John Rate Lookout

We woke this morning with no intention of doing a walk. We had planned to sleep in, have a long lazy breakfast, pack and leave for Pemberton. However, by 830am, we were finished with breakfast and to while away time, watched the last bits of a movie on Netflix. Only 10 mins into the movie, Ruby declared that the movie was too depressing. We decided to pack up and checkout early so we could do a short 6km hike starting at John Rate Lookout and see where 6km would take us. The hike was so lovely amongst the shivering sheok, tangled Tingle that we continued further. We got to the start of the Nuyts Wilderness tracks, and decided to continue onto the summit of Mt Clare before turning back. When we returned, Ruby, who was in front of me, came upon a man who was butt naked. He had his hands in front of his bits, and said to her, "Nice day for a walk." She was looking elsewhere, then noticed his lack of clothing as she replied. She quickened her pace and we got away from him as he apologised. Further on, Ruby thought that maybe we should have checked that he was ok. So I called the Walpole Visitors Centre to report the encounter. I told the lady on the phone that we did not feel threatened, but were worried about the man, or other hikers or visitors to that area. The weather warmed up during our return hike, and the March flies were buzzing around us. They are huge with long proboscis and very bitey. The walk back took half the time as we could not stop for fear of being bitten. The Walpole policeman called me back to report that they had found the man. He was harmless, and just liked to walk naturally in nature, "nothing sexual", they reported. He was told to do so in more secluded areas in future.
The drive to Pemberton was uneventful.Read more