Tuesday November 1, 23.2km/14.4mi

Beedelup Campsite (534.2/148m) to Pemberton town (557.4/129m) (WA)

It’s always a good start to the day when there’s Karri trees! The three older guys who I had camped with last night were all gone by 6am, so I got to enjoy the quiet forest to myself.

It was a chilly (14C), foggy morning. Occasionally the trail would emerge into some farm fields, and the views were very misty.

In order to get in or out of a farm field, you have to climb over the wire fence. Just like in New Zealand, they provide these little sideways stairs to easily get over the fence.

I got to walk along the fenceline for a little while under the cover of the trees. It wasn’t raining… but the fog was being blown by the wind and making things a little damp.

Halfway through the morning, I entered an arboretum that had trees from all over the world. Each tree had a little sign explaining its species and country of origin.

Neat!

From here, the last hour to town was along well developed pathways. I joined the paved trail around Big Brook Dam lake. There were tons of people out for their morning walk.

These developed areas always have lots of little benches and structures to take a rest. I had a snack in this little cabin while listening to the sounds of the lake.

Big Brook Dam Lake. There is a very small developed (sandy) beach across the way.

After a couple of kilometres, I had hiked to the end of the lake, and the dam itself. I love checking out the civil engineering structures of other countries.

At noon, I walked into Pemberton, which is a very small town with one main street. There were a bunch of little shops, half a dozen restaurants and cafes, a grocery store, a post office, and a laundromat. Everything a hiker needs without much else!

The kale and green bean smoothie was excellent. The pies here are always good, they have so many kinds of meat fillings. This one was salmon and capers, basically a lox bagel but inside of a pie.

I went to the IGA to go grocery shopping, I don’t need to buy much since this is only a 2-day section until the next stop, where I mailed a box of food. I noticed that they keep eggs on a regular shelf at room temperature, like every other country I have been to. Apparently the USA washes its eggs in many chemicals, necessitating refrigeration for storage.

Vegemite also comes in squeezy?!? What a time to be alive. (Yes, I love a good Simpsons reference.)

The laundromat was super modern, instead of using coins and trying to find change, you just use the touch screen to select your washer and dryer, and tap your credit card.

The laundry finished at 9pm, and I spent the rest of the night planning my next hike in Australia (Cape to Cape, 140km/87mi), and reading my book.