Bibbulmun Track Near Denmark

The Trip — A section of the Bibbulmun Track walking from Parry Beach to Denmark

Duration — Day trip

Origin — Denmark

Type of Trip— Bibbulmun Track, Beach, Day Trip, Hiking

Average temperature— 30 degrees

Mode of Transportation — My feet! Also need a car for drop-off / pickup

Cost — $20 worth of food and snacks

General Route — Start in Denmark, get a lift to Parry Beach, walk back to Denmark along the Bibbulmun

Distance — 22.4km

Main Activities — Hiking the Bibbulmun Track

Food and drink Highlights — The Clif Bar I ate at the top of Mt Hallowell

Ratings

Rate the overall trip — 10/10 Best day hike I have done - included it all. Beach, forest, scrub, summits, viewpoints. Everything!

Rate the activity on your trip — 9/10 The Bibbulmun Track is super well maintainted and hiking along it is awesome. I had to dock a point beacuse the distance was probably a little bit too much for one day. But that’s not the track’s fault!

Rate the ease of logistics — 6/10 It could be tricky to arrange a lift to the start of the hike. Another option would be to drive and leave the car at the start, but that still requires a willing companion to help you pick it up. Unless you walked back…!

Luxury factor — 2/10 It’s not that kind of hike!

About The Traveller

Age
25

Gender
Male

I’m from
North Devon, UK

My favourite trip as of late
Camping and day hikes

I often travel…
To surf, scuba dive or hike

I would class myself as
An experienced traveller

I regularly go on the following types of trips
Camping, 4x4ing, hiking, surfing, wine tours

It’s a dealbreaker when
There are kids or generators in the campsite

Continent I know the best
Australasia

My Experience

I have been pretty into hiking recently, and a spare day in Denmark, WA lead to me walking 22.4km of the Bibbulmun Track, from Parry Beach to Denmark.

It was easliy the best hike I have done lately, and perhaps my favourite ever! But, and this is the only but… It was a really, really hard 22.4km and if I am being honest with myself, it was probably a little bit too much distance for one day.

I started out by getting a lift with some friends to Parry Beach, which is about a 30 minute drive west of Denmark. Had I known what was ahead of me I may have been a little bit apprehensive, but as I was beautifully ignorant, I started the hike in light spirits!

Starting at Parry Beach, the track goes along the beach to Mazzoletti Beach, then up Tower Hill overlooking Green’s Pool and William Bay. From there it’s accross a ridge and down into a boulder-strewn forest, which spits you out at Lights Beach. Accross the beach and up over into the dunes, eventually crossing Lights Road on the diagonal and heading up Mt. Hallowell for a spectacular panoramic finish.

Except that’s not the finish! The descent from the summit leads down the back of the mount and the track hits Ocean Beach Road about 7 or 8km south of Denmark. At this point, you have walked 22.4km accross sand, more sand, softer sand, up two large hills, through forests, up some steps, over some boulders, round some boulders, over some fallen trees, and eventually along a path. So I am not ashamed to admit I thumbed a lift back into town from there!

Why We Loved It

It was an exhasting, rewarding and beautiful hike on a perfect day for it, the mostly blue sky offering the odd bit of shade when the sun popped behind a fluffy white cloud. The views are fantastic, the terrain is extremely varied, the trail is well marked and the scenery is apparently some of the best along the entire 1000km of the Bibbulmun Track. This is the only bit I have done so it is automatically my favourite! I shall just have to walk the rest to see for myself…

Drawbacks

None really, although as I have alluded to above, the distance was probably a bit too much for one day. By the end I was definitely ready to collapse. Happy and full of achievment… But ready to collapse all the same. The trail is very well marked apart from one section, which happened to be where I began. I didn’t really do my research and didn’t see a trail marker until 7km in. Luckily I had taken a punt that the best course of action was to just walk along the beach and eventually (after passing through some extremely soft sand) I did meet up with the markers. What a relief!

Special Shout out to Martin

I stopped at one of the overnight huts for lunch, and an extremely friendly chap reccomended I refil my water bottle from the rainwater tank. I protested that I was only on a day hike and I though it best to leave the water for those who needed it more. Martin gently but forcefully explained that the tank would be plenty full, and that I was best to take some extra as an emergency precaution. Well, thanks to Martin I took my last sip of water was I stood on the side of the road with my thumb out at the end of the hike. Without his advice I would have definitely run out of water somewhere around Lights Beach — and I wouldn’t have been able to go up Mt. Hallowell, which I think was my favrouite part of the trip! So thanks very much Martin.