This is a rippa of an article about walking the Cape to Cape Track!
Go grab yourself a cuppa and immerse yourself in the exhilaration of doing the track.
The article was written by Tori Johnson who used to work at The Margaret River Region and was then headhunted to the big smoke in Sydney to do the social media for Tourism Australia.
Tori was hosted by the team at Cape to Cape Explorer Tours . Company Director Gene is a legend round these parts and Tori describes him perfectly. I can highly recommend both Cape to Cape Explorer Tours or Walk into Luxury as the trail experts. MRDCo did previously offer a one day guided walk, but to be honest Im so busy with the Discovery Tour (which does include one of the best sections!) that I don’t have the time for the full day walk tours anymore. Both these companies are awesome and I can highly recommend them as the people to host your walk.
Here’s the first few paragraphs to whet your appetite. Grab your walking sticks and enjoy the read.
Follow the link at the bottom for the full story –
“I decided recently, with some annual leave up my sleeve and an urge to tick it off the bucket list, to walk the 135km Cape to Cape Track. I am not a hiker, let me tell you – I walk my dog each day on the Rails to Trails (does that count?) but for some reason this was bugging me and I felt the only way to quell this aspiration was to tackle it head on. I ran the plan by my Dad, who did the track a few years ago, and asked for some tips – he told me that when he walked it, it was “raining piss and pickhandles” (who even says that?) and jovially told me that I should “cut some arm holes into a garbage bag and stick it over your head, kid, you’ll be right”. Cape to Cape advice 101, thanks Dad.
Given Dad’s unworkable guidance, I figured I’d better contact the experts. I’d dealt with Gene Hardy from Cape to Cape Explorer Tours through my work at the tourism association, so emailed him my plans, suggesting that I tag along on the upcoming ‘luxury’ version of the walk, whereby guests stay at Margarets Beach Resort in Gnarabup each night and enjoy delicious meals and wine tastings – sounded like my cup of tea. Being a Margaret River local, I didn’t need the accommodation (although the notion of a relaxing spa at the end of each day was pretty tempting), so I suggested staying at home each night and driving to the resort each morning in time for the day’s departure. Gene was ridiculously enthusiastic about the idea, and after checking I’d done some hiking before (which I bluffed my way through) we agreed on a price and that was that. He sent me some training notes – D-day was 16th May, four weeks away, so I planned out my weekends and set myself a training schedule. A few weeks later, after some rather eventful practise hikes including getting lost in the dunes behind Boodjidup Beach and having to be rescued by my partner, I was ready to roll. Cape to Cape – come at me!
Click here to see the full story on the Margaret River website.
About Margaret River Discovery Tours
Sean Blocksidge is the owner operator of the Margaret River Discovery Company, an avid photographer, blogger and South West WA ambassador. In 2010 he won Western Australian Guide of the Year and his tours have been rated the #1 thing to do in Australia on the Tripadvisor website for the past two years.
