Matt Keady (Matt and Sally Keady)

Completed: 10 April, 2021

Matt Keady thumbnail — **Matt Keady**
Matt and Sally Keady

Start date: 4 March, 2017
Direction Walked: Both

Track Towns and Supplies

Did you have any issues finding food/supplies? Yes
We purchased a dehydrator after the first couple of sections and our food pack got a bit lighter after that. We used a billy for all our cooking. It was handy when we had a camp fire because we could save gas on the longer sections and heat water for hot water bottles in the colder sections.

Your Story or Advice for Others

General Comments
We did the track in consecutive sections over four years, walking from town to town starting in Albany. It was good to walk in different seasons: flowers, fungi, different bugs that wanted to eat us! We now have an addiction to the Australian bush and every few months we get a bit twitchy to get back out there. A huge thank you to the Foundation and all the volunteers that maintain the shelters and the track.

Your Best Equipment
Comfortable packs and shoes Our trusty billy Camelbaks Puffer jackets Walking sticks (for bad knees)

Your Worst Equipment
Sea to summit air mattresses. Comfortable but SO noisy.

Advice for Others
Don't underestimate the extra water required for the hilly sections, especially in warmer weather. We discovered about 900km into the trek that Camelbaks with electrolytes in the water made a huge difference to our hydration with less muscle soreness at night.

Trip Details

How you completed the Bibbulmun Track:

In sections

Who did you complete the Track with? Solo (primarily)
Was undertaking your hike the PRIMARY/MAIN purpose of your TRAVEL from where you currently live? No

Your Experience

Favourite Section
We loved the Perth hills. Our favourite section was from North Bannister to the Brookton Highway. Incredible views and a lovely lunch break on the granite dome of Mt Cuthbert, the Canning River was an oasis for a swim and lunch under the shade of the bridge.

Highlight of your trip
Traversing the southwest on foot and becoming familiar with all of the national parks, rivers etc Staying in the country towns at the beginning and end of each section. Most memorable: getting sandblasted in a gale on Mandalay Beach and then getting caught in a hail storm as we arrived at the inundated Pingarup plains.