Western Australia Wander – Part Three
The Cape to Cape Track has existed since 2001. It follows the coastline from Cape Naturaliste to Cape Leeuwen. The official length of the track is 135 kilometres and is a mix of disused sandy 4WD tracks, narrow rocky paths and soft sandy beaches. We hiked south from Cape Naturaliste with the ocean on our right and the vegetated ridges of Leeuwen – Naturaliste National Park on our left. When the sun shone, the sky and sea were a brilliant blue contrasting in a stunning way with the green of the vegetation and patches of mainly pink wildflowers. The edge of this coast is also scalloped with sandy beaches defined by rocky outcrops and rugged headlands. Wildflowers in abundance and humpback whales out to sea. Gorgeous!
Our version of the Cape to Cape Track was completed over six days with two rest days. We skipped a few sections towards the end where long beach trudges on soft sand seemed to dominate but we were satisfied with our 90 kilometres. Our base was in our van at Gracetown Caravan Park. Each walking day we used a shuttle service. We drove to the end point for the day where we met our driver, Jye. He then drove us to our starting point and we walked back to our car. This flexible arrangement meant we could take a couple of days out for a winery lunch, a gourmet dinner in Margaret River and a whale watching boat trip from Busselton.
Day 1 Cape Naturaliste to Torpedo Rock (Yallingup) 21.5 kms
After our driver dropped us off we had some time before the lighthouse opened so we completed a 5 kilometre circuit around Cape Naturaliste.This seemed like a good idea at the time, not such a good idea when we were trudging the last 5 kilometres of the day to our car at Torpedo Rocks. However, that loop was a great introduction to the wildflowers in the area. Many of them we would see in abundance as we made our way south. At one point we stopped to watch several whales, mothers with calves about to begin their journey to Antarctica. After a coffee and a warm choc-chip muffin at the lighthouse cafe we started on the track, well graded, wide and firm for the first few kilometres to Sugarloaf Rock with panoramic blue sky, blue sea views all the way. The walking was varied, ups and downs, sometimes on the old 4WD tracks, sometimes on narrower pathways through the vegetation and several soft sand stretches on the beach. The constant was the ocean, the crash of the waves as a backdrop to its vastness.
Day 2 Torpedo Rocks to Moses Rocks 18.5 kms
Still a bit weary and footsore from our long day yesterday, we were on Smith’s Beach trudging south by 8.30 am. After the beach came a climb up a rocky slope. The track meandered through boulders to a rocky outcrop and a stunning view of the coastline heading south. The day had been grey to start with but the sun was now shining and the sea a deep cerulean blue. The map has names for all the beaches and cliffs. They’re a mixture of English and French – Smith Beach, Mitchell Rocks, Cape Clairault and indigenous. Many of the names in the local indigenous language end in ‘up’ meaning place in the Noongar dialect: Wyadup, Quininup, Injidup. We concentrated on the views and the track, the names too numerous to remember. Our 18 kilometre day began to seem neverending but we did manage a short side trip to Quininup Falls a couple of kilometres before our destination end, Moses Rocks. Looking back, we thought this was one of the most stunning days of the walk.
Day 3 Moses Rocks to Gracetown 15 kilometres
Our base was the Gracetown Caravan Park which is about 3 kilometres inland from Gracetown Beach, our end point for day three. A sunny day that became quite hot by early afternoon and made the walking harder. It was a great day for the wildflowers and more of those stunning ocean and coastline panoramas. Towards the end, we negotiated a difficult rock scramble around North Point before eventually reaching Gracetown Beach and a refreshing swim in clear cold water. Another fabulous day, equal to day two.
It was time for a treat. Anticipating an earlier finish, we had booked into one of Margaret River’s top rated restaurants, Mikis. Showered and dressed up, we fronted for the late sitting of a Japanese fusion degustation of 23 delicious morsels with matching wines. A reward for our efforts so far.
Day 4 Ellensbrook to Prevelly and the Margaret River mouth – 15 kilometres
We cut out a section from this day. We were weary and thought a shorter day was in order. Our starting point was Ellensbrook Homestead. This restored, historical site provided some variety, particularly as the track wandered away from the coast through scrubby forest. Much of the walking after that was along a path carved into the tall heath, rather like walking along a closed in corridor. The skies were greyer and the day cooler, something of a relief after yesterday’s heat. The downside, grey ocean and duller light for photos. We had expected to wade the River mouth at the end of our long morning but managed to cross the sandbar between the river and the ocean. Ate lunch at a cafe overlooking the mouth.
Day 5 Redgate Beach to Hooley Road Junction 12 kilometres
This was another shortened day. It’s great when you can manage your own timetable – our driver, Jye, was happy to do whatever we wanted. We’d declared the day before to be completely free of walking and opted instead for a late start and a winery lunch at Amelia Park winery. The lamb shoulder was delicious! Excellent wine too in a beautiful restaurant. Anyway, we were once again back on the track and spent some time watching the surfers ride the waves at Redgate Beach. Then away from the beach and along a 4WD track with some different wildflowers. After about 7 kilometres the track passed through a bush camping ground, Contos. We had originally intended to move to Contos but decided to stay at Gracetown because a hot shower at the end of a long day walking is so good. Beyond Contos was a long stretch of track through forest that had been burnt some years ago. The regrowth was abundant, both greenery and wildflowers, particularly the Kennedia Coccinea vine with its clusters of bright orange pea flowers. The last kilometre to the car was into unburnt karri forest.
Day 6 Hillview Road to Cape Leeuwen Lighthouse – 11.5 kilometres
It is a 70 kilometre drive south from Gracetown to the lighthouse. We parked our car in the lighthouse carpark and a different driver, Cy, drove us and a party of six from Perth, to Hillview Road. We had all decided on this short option to avoid a very long walk along a soft sandy beach. We had stopped on the track and talked briefly to different people on previous days, but we actually walked with this group, three older couples, for about an hour. Nice to talk to someone else apart from each other for a change! Another grey day so not so much temptation to take photos but the views were good and those wildflowers just keep on blooming. At last the lighthouse and the end of our journey. Today’s treat, a lovely lunch in a restaurant in Augusta.
Beverley Lello 