Reflections V
Continuing the Journey
It's that time again. What a two years it has been since the last of these posts, and it's been a fun trip down memory lane collating all the photos you see above, which represent each trail or experience I have done over the last 24 months. Seeing them all in one place is a great reminder of how lucky I am to be able to visit all these cool places, and further motivation to keep on exploring my home state of Western Australia and beyond. If you're new to the website, hello and welcome. I'm Mark, a recently turn 39yo from Western Australia that enjoys long walks, pretty flowers and getting out in nature. Plenty has changed in the last two years, with the major highlight for me becoming a published author, not once but twice (technically three times if you include co-authoring a book). With WA not having a modern selection of walking guidebooks, it was a great opportunity to take what I have learned over the years in terms of photography and travel writing, and apply that to a physical guidebook that people could take with them on the trails.
As I've said many times over the years, having the website is a great catalyst for exploring new places, and having a reason to plan different trips, both locally and further afield. Half the fun of visiting the trails is editing up all the photos, sometimes up to months later, and reliving the experience. Over the past couple of years I've really gotten into flora and fauna identification, with this adding yet another element to the posts. Keen readers will have noticed that when you scroll over a photo in desktop mode (newer posts only), the name of the flora or fauna will appear, or if you open the photos in expand mode for desktop and mobile. That of course has meant that posts take a bit longer to do, but the trade-off is worth it, and it's been great to interact with the iNaturalist community.
With plenty to talk about over the past two years, let's get stuck in. It's going to be a long post, so if you're interested in reading the whole waffle, then take the opportunity to grab a drink and settle in.
2023 - Books and New Beginnings
Trails Visited - 115
Total Distance - 859km
Website Visits - 376,982 (down 2.04% on 2022)
Top Ten Trails on the Website
1) The Aquarium Yallingup
2) Eagle View Walk Trail
3) Stirling Ridge Walk
4) Roley Pool Reserve
5) Helena Pipehead Walk
6) Jarrahdale Railway Heritage Trail
7) Bald Head Walk Trail
8) Kitty's Gorge Walk Trail
9) Margaret River Heritage Trail
10) Ellis Brook Reserve
Starting 2023 in the best way possible, I woke up in a tent on the edge of an isolated beach on the bottom of Australia, having started the rugged South Coast Track the day before. What a way to bring in the new year, with perfect weather, good friends, and six more days of hiking left before we finished the trek. Having heard great things about the South Coast Track, I was not disappointed with the experience, and it was fantastic to get almost perfect weather, apart from not being able to see anything after hiking up to the top of the Ironbounds. Highlights from the week include Bathurst Harbour, Louisa River, the Ironbounds, the Prion Boat Crossing, Granite Beach, the temperate rainforest, and South Cape Rivulet. Finishing up the South Coast Track, I didn't want to head straight home, and initially I had booked in to do the Walls of Jerusalem as a follow-up.
Realising that I wanted something a bit more relaxing, I instead changed my plans to head out to Bruny Island for a few days to unwind, eat food, and of course hike a lot. I ended up taking in all of the marked trails on the island, and with an abundance of sunshine at this time of the year, I had plenty of time over the three days to really soak in the magic of the island before heading home. I wish I had more time to explore Bruny Island but it was time to go home and finish off the work I had to do for my first guidebook "Best Walks of South West WA". That was really fun to do, with mostly photos and maps to submit, and by March the final version was ready to be sent off to the printers. Seeing it all put together was amazing but it would be another three months before I had a physical copy in my hands. In the meantime, I visited the south coast in March for a quick getaway, along with getting out a couple of times around Easter to do the Mount Yetar WalkGPS Route (area was lovely but plagued with dirt bikes), and do a trail run at the Collie Trail Fest with my nieces.
