Day 9: A river swim at the end of a hot day

1 April: Dwellingup to Murray River via Swamp Oaks, 32km

I left my rather humble abode just before 7 am and was using the last bit of reception for a while to answer a few messages- just as I was ordering my newStriders running shirt, a wallaby hopped past. A few minutes later, Birger called me from in between meetings - and from a world away... 

I saw so many emu scats this morning- there must be either a whole lot of them around or there?s one with the hell of a digestion! I didn?t see one though. What I did see was a pig - from what I read later in some of the hut books, there?s a lot of them around!  

I started off through some pretty I burned jarah forest that then changed very quickly to very recently burned. The difference is incredible. 

There was a bit through a pine plantation this morning, too - almost eerily dark and silent in there. It also felt a little European, including some black berry bushes. But they looked like they had been sprayed, so I didn?t eat any - they brought back memories of the blackberry feast on the Great Ocean Walk last year though. 

I thought some more about the mining and how the mining industry supports the track, etc. 

Maybe I?m too cynical, maybe they are good corporate citizens with great social and environmental responsibility programs. I read on the flight over here in the AICD magazine (there?s another blast from a different world!) that many of the large corporates donate 1-2% of their pre tax earnings. That?s pretty significant for these mining companies. But then the blasting in the distance reminds me of the recent BHP blast “incident”. So I guess I’m not cynical, they just do good marketing. 

I stopped at Swamp Oaks campsite, about 16km in, for a coffee and a muesli bar. As I was sitting there, a group of maybe 15 elderly walkers arrived- the local bushwalking club. I hadn?t seen that many people in a week and was slightly overwhelmed. 

I finished off at Murray River campsite- right by a swimming hole - so nice after a long hot day.