South to Margaret River June 19, 2006

We left the hotel this morning about 8 AM heading south toward Margaret River and the beginning of our 3 day hike on the Cape to Cape Track. We pointed the car toward the coast thinking we would take the scenic drive.

The first town we came to was Fremantle which hosted the 1987 America’s Cup race. We drove straight through the town but plan to go back and tour on Sunday. The highway alternated between two and four lane following a more or less direct route south. The drive was uneventful until we reached Australind where we took a smaller side road that was marked “Scenic Drive”. The road ran along Leschenault Inlet. Not as dramatic as we had seen in Tasmania but a nice change from the drive so far. During our ride this morning we had seen a number of kangaroos that had been hit on the highway, but had not seen any live ones. Along the scenic inlet road we saw herds(?) of them lounging in fields along the wayside. They were lying about in pastures which made us wonder if this was a “roo” farm as there is quite a bit of the meat served in Australia. The only fence was a five strand barb wire about 40-45 inches high which we didn’t think could contain the animals. We concluded that they were wild and in the fields along with some horses because of the availability of feed.

We stopped at Cape Naturaliste, the starting point of our hike, so that we would know where to go tomorrow morning and not waste time at the beginning of the hike. When we arrived we found that they gave tours of the lighthouse. We couldn’t resist as we are avid fans of lighthouses as well as the old time lighthouse keepers. While we were waiting for the tour to start I asked the guide, a very nice lady named Dawn, if she knew of any shuttle service between Margaret River (MR), where our resort is, and Cape Naturaliste, where we will be starting the hike. She said there was no service but believed there was a bus that ran between MR and Dunsborough, the closest town to the cape. In seconds she was on the phone calling the bus line and had all the information shortly, and we were set. Our plan is to leave the car at MR take the bus to Dunsborough, a taxi to the cape and the walk back to MR along the track over 3 days.

The tour of the lighthouse was short but interesting. After a brief history Dawn took us to the top, explained the historical and present day workings of the light and let us walk around the cat walk at the light level. I haven’t mentioned before but it had been raining off and on during the day and the wind had been blowing. From the top of the lighthouse the wind was the strength of a gale. Dawn told that they had a wind speed measurement of over 40 knots that day. The sea was in turmoil below us with the Indian Ocean surf running 10-15 feet high. After the tour we went to a lookout point called Sugarloaf Rock that Dawn had suggested. The water was thrown 70-80 feet into the air as it crashed against the rock. We climbed over a jumble of large rocks to get a better view and pictures but had to continually fight to stand against the wind. Holly and I were both humbled by the display of nature’s power.

From Cape Naturaliste we drove another 45 minutes to the Margaret River Beach Resort where we are staying tonight and will leave the car until our return on Thursday after the hike. We had the best meal of the trip at a little place named the Sea Garden Café. It’s run by a Kiwi that has real imagination with food. Dinner was served with a show as his two young sons followed behind the waitress blowing out the table candles immediately after she had lit them.
Tomorrow’s forecast is for more wind and rain. I believe it; as I sit here writing this the wind is pounding against the windows and sliding door of our studio apartment. (Off season traveling is a good thing sometimes) We’ll hope for the best as we have three days of hiking ahead of us.