Day 71: Torbay to Mutton Bird
We acknowledge the Nyoongar People as the traditional custodians of the land and waters along the Bibbulmun Track
Creeks, forest, headlands and beaches, all squeezed into one delightful short day of just 12.4km. Many trail fit hikers will double hut to Sandpatch but others, like us, will instead savour every last moment on the Trail.
Overview Map
Use Bibbulmun Track Foundation Map 8: Denmark/Albany
A short but scenic day with a lovely sheltered campsite at the end. After an initial descent to Cosy Corner, you have a short hike along Perkins beach; we diverted inland over a bridge and behind Kennedy Camping Centre to avoid rocks, soft sand and high tide. Back down to the beach to cross Torbay Inlet, then inland again with a long steady climb to Muttonbird Hut.
But first, breakfast with a view. We have had a relatively late start, rising at 6:30am. When you thru-hike, other than for things like tidal crossings, a clock becomes irrelevant and your body adjusts to its natural circadian rhythms. You (or at least old farts like us who don’t party late!) go to bed when it gets dark and get up when it gets light. There is no trouble sleeping at this stage of a thru-hike: your tent has become as familiar as your bed at home, and the physical exertion of the day ensures a good night of shut-eye. You will likely never sleep as well and soundly as you do on a thru-hike.
Our breakfasts vary between porridge, poha and today’s instant noodles with dehydrated vegetables and (since this hike) lots of dry protein as well. Here we’ve added a few sugarsnap peas leftover from town.
Delightful walking a little way inland initially, through sedges and heath.
Casuarina forest. These are always lovely underfoot, and often host interesting orchids.
Twining Gompholobium (G. polymorphum) adds a bright splash of colour. It is another of those native plants toxic to stock and I am grateful to every one of them for preserving the southwest’s marvellous vegetation at settlement.
Descending to the beach and Cosy Corner.
The aptly named Cosy Corner campsite is accessible by vehicle and is an option for hikers if they want flexibility for shortening or lengthening days.
Cosy Corner Campsite with barbecue and picnic table is also open to cars and caravans and is a short hop to the beach.
Nice campsites.
Timing is important but we should arrive when the tide is, if not low, at least not high either. However, such a long distance of soft sand walking is murder on tetchy Achilles tendons; Oly and Virg have suggested a short alternate inland route that also avoids rocks, but we still will need to cross Torbay Inlet.
If you divert inland along this alternate route behind Kennedy Camp, you cross a delightful stream surrounded by grass and wildflowers.
The burbling stream makes its way to the sea. Lush grass like this looks inviting but it is almost always weedy when you’re in Oz!
Back onto the sand, heading towards Torbay inlet with Hanging Rock and Shelter island beyond.
Torbay Inlet looks perfectly doable. Nevertheless we stop for a cup of tea so we can observe the behaviour of the crossing and waves. We then link with a third solo hiker who is uncertain about crossing on her own, so there are no pictures. As recommended, the best place to cross is often near where the sea meets the outflow; it is wider and the water isn’t flowing quite as fast. The narrowest spot of any watercourse is usually the worst place to cross because it is deeper.
The water is only knee deep today but it is very strong; we can see how hikers can get into trouble.
Surprisingly little flotsam on these white beaches, but here’s a bluebottle (Man o’War, Physalia physalis). These are not jellyfish but siphonophores, a fascinating colony of separate organisms that are genetically identical but arranged in different ways so that each unit fulfils a unique function, allowing the organism to operate as a whole. Their sting is pretty nasty; first aid involves removing remaining tentacles, rinsing in seawater (not fresh water) but then immersing the area or showering in hot water for 20 minutes to denature the protein toxins, or a cold pack, neither of which is feasible when you’re backpacking.
Lunch at Hanging Rock Lookout, with expansive views along the white sweep of Perkins Beach.
Hairy Triggerplant (Stylidium hirsutum).
The track passes under these absolutely magnificent ancient banksias.
Purple Pansy Orchids (Diuris longifolia) still popping up, though they will finish soon.
The coastal heath is extraordinary. Even past peak flowering as now, it still holds so much colour and variety.
The Albany wind farm is an impressive sight, but you won’t get up close today. You’ll walk past dozens of turbines along the cliff tomorrow.
But for now, there is Muttonbird Hut. The huts are similar enough in design to feel familiar and like home. And yet, each is in its own unique setting too. That first glimpse of green roof at the end of the day is always welcome!
Yet another wonderfully sheltered campsite.
It is our second last night on the track and our second last sunset. How strange to think we are nearly finished! Amazingly — to me, at least! — all my doubts have proven baseless. Our ageing bodies, with so many of life’s souvenirs, have nevertheless carried us all this way. How well they have done! How lucky we are to be here!
