A guide to coastal fauna comes in handy on the trails. Photo / Supplied
A guide to coastal fauna comes in handy on the trails. Photo / Supplied
Floral carpets put spring in Anna King Shahab's step on this coastal trail.
A luxury guided tour on the Cape to Cape coastal walk in Western Australia offers the right balance of wildflowers, workout and wine.
Two days into my first visit to the Margaret River region and I've been happily trotting around the interior, wining and dining at the bounty of vineyards and restaurants.
I have only a postcard-fuelled inkling of the coastline awaiting just a few kilometres west. When it happens, the first glimpse of the absurdly blue Indian Ocean takes my breath, and the first look over the edge of the dramatic limestone cliffs to the platinum sand and sharp rocky outcrops below confirms those postcards don't lie.
I'm on a private guided tour with Walk Into Luxury, a business born when Perth-dweller Nikki King realised there was a niche for people wanting to experience the beauty of the Cape to Cape Trail without the camping. Walk Into Luxury's accommodation is high-end, food is gourmet and the guiding expert and attentive. The 135km Cape to Cape trail extends from Cape Leeuwin in the south to Cape Naturaliste in the north, and Walk Into Luxury offers group and private walks from four to eight days long. Three to five hours each day are spent walking.
I meet my guide Dean at Injidup Resort and get a quick tour of one of the clifftop villas at this small luxury resort before we set off (now on the bucket list: adults-only; plunge pool; stupendous azure view). Dean hands me my snazzy backpack complete with sunscreen, tissues, maps, water, and a lunchbox boasting goodies from Lamonts deli at Smiths Beach Resort, which is where we'll finish this trail today.
I also meet my first coastal native, the shy little inji flower, also known as the red pea flower, that lends its name to the resort here. Dean hands me a guide to the coastal flora, which comes in very handy over the next several hours as we spy all sorts of tucked-away flowers and match them up to the entries in the book.
I'm fortunate enough to be here in spring; although the Cape to Cape trail is charming year-round, it does feel that a special show has been put on for us right now: countless wildflowers are in bloom and the weather is not yet hot enough to wither them, or us. We don't hit the jackpot with whales today, however from August to October they are migrating and regularly seen from the trail.
The 135km Cape to Cape trail extends from Cape Leeuwin in the south to Cape Naturaliste in the north. Photo / Supplied
What we miss in sea mammals we make up for in flowers. There are the excellently named bacon and egg flowers (so-called for their crimson and yellow petals), masses of pink coastal pimelea and a solitary shy, delicate spider orchid. In general the native flowers here are small, delicate beings, and the overall effect of thousands upon thousands of them popping out of small-leaved foliage is akin to walking through a riotous impressionist painting.
The section of track we're walking, between Injidup and Smiths Beach, is particularly great for spring wildflower spotting, views to the coastal headlands and nimble hopping across rocky outcrops. Other sections of the walk take in peaceful rambles through towering karri forests, or slide across sand dunes.
The track is well-maintained (a percentage of every Walk Into Luxury booking fee goes towards this) and apart from needing to watch your footing, especially when the track is dry in summer, it's doable for anyone of average fitness. We bound up steps carved into the sandstone, dip into the occasional dell and stray from the track every now and then to get up close to the water. Today the Indian Ocean is rather tempestuous (not enough to put off a few surfers, mind) but it's clear that in more pacific conditions, the swimming along here would be fabulous.
We scale a big rocky outcrop, wind whipping hair into frenzy, and peer down into what is, on a day calmer than this one, a stunning natural ocean swimming pool known as "The Aquarium".
Our journey comes to an end at Smiths Beach Resort, just in time for me to unpack my delicious picnic lunch, and enjoy a wine-tasting at the revered Lamonts Restaurant. I've only had time on this trip for one short leg of the Cape to Cape trail but as I sit swirling a buttery, complex Margaret River chardonnay and overlook Smiths Beach, I make silent plans to return to this special place one day soon to experience more of the unique natural bounty it offers.
CHECKLIST
Getting there: Air New Zealand flies direct between Auckland and Perth most days.
Details:Walk Into Luxury has a variety of stunning accommodation options on their Western Australia trails.
