearing our Visp rain jackets and pants, which arrived just in time for the walk. They are extremely light but we have no idea how well they will work. Hopefully very well, as they weren’t cheap!
The heath understorey is a blaze of yellow, pink and white. Petrophile, Acacia and Hypocalymma bloom in exuberant profusion. It is exhilarating, that chest-filling feeling when your ribcage can barely contain your joy.
And everywhere Chorizema cordatum (Coral pea) draped over trees
Hypocalymma robustum
Magnificent views from the edge of the escarpment. We are heading down there!
My first orchid! A pale form of the Silky Blue, Cyanicula sericea
The track wends through giant granite boulders. The landscape is distinctly and unmistakably Australian, but the species are unfamiliar. It’s the strangest feeling.
Common Donkey Orchid, Diuris corymbosa
Bossiaea aquifolium… and no, the similarity in colours isn’t accidental! Isn’t evolution amazing?
Although this area is drier than further south on the Bibbulmun, small streams and rivulets splash alongside the track at this time of year.
Petrophile biloba
We cross a little stream. Many of Australia’s creeks are stained brown with tannins from eucalypt leaves, but the water can still be clear and pristine, just like a weak cup of tea.
The trail is rockier now, but delightful with the classic Australian grass trees and the white-trunked wandoo, which thrives in drier spots. And the sky has cleared for a moment!
And back into the jarrah with their fire-blackened trunks. The clouds are back, too: they have been scudding across the sky all day.
We stop for lunch on a convenient log beside the track in an area that is not long burnt. The cheese and bacon buns from the supermarket are very welcome!
Western Australia’s floral emblem, the red and green kangaroo paw,(Anigozanthos manglesii)
Wauguls are regularly spaced. The snake’s head points in the direction to go: left, right or as here, straight ahead. They are usually at eye level on trees.
Scented banjine (Pimelia suaevolens)
We see these scattered through the bush all day! Bird Orchid (Pterostylis barbatus). The orchids in this genus are variously known as snail or greenhood: I guess these do look a bit like birds’ heads!
Clubbed spider Caladenia longiclavata
Although to the uninitiated all spider orchids look similar, there are often very subtle differences between species: the size of the clubs, the shape of the lip and many other characteristics. Of course, I have zero idea of the species names when I first see these: I’m in a different state, and nearly every one is new!
Snail hakea (H. cristata), with a mosquito-like insect that’s not a mosquito.
And we reach Hewett’s hut! Geoff brews a cuppa. Our first night on the track, what a buzz! We’ll no doubt become familiar with these wonderful huts but right now everything is new to us. And we meet a lovely couple.
The campsites are nicely level and scattered under the trees, with a drainage depression around the upper edge: clearly built by experienced campers. We’re not too far from the long drop loo - you can see it in the background, as well as the roof of the hut. There’s even a convenient sitting log!
Picnic tables in front of the hut overlook the valley but it’s raining again. There’s always a table undercover in the hut, which is a real luxury.
Our first dinner on the track, chicken and vegetable soup. You can see the little bottle of olive oil in the background that we use to zoosh up our dehydrated meals, which are by necessity very low in fat.
Dehydrating all our dinners (120+ serves!) for the trip was a huge amount of work but it will all pay off now when we have yummy meals every night. And it’s been a fantastic first day: all our gear has worked well, our feet feel good and there have been no unexpected glitches. Excellent!
