Team Wesley Mission Queensland is off to trek the Bibbulmun Track!

Check back here for daily updates as the team challenges themselves through the rocky and coastal terrain of Western Australia.

Every dollar raised goes to support Humming Bird House, Queensland's only children's hospice. Show your support by donating here.

Day 1

And the adventure begins.....

Leaving Perth early in the morning, our mini bus of adventurers stopped for a coffee fix and the infamous Crooked Carrot Cafe a few hours south of Perth. The travel continued as we passed through the many “Up” towns getting the history and meaning from our amazing guides Sue and Jazzy (oh...and Chris !)
Lunch was in the park at Bridgetown before we arrived for our first walk at John Rate Lookout with a view over the water inlets of Walpole.
We strolled through forest trails admiring the amazing flora and the colours and varieties  of fungi along the way.
We walked straight into our accomodation location and settled in before an awesome dinner together and a well deserved sleep after a big travel day.

Day 2

After a great night of rest - we were able to award and recognise Margie for being the highest fundraiser - raising an amazing $25k + ! Margie was awarded the yellow hat for the day and proudly wore it through a guard of honour. We set off at 8.30am to visit the Giant Tingle - stunning forest with giant tingle trees. Sue was our main guide today and shared awesome information regarding all the flora along the trail and the co-existence of fungi to the natural habitat of the Karri trees.

Jen and Emily are our official team fungi photographers as they grabbed pics along the way.
Our guide Sue explained how the First Nations people would see the  “supermarket“ of natural food supply all around while we often just see a forest trail.
Lunch was enjoyed by the water at Coalmine Beach before walking back into Walpole completing a 12km walk with awesome perfect weather.
A few fun games took place at pre dinner nibbles before a fantastic BBQ dinner.

Day 3

This morning we recognised and celebrated our amazing sponsors of the trek that has helped us raise funds for Hummingbird House.

The yellow hat award was given out to Chris who through the Shell Community Gift Fund donated $30,500 to our fundraising adventure with many Shell staff contributing.
After a short 15 mins drive we returned to the Tingle Forest to walk in the opposite direction. Another day of fungal photographers feast all along the trail.
Lunch was enjoyed at Frankland campsite alongside the Frankland River. We continued on to Sappers Bridge to complete our walk under a warm blue sky day.

Day 4

The morning began with Brian apologising to Marg ... just in case 🙂

Today we stopped and reflected on the families who have used the services of Hummingbird House and the families that will use Hummingbird House in the future. We presented the yellow hat award to Jen, Nurse Unit Manager of HH to wear on their behalf as a symbol of our support.
First stop was to the Tingle All Over Motel to jump up and down in front of the sign with birthday girl Rachel. We begun our walk this morning in the Tingle Forest as we mainly walked uphill to our destination - the Tree Top Walk and the Ancient Empire. We all enjoyed walking in our sponsored team gear in stunning beautiful weather.
The team were all treated to an amazing seafood extravaganza by Chef Chris and Assistant Chef Bill - an amazing meal enjoyed by all especially our guides with a night away from the kitchen.

Day 5

Today started by raising our keep cups to the participants who contributed to our fundraising effort but didn’t make the trek due to changes of circumstances. We saluted them all!

It was then time to have a beanie day competition- or as Ian narrated a Beanie Off!

Chrissy won with a cream fluffy number and Brian got an honourable mention with a teapot granny style beanie.

We drove a short distance as we walked the Bib from the forest to the coast with vegetation changing along the way. Just before reaching the coast we came over the hill crest to see the stunning Great Southern Ocean - a site all will remember for a long time. Blue warm skies all day gave us all a sense of “how lucky are we“

A number of the team said this was the best day!

After a lunch with a picture perfect view we visited a nearby town for a well deserved drink.

Dinner was interrupted by a Chubby Bunny challenge that was very very memorable with Rachel a standout winner with 19 marshmallows 🙂

Day 6

We started the day honouring our amazing guides Sue and Jazzy for being the best guides ever! Brad and Sue from Adventurous Women - thanks for sending your best. Today was our longest trek of over 16km as we walked from Conspicuous Cliff through to Peaceful Bay. We traversed across the dunes alongside the Southern Ocean with spectacular views.

In the last hour, we were treated to breaching whales, kangaroos in the hills and seals playing in the ocean wash. And then top it off a stunning rainbow over the ocean.

We finished our walk at Peaceful Bay greeted by “Ivan” who had to wait for us since early in the morning. After being greeted with champagne and nibbles we made the experience a memorable one jumping into the ocean. What a day!!!

Day 7

Mixed emotions today as we prepared for the last day of our trek. After a big brekkie cook up together we left our accommodation to join the local WOW Boat cruise around the inlet. The skipper Gazza was a hoot and super knowledgeable about local history, flora and fauna and, in a bizarre way, Russian Walpole history. The cruise took us over to some remote island areas where we explored beaches. On queue, the rain came to us after 7 clear days!

Then it was time to say goodbye to Mum and Dad (Marg & Brian) and the little town of Walpole after 7 amazing days. The trip back to Perth involved some bus karaoke and some sleep before dropping off Chrissy to friends. Then the rest of the team rolled off the bus in Perth at 6.30pm.

Dinner together at a local tapas bar was a great way to celebrate our team, time together and the funds raised for Hummingbird House.

What a great trip, guides and team!

Posted in Adventure stories