Hiking the Bibbulmun Track with Cam Bostock was an incredible experience. For people who live in Western Australia, The Bibbulmun Track is iconic. Affectionately known as The Bibb, The Bibbulmun Track runs from Perth to Albany, offering tranquil day and multi day hikes with well-maintained facilities for day and overnight hikers. 

About the Bibbulmun Track

Where is the Bibbulmun Track?

The Bibbulmun Track is a 1000 kilometre hiking track in Western Australia that runs from Perth to Albany (that’s 621 miles for you Americans). It starts at the northern terminus in Kalamunda, situated in the Perth Hills, about 30 minutes east of the Perth CBD. From here you can choose to hike a section at a time, or the entire track in one go. 

If you hike the Bibbulmun Track in one go, some people opt to carry all their supplies, or you can also round up friends or family and ask them to drop off supplies for you along the way. There are also local tourist providers who can provide transport, food, accommodation and even drop off supplies for you. They pick you up at a designated spot, you’ll have access to hot showers and a hot meal, and the next day they’ll drop you back off for another day of nature. Keep in mind that to walk some sections will require an overnight stay on the track — it’s not always possible to leave and stay elsewhere before coming back to hike.

You can find plenty of information about the Bibbulmun Track and different sections of the track at the Bibbulmun Track Foundation website. You’ll find all the info you need about facilities, flora and fauna, a trip planner, info about events and you can even buy maps, guidebooks and souvenirs. 

You can also check out this web page for a list of tour providers for the Bibbulmun Track. 

Internet and phone reception are very very limited in most sections of the Bibbulmun Track, so downloading your maps or bringing old school paper maps are recommended. Here’s a guide to mobile phone coverage along the Bibbulmun Track. Consider taking a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB), especially if you’re travelling alone. If you don’t have a PLB, The Bibbulmun Track Foundation has a few available to rent. 

Facilities along the Bibbulmun Track

It’s the kind of track that’s well maintained by the West Australian government, volunteers and the Bibbulmun Track Foundation. The government’s Parks and Wildlife Service is responsible for the maintenance of the track but volunteers play a significant part in keeping it pristine and well-maintained.  

The track is signposted with the Bibbulmun Track symbol, a serpent, known as the Waugal. You’ll see this trail marker throughout, on a yellow triangle like the one below: 

When you hike the Bibbulmun Track, you’ll find facilities along the way including open huts with bunks, a toilet, fresh water and picnic tables. Keep in mind that water is limited, so don’t rely on this water as a drinking source, always bring enough water with you for your entire hike. If you use rainwater from the tanks along the way, it’s important to boil and cool the water before drinking or sterilise it another way — find more info about water on the Bibbulmun Track here.

The toilets are drop toilets, usually stocked with toilet paper… and if you see my video about this adventure you’ll see we even found an eight-legged friend hiding out in one of the dunnies along our hike. The huts are kitted out with sleeping platforms, so you’re easily elevated and can simply throw your sleeping bag down for the night. Some people choose to bring a lightweight sleeping mat or inflatable pillow and it’s also a good idea to securely seal any food or hang food from the rafters to try and keep it out of reach of little mammals.

When is the best time to hike the Bibbulmun Track?

The track covers a fair distance in Western Australia so the weather can vary. The end of the track, Albany, is on the south coast of WA. Albany typically experiences cooler weather than Perth and it’s common for cool fronts to pass through the south west corner of WA, which means cooler weather, wind and rain. 

Perth on the other hand experiences long summers, with hot weather from November through to March and warm weather from September through to April. In Perth, top daily temperatures during summer can be anything from 30 to 40 degrees celsius, with some areas of the track being closed during peak fire season. The Bibbulmun Track is in the Australian bush, which in recent years has been significantly affected by bushfires. It can also get hotter than 40 degrees so always plan ahead.  

If you’re hiking the Bibbulmun Track, the cooler months are the time to do it, keeping in mind that it tends to rain more from May to August. August to October can be stunning, with the WA wildflowers out in force. If you hike the Bibbulmun Track with Cam Bostock, he’ll plan ahead so you won’t have to worry as much when it comes to working around the seasons. 

Who is Cam Bostock?

When I hiked a section of the Bibbulmun Track last year, I was fortunate to head out with Perth local, Cam Bostock. Cam’s a local adventurer with a global heart and spends his time exploring and helping others get outdoors. Some of his most recent adventures have been conquering Mt Kilimanjaro and completing the Te Araroa in New Zealand. He’s also hiked the Larapinta Trail through central Australia, The Western Arthurs Traverse and other well known Australian tracks. 

Cam’s passion for the outdoors turned into a hunger to share his adventures with more and more people. He created the Rapids Trail Club and organises overnight camping trips that you can join too. The Rapids Trail Club meets once a month and you’ll have the opportunity to get outdoors, explore new places and get your body moving. 

The Rapids Trail Club is free and if you’re looking for something a little more adventurous and you want to do something a little bit more challenging, check out his Patreon. Cam’s Patreon offers different levels of membership and that gives you access to join Cam’s Patreon hiking and camping trips. 

Hiking the Bibbulmun Track with Cam Bostock

Which section of the Bibbulmun Track did we hike?

We hiked from the Dale road access point to Mundaring Weir Hotel, a 40km section of the Bibbulmun Track. Now a tricky part about hiking any track that isn’t a loop is getting to the track, sorting out the logistics of driving or being dropped off. For this hike, I carpooled with 2 other hikers I had met previously at one of the practice hikes planned by Cam. We left my car at the end point and drove to the start in their car. Then after the hike I drove them back to the start so they could pick up their car, which was doable given it was only 40kms and not 500kms! 

In preparation for this hike Cam actually gave his Patreon crew four options, with the majority of that group voting for this one. Cam then planned it all: the dates, the distance, when and where to meet and what we should bring. Cam even made his spare gear available for anyone that was missing equipment to ensure they had everything they would need.

We were a group of 14 people, all from diverse backgrounds, including teachers, store managers, digital marketing and content creators plus a health food cafe owner and more.

Hiking the Bibbulmun Track in autumn 

We hiked in late autumn, which meant we had cooler weather, some light rain and sunshine without it being too hot. I actually found the light rain showers refreshing and felt like it was the perfect time of year for this hike. I was also wearing hiking clothes made of quick dry fabric so it didn’t take long for me to dry off once the sun came back out again. 

I also felt like these intermittent conditions made the hike more interesting because we experienced different microclimates during the hike. We had cold wintery moments, warm spring-like moments and along the hike we found ourselves in areas where the changing temperatures had created fog that made it feel like we were hiking through the clouds. 

About our hike

The light bouncing off the gum trees and landscape along the way was splendid. It reminded me of famous Australian bush artist Frederick McCubbin and made me feel like I was walking through one of his paintings. 

There were several short stops throughout the day allowing people to have a quick snack if necessary, or to rehydrate. This was also a good opportunity to check out the views in the surrounding area and to listen to the sounds of nature.

We hiked 27km on the first day and arrived at the Helena valley campsite around 5:30pm. We were out on track for around 10 hours, but the actual hiking duration was about 8 hours, so we covered 27 kilometres in 8 hours, which is pretty good going, and we didn’t leave anyone behind. 

As we hiked, we eventually spread out over the track, over about 300 metres, but then the front runners would find a place to take a quick break while everyone caught up. 

At Helena Valley we set up a campfire, told some stories, joked and laughed, had a feed, and then eventually we went to bed.

Having never recorded a sunrise before, I woke up early to give it a go. I used my drone for this task so hopefully I did it some justice. It really was a special moment because fog had gathered in the valley below and I was able to fly around the area and record some pretty special scenery. You can check out the drone footage I captured in my Youtube video about this hike. 

Once everyone was packed up we moved on. There were sections of track that were still covered in fog, which gave us a neat experience of walking through a forest in the clouds. We also experienced warm spring-like conditions and cold, wintery moments over the two days on track that gave the experience a kind of fantasy-like vibe. The small rain showers we experienced didn’t bring down anyone’s spirits — everyone still had a smile on their face and was having a great time. 

Once the rain was gone, the sunlight bounced off the raindrops that were still clinging to the trees, plants and grasses, creating a new spectacle to enjoy. 

After covering the last 13 kilometres of our hike, we made it to the Mundaring Weir Hotel and that is where we finished our trek. Once we had packed our gear away we all sat down and enjoyed lunch together, which was a great way to cap off the whole experience. 

Ultimately, what I enjoyed most about this adventure was that it didn’t matter where you came from. It didn’t matter your background, it didn’t matter what work you did or what your fitness level was. Everybody got along really well. 

Well that’s it from me! Enjoy life! Have a great time and I’ll see you all on the next adventure! Check out my video of our hike at the Bibbulmun Track below:

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If you like getting outdoors, check out my Rottnest Island Snorkelling Adventure here and my Rottnest Scuba Dive here.

Feature image with thanks to Cam Bostock.