But don’t let this put your off. I am an average 48 year old and as long as you do some fitness training and know that you healthy you should be fine. The trail was established so that people from all walks of life can appreciate and recognize the pre-European inhabitants of the area, which is south of Perth WA, and their practice of walking long distances for gatherings.

Following a visit to Perth, Western Australia last year, I met some Australian businessmen at a Rotary Club meeting and several of them told me about the Bibbulmun Track Walk which a group of them complete a section of each year and I was offered the opportunity to test myself the following year.

I prepared by training with a 20 kilo pack, walking around the countryside most mornings and evenings before and after work, accompanied by my Chocolate Labrador, Bentley. Being a Health and Safety Consultant I guess I took the challenge seriously and had been training for several weeks. I tried to prepare myself the best I could, ensuring I had the right equipment etc. It would have been a little embarrassing if a Health and Safety professional from England was the one to have an accident and hold up the Australians. I am glad I had good advice from experienced walkers about equipment and clothing. What particularly surprised me was how cold it was at night.

The trail takes you through various terrain including swamps, coastal tracks and tree top bridges. You sleep in a 3 sided hut located at stopping stations so that you can plan your length of walk each day. You carry your food and cooking equipment for the duration and toilet facilities are of course pretty basic. The whole track is nearly a 1000km, so you can take several weeks or return each year and complete a section at a time. Once completed you are an “end to ender”. I have already signed up to complete another part of the track next year and recommend the experience to the adventurous.