CAPE TO CAPE WALK TRACK
By Graeme Olsen
Fancy a walk along the beautiful
south west coast?
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The Cape To Cape Walk Track
is a 135km trail that runs along the Leeuwin-Naturaliste
Ridge between the Cape Naturaliste lightouse
(near Yallingup) and the Cape Leeuwin lighthouse
(Augusta).
But you don't have to do the
whole 135km. The track has many access points,
which means that you can choose to either
do the full walk (5-7 days), or a couple of
days, or even just a few hours.
If you're going for more than
a day, you can choose to camp out along the
Track, or make use of the wide variety of
excellent accommodation available in the region.
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The Cape To Cape Walk Track provides
a fantastic tour of the south west landscape. Along
the way you will see spectacular coastal and forest
scenery, interesting geology and history, and wonderful
wildflowers in spring.
The Track mostly follows the coast,
alternating between spectacular sweeping cliff-top
views and stretches of pristine beach. There are
also several inland loops, which take in some lovely
sheltered woodland sections as well as the magnificent
Boranup karri forest. Fascinating geological features,
such as cliffs, caves, headlands and rock formations
can to be seen along the way, and the vegetation
and wildflowers present an ever-changing display.
The walking varies from old 4WD vehicle
tracks, to constructed pathways, and from firm,
well-graded tracks to rough stony paths and sandy
beaches. There are easy sections, which make excellent
day and half-day walks, while some of the wilder
parts are rugged and hard going.
So what are you waiting for? It's
coming up to Spring, the wildflowers are arriving,
and this is one of the best ways to get out there
and see some of the best of what the south west
has to offer. Get a group together and enjoy a day
out (or a few days out!).
How do you get started? First, visit
the Friends Of The Cape To Cape Track Inc website,
at www.capetocapetrack.com.au,
which will give you all the information you need
to know, including how to get there, what's on the
track, local accommodation, and more. They kindly
provided the information and photos for this article.
August 2005
