30th August

Day 21 Blackwood Hut to Gregory Brook

Two policemen arrived at Blackwood last night about 7 pm. Sam and Bill were great blokes who were walking from Balingup to DRV. Blackwood was a bit windier than the night before. The descent from Cardiac hill in the morning involved numerous switchbacks and a drop of 150 m to the Blackwood river. At the river crossing we met Brett who is a water catchment ranger in the area. Brett filled us in on all the illegal marroning of the area and trail bike hoons who seem to dominate the Darling Scarp.

After crossing the Blackwood river a flowering purple Hovea understorey made itself quite conspicuous contributing to a very scenic and great day for walking. After crossing the Blackwood river we climbed up past a water catchment dam with great views again of the Blackwood valley. The Blackwood river flows down from the wheat belt and is quite saline so alternative water sources are needed for agriculture in the area. At 2:20 pm Rone and I made it to the Gregory Brook hut featuring the wet forest understorey that became the familiar indicator of the southern forests yet to come.

Quite a few huts like Gregory Brook were close to creeks where the sound of the babbling brook became a relaxing source of background noise. The hut is under a giant Marri tree so all night long I was expecting to hear the sound of Hokey nuts crashing down on the tin roof.

Day 22 - Gregory Brook to Donnelly River Village