Completing the E2E: Walking from Denmark to Albany, the Southern Terminus

At last, I'm approaching my goal. If everything goes well, I expect to reach the Southern Terminus on Monday, September 9, 2013. Each time, on the eve of a coming walk, I feel the days ahead are challenging enough to worry that something has not been properly taken care of, or I forgot to bring something.

The following illustrates how I planned my itinerary.

This section involves two inlet crossings: the Wilson Inlet at Denmark, and the Torbay Inlet.

Boat transfers are no longer offered (i later discovered that a new boat operator has taken over the ferry service, charging $60 for the crossing) but you can arrange for road transport to the Nullaki peninsula, which is across the inlet from the town. For this, I rang Denmark Cabs who agreed to provide this service for $50. I rang Graham, the owner of Blue Wren Backpackers, to book a bed for September 4. I felt incredulous when he emailed me to say he charged $5 each day my car was parked at his property.i decided to stay in Albany instead. This was a wiser thing to do as I would then take the bus to Denmark at the start of the walk rather than at the end.

The shelters between Denamrk and Albany are: (with distances from previous stops)

• Nullaki (13.6 km)
• West Cape Howe (16.7 km)
• Torbay (16.7 km)
• Mutton Bird (12.0 km)
• Sandpatch (13.0 km)
• Albany (13.0 km)

Starting early from Denmark, I should be able to stop in Nullaki for lunch, and walk on to the next shelter the same day. West Cape Howe to Torbay would take a day. Between Torbay and Sandpatch is a distance of only 25 km, so I could cover that in a day. And if I leave Sandpatch early, I should arrive at Albany by noon and so I could complete the walk in four days, allowing me to leave Albany on Monday, September 9. Originally, I allowed an extra day as a float in my planning.

TransWA bus schedule: Perth to Albany via Walpole

The Denmark to Albany section again promises wonderful views of the ocean, and as one leaves Denmark, there are views (behind) of the Stirling Ranges and the Porongurup Hills But first, I need to walk the section from Pemberton to Northcliffe. I set out south in my car on September 4 after waiting two days for the weather to improve.

On the second day after leaving Denmark, I encountered heavy rain and strong winds. It was as if they knew I should have arrived at Torbay Shelter by 12 noon, and since I hadn't, I had to face the consequences. So, for two hours, I was walking in wet weather. (Why I took longer time will be told in a different story.)