Day 30: Grimwade to Balingup and Rest Day in Balingup
We acknowledge the Nyoongar People as the traditional custodians of the land and waters along the Bibbulmun Track
After yesterday’s challenge, today is a joy and a relief, with lots of smaller ups and downs and an overall descent. You’ll see orchids and swathes of wildflowers in spring. Sledgehammer drugs have settled my body and we are looking forward to some very nice accommodation in town, having been unable to contact the cheaper Post Office accommodation. Since then, new accommodation has become available.
Overview Map for Grimwade to Balingup
use Bibbulmun Track Foundation Map 4 Blackwood
Having grown up in South Australia, the driest state of the driest habited continent, Geoff and I are constantly delighted by the amount of water here in Western Australia.
Water and the sound of water add a whole new dimension to a day’s walk.
Oh, but just look at those wildflowers: Chorizema and Acacia. Fantastic stuff! Geoff’s pack matches!
Geoff has a Peak Designs clip on his pack as well and is carrying my camera for me. You can clearly see how the Sea to Summit Ultrasil bag clips around the camera, completely covering it. There is a small microfibre cloth in the bottom of the bag as well to dry the camera.
The Visp jacket and pants really are very impressive - and very comfortable - in light to moderate rain.
Banksias!
If you’re unsure of which way to go when you come to a fork in the track, a branch laid across one arm is the universal signal that the track does NOT go that way. When you’re ambling along it can be easy to miss such signs: here there’s a waugul as well, but we’ve hiked on otherwise unmarked trails in Tasmania, and a simple branch has told us all we needed to know.
Lasagna fungi!
Turkey Tail fungus (Trametes versicolor) is used medicinally. There are often very subtle differences between species that are traps for new players.
Boronia sp
The Acacias are a complete delight.
We briefly emerge from the forest to skirt around farmland. The weather has been drizzly all day but it’s not unpleasant.
And into a lovely section of native vegetation, with enamel orchids (Elythranthera brunonis)
… and a tiny patch of this lovely daisy, which was exactly that colour, a brilliant, dark intense blue without a hint of mauve. It is probably a particularly vivid form of Swan River daisy, or Brachyscome iberidifolia.
A Caladenia longicauda that I thought was a different species due to the short sepals and petals. Sometimes while the flower is in bud, a little critter munches on the tip, with this result.
And this beautiful hybrid, C. longicauda x pectinata
We are nearly in Balingup, out of the native vegetation and into weedy but pretty country.
And through the pines along the creek. Nearly there! I’m feeling remarkably good: the drugs are working!
We arrive at our B&B cottage, Jarlbrook Estate. It’s expensive but the owner takes us into town to buy supplies, and waits for us while we shop at the little general store. I pick up lots of salad makings, steak, pasta, chorizo sausage, tomatoes, garlic and onion for a spaghetti and salad nosh up.
Fresh greens!
Pasta! There’s no big pot but we manage to cook the spaghetti in the frying pan.
Yum!
Day 31: Rest Day, Balingup
Our pictureque cottage on Jalbrook Estate, Balingup. Although it is expensive, with two breakfasts included and cooking our own lunches and dinners, this accommodation ends up not too much different from more modest accommodation where we buy all our meals in cafes or the pub. We were able to do washing in the shed, lounge in the spa, and just have a darn good rest. Our hosts picked up our resupply box from the visitor centre for us, too.
Breakfast!
Geoff spends some time rejigging the next sections to avoid exacerbating my wonky achilles. He identifies one day that can be easily split with an extra camp at Willow Springs immediately before our next Rest Day in Donnelly River Village, and then two extra nights at Greens Island and the Arboretum before Pemberton. We always carry an extra day of food, and these are accumulated and also posted onwards in our bounce boxes, so we have plenty available.
If at all possible, it’s helpful to stay flexible with your schedule in this way. Even with a deadline, including an extra few days for contingencies can make the difference between an enjoyable hike and one where injury prevents your ability to complete it. Listening to your body is important.
We are only spending two nights here in Balingup due to the price, and we could get only two nights in our next stop of Donnelley River Village (school holidays) but, after that, we hope to be able to take Pat and Helen’s advice and spend three nights in each town.
Steak and salad on our second night! I’ve eaten more hunks of red meat in the last 6 weeks than I have in the last six years but I’m listening to my body, and this is what it is asking for!
