Cape to cape Western Australia

I have arrived in Perth from Melbourne to join a group on the Cape to Cape walk. Unfortunately Perth is being impacted by Cyclone Narelle in the north so it is wet and grey and a bit chilly. Tomorrow we are picked up and driven to Cape Naturaliste to start our walk

I was meeting a friend from the Caucuses trip for dinner. By 6 pm the weather was blustery and very wet. There were huge puddles we had to dodge and my lightweight umbrella did several inside out flips. The Indian restaurant we went to for dinner had sandbags at the front door! The puddle on the road was so deep every car turning left splashed the footpath so completely they needed to prevent inundation.

It was a bit calmer when we left at 9pm. I was tired after an early start and long flight so crashed quickly into a deep sleep. At 12.30 I was rudely woken by the hotel fire alarm. I poked my head out to smell but decided to comply when it lurched into Evacuate! I found my shoes and fleece and( grateful for my leggings) headed down the stairs. I was correct that it would be a false alarm but you never know.

Back to bed and sleep till 5.30am. I am being picked up at 8.00 but after eating so much last night I am not sure I can face an early breakfast.

LOCATION of the walk. This is taken from the brochure of the Cape to Cape Explorer tours. A very friendly and efficient group.

In the far south-west corner of Western Australia, a broad peninsula projects into the Indian Ocean – ancient, wild, and stunning.

Running north to south along its western edge is the Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park, the setting of the 124km Cape to Cape Walk Track, and backdrop to the Margaret River region. Beginning at Cape Naturaliste in the north, the Cape to Cape Track meanders through windswept limestone ridges, deserted white beaches, giant granite marbles, and towering Karri forest to finish up at Cape Leeuwin in the south.The Margaret River Region is renowned internationally for stunning scenery, world-class beaches, gourmet food, and fine wines.

Sounds so enticing! It will be a balm for my disappointment at not going to Spain.

When I emerged in the lobby in time for the pickup there were a few others and we hastily introduced ourselves and headed for the bus. It is still raining! As a hiker I don’t mind if it rains while you are on the track but it is quite literally a dampener when you have to start from a warm place and walk into the elements. That is a test of your fortitude and part of the adventure.

By the time we arrived at our halfway stop for breakfast, the Miami Bakery which had very cute colourful painted kangaroo sculptures all around the garden, the bus was in trouble with stuck gears and we needed to wait for a replacement. It soon arrived and off we went again. It was still raining and cold. Not long after we arrived at Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse and the beginning of our walk. Our guide Mike had a geological theme to share with us. It was the beginning of the routine of specific themes for each day and each guide.

Mike explained that this part of Western Australia was a remnant from when we separated from Gondwana and India drifted north.

Our first prominent granite outcrop was Sugarloaf Rock.

Other strange things we came across were limestone remnants of forests! Hard to imagine but they were tree trunks or roots that were encased in sand that became limestone over time.

We continued walking in blustery, drizzly weather for the rest of the afternoon. I was getting hungry as I had been only able to eat a Chia pot at the cafe! Bakery not the best for gluten free.

As we progressed through the coastal heath we could look back at Sugarloaf to see our progress.

I hadn’t bothered with rain pants (I hate them because you seem to get as wet inside as you might have been outside!) which was okay as the weather was drizzly but the heathland path was narrow and so I was pretty wet from the thighs down from brushing against the plants. Wet but still warm and quick to dry when we left that terrain and returned to the beach. It was a long day when we finally arrived at Surfpoint our base for the week.