October 28th
Moses Camsite(62.5)-Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse(83.6)
Mileage: 21.1mi/34km
Today was bittersweet. I knew it was my last day hiking in Western Australia and I have really enjoyed it out here. One of the things I have enjoyed the most is the relative solitude that I’ve been able to get so close to civilization. The fact that each night on the Cape to Cape, I was able to camp alone and have amazing views all to myself, is unbelievable. This scenery is so common and accessible for locals out here that I figure many don’t feel the need (or have the time) to hike in to see something they can see from a carpark. That works out great for me!
The original plan for today was to stop about an hour before the end of the trail so that I could camp one more night and avoid paying accommodations in town. Tomorrow morning, I have a booked bus back to the Perth area (~4hrs hopefully straight!). Well, it turns out that a blog follower’s parents live right near the northern terminus of the C2C. They were going to pick me up tomorrow morning, but last night we had a discussion, and decided to do it tonight. That way they don’t have to drive a road that could have many kangaroos jumping out in the early morning. So, that means that last night was my final night camping out in Western Australia. It was a perfect and memorable final campsite.
I slept great with no return of my little friend, which was a quenda(type of bandicoot). I got going by 6:30am. I felt like today’s hiking was more strenuous than the others. Overall, there was a lot of sand walking on beach, trail, and four-wheel-drive roads. If anyone hikes this trail, they just need to accept the sand slogging. Know that much of the hike is a more taxing slower pace. I had to stop to empty my shoes and socks of sand three times before lunch. All part of the price you pay for such great scenery and solitude.
So much sand!
The latter half of the morning, had a lot of sandy and then rocky ups and downs. It was slower going than I anticipated and more taxing. The views were more rugged with rocky coves and some short beach walks every once in a while.
Rocky trail.
Also, I’ve had many people ask if I swam yet. Today was the day I saw the most people swimming. I think I was the closest to the most public beaches. It wasn’t like there were large crowds, but there were many people out in the water. There was one beach with many learning to surf and that was fun to watch. It is warmer today, but I am not a big water person and did not feel the need to get in the ocean. I did walk barefoot a few times along beaches while out here and walked in the water a bit then, so there’s something! If I were with someone else, who really enjoyed that sort of thing, I think I could have been encouraged to do it. No, I don’t feel like I missed out on much, as it is something that is less enjoyable for me then for others. Once I get wet and cold I’m chilled for the day. I did see plenty of surfing today. One guy was doing a combo of he stand up boards and surfing and was fun to watch.
More sand…
I’m going to miss this.
Just for you Warren!
More deep sand.
Saying goodbye to the Indian Ocean!
I arrived at the lighthouse at 4pm and did a rush up to side trail to the lighthouse to get a finish photo. I had expected this one to be bigger than the one at Cape Leeuwin, but it was actually quite small. It was free to walk outside of it, but quite pricey for an inside tour.
Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse in the distance.
Cape to Cape complete!
Moira and Michael were there right on time to pick me up and drive me about 15mins to their home. It is bushfire season, and they live out in the bush, so they have been doing some required controlled burning of extra bush for an annual assessment by rangers. Those fires are quite quick when they do come and it’s just part of living out here. Their land is amazing and they even have kangaroos that hang out. It’s a very peaceful place and it was really kind of them to take in a stranger for the night. THANK YOU to Moira and Michael, and to their daughter Kate who follows the blog and made this possible. It’s nice to get some transition time to relax and clean up before heading back to civilization.
Moira and Michael’s home.
Final thoughts on the Cape To Cape. It was great! Yes, it is taxing terrain so expect slower days, but it’s worth it. As I mentioned, I was drawn to the solitude of it, so if you’re looking for a social experience this may not be it. Yes, there are tons of people out and about and at the viewpoints, but there are relatively few others hiking the full length. I encourage people to seek out camping other than the towns and caravan parks, but I understand the comforts of having water and facilities at the campsites. Having such a grand and user friendly path along such a beautiful coastline is a unique experience that can’t be found in many places with such great weather. Plus, there is no concern for tides, which is almost always a challenging factor in coastal hikes. Yes, it’s a short one, but it can be stretched out to make it as long as you like and it’s is designed to encourage tourism, so it’s possible to do it as a day hike each day and then sleep in towns or caravan parks each day. Also, the guidebook includes a connector trail of about 14km called the Meelup Trail that walks along the coast running east/west from the lighthouse to Dunsborough. The trail markers on the C2C could be more clear and I found it easier to be able to check the GPS track that can be found online. Actually, my base map already had the track marked, so that isn’t even needed. You won’t get lost without it, but it will save you some strife. What a great way to end my Australia hiking! There are many other hikes out here and the few I did were just the ones at the top of the list. I’m sure I’ll be back and the hope is to still have the time and energy to do Tasmania around March when I hope to finish New Zealand’s Te Araroa.
Tomorrow morning is my bus back to the Perth area. Catherine will pick me up and will take me back to Marcus and Nicole’s. I will have two full days with Marcus and Nicole to prepare my things for the Te Araroa. I thought about doing Rottnest Island one of those days, but after weighing the options, it seems that Rottnest is more touristy and would only give me much of what I’ve already seen having already been on the coast for so long. I am looking forward to two full days to organize things for over four months of TA hiking. I seriously haven’t looked at a thing and really have a lot of organizing to do with that.
Then I will leave to fly to Auckland with a 24 hour layover in Sydney where my cousin lives and I’ll do a few things. By the time all is done, I will have had about a 5 or 6 day break from hiking before I start hiking the TA. I think that sounds perfect for recharging before a much more challenging trail ahead. I’ll post again about my transition time once in New Zealand before I start the Te Araroa. Wahoo!
A great day for your final stretch . The whales were wishing you farewell with the flapping of their tails . I’m glad the pickup worked out so well -I only wish I had been able to join you all ! I’ll be following you along on your next adventure -and who knows -we may one day actually meet -maybe next year when we go back to Canada ! I’ve enjoyed every step of your adventure and can’t wait for more . Thanks for sharing it with me .
Thanks so much for being part of it Kate!
Congrats again! I’ve put this hike on my to-do list for international hiking adventures 🙂
Yay!
Congratutions! I’ve so enjoyed coming along with you. My husband is always coming up with funny ideas and suggested that you should temporarily change the name of your blog to “Waltzing With Wired” after the famous Australian song “Waltzing Matilda”. Have you heard it?
Ha! Good one, I have heard that one.
Whales! Awesome!
Congrats! I’m glad you got to see some whales! I can’t wait for my own c2c this time next year! Thanks for sharing and your tips x
Congratulations on finsihing the hike. So pleased that you enjoyed it and that my fellow Australians made you feel welcome along your hikes. Hope you get a chance to get back and walk in Tasmania. Thanks for all the work you put into your blogs, they have given me a lot of pleasure each day as I follow your hike. Gary
So pleased you got to see the whales. Farewell from the west, I have loved reading your blog of c2c. If you ever happen to come back to Aust and maybe do the Heysen Trail in South Australia I would love to see if I could meet up with you for a bit of it 🙂 I would have to go into training though to keep your pace 🙂
I’m bummed I didn’t hear about the Heysen Trail sooner!
Thank you Wired for being so diligent with your postings. I have really enjoyed following and will put those hikes “down under” on my bucket list. Very much looking forward to the next chapter on the TA. Wishing you safe traveling.
Really enjoy reading your blog. Thank you for all the effort you put into sharing your adventures. Love the whale pictures. Safe travels to you always.
Congrats on completing the C to C
I’ve really enjoyed following your daily musings and photos on the tracks and am inspired to get out there again for some total immersion!
Looking forward to following your TA experience ? I have a spare bed here in Perth -close to Freo, and would love to meet you if you ever need a place to stay
Good to know! I swear I could live in Perth for a month with how many offers of a place to stay I’ve had from there. Such great people!
Congrats on completing your Aussie walks. I’ve really enjoyed reading the blogs. Good luck for NZ, it’s a superb place. Be sure to seek out the Hobbits, they’re a delight and ever so friendly 🙂
Mt Doom is hopefully in my future!
I’m especially looking forward to the Middle Earth / Mordor sections. Hope to take Sydney there for a grad present in a few years.
Nice!
Congratulations on completing your Aussie hikes ? I have enjoyed reading your blog and look forward to your NZ adventure ?? You are so right – we are very fortunate to have these trails so close to home with wonderful facilities! Enjoy your break xxx
That was fun to follow! You rock Wired. Thanks a ton for being such an amazing blogger, hiker and all around person.
Aw, shucks:)
How wonderful to see those whales!! I have been whale watching and seen less (we did get pods of dolphins, so we had a great experience anyway), but so happy to see those whale ? ?? tails and more kangaroos too.
Looks like you got to stay with a lovely couple in a special place.
Enjoy your break and onward to NZ.. ?? ?? no kiwi emoji..
Whale emojis!
Erin so thrilled that you finally got rid of the rain and have been able to enjoy this magical coastline. I’m OS so haven’t been able to follow your hike closely but just love that you have enjoyed the Aussie bush and animals. I hope NZ is as awesome for you.
It was perfect timing! And I appreciated it even more after that rainy Bib experience.
Though a real slog it sounds like, the C2C looks pretty awesome. You no doubt saw whales and snakes and kangaroos and other animals. Very cool.
Congrats on another finish. Wired definitely rocks!
BTW, that was a SUP or Stand Up Paddleboard(er). They are not well loved by their supine surfing brothers because they have so MUCH flotation they can paddle into so many more waves and they tend not to share. But looks like he had the place all to himself. That is always preferred by any of us ocean men. ha
Actually, I noticed he was easily passing the others padding into the waves and it may show up in a couple of the photos (I tried to crop it) that each time he seemed to come within a foot or two of someone trying to paddle out as he was surfing. He was doing three runs to each of their one run it seemed.
Exactly, they can move so fast back out to the lineup that they snag a lot more waves.
I meant to say “prone” surfing since most take off on a wave from a prone position rather than from a standing position.
The SUP fad seems to have died here in SoCal and I’m quite pleased!
Recently, a woman sustained hand injuries when SUP boarder ran over her at Huntington Beach.
Hey Wired regarding your motion sickness issue you might try this simple fix that works for many and no drugs involved! Bear with me as it is not a joke… wad up a small piece of tissue of a size that will fit in your ear and place it in the ear opposite your dominate hand. Works better if placed before the motion begins. All my life have had motion issues and this helps the most even on all too long bus rides through the Andes. Love the posts!
Hmmm…interesting! I am caving and buying something for windy bus ride I have ahead of me when I start the Te Araroa. I’ve already heard about it and am still too close to that last experience to risk not taking something.
GOOD idea! No sense having a queasy ride.
I had a friend who got carsick super easily and those pressure point bracelets worked for her. I have had friends use those on cruises too.
Hope you get to have a pleasant ride.