Seeking Cape to Cape Info!

[violet hill]

Hi all,
I'm doing a thru hike of W.A's Cape to Cape walk in December and just wondered if anyone has done the thru hike or even just sections and can recommend certain campgrounds or things to look out for etc.
One night I'm planning on camping around the Margaret River mouth/ Prevelly area but I'd prefer to camp in a free little tucked away area than the Prevelly caravan park, any suggestions?

Cheers Deb

( It would be great to see more info posted on W.A walks!)

[damon_james]

Hi Deb,

I did the c2c mid winter during a week of big storms. Watching the storms smashing the coast (and us) and getting completely nailed by horizontal hail is something I will never forget - It was a lot of fun!!!

If you're not very trackfit (used to carrying +15kg on multi day walks) I would strongly advise taking a good set of walking poles & gaiters. There are long (8km+) sections of soft sand beach walking which, with carrying 18kg, will make your legs feel like they've never felt before.

A short pair of light weight ankle length gaiters will stop your boots filling with sand - non-beach and dune sections are also pretty sandy. In my case the sand caused friction which caused big blisters - OK until we ran out of strapping, then VERY NOT OK.

You're not supposed to camp anywhere except designated spots. Having said that we were forced behind a sand dune for one night because Willyabrup brook, dry in summer, was a 3m deep raging torrent when we tried to cross it.

All the camping spots are good. Contos campground is a big family camping spot but was still really nice, and also good for fishing and a swim.

We mixed our accommodation - for instance 2 nights camping and 1x night accom. This enhanced the trip really nicely for us, although I appreciate that many would want to stay in the bush full time.

Probably the best money we spent was on the souhern leg - we called 2 hrs before Hamelin Bay and got picked up, fed home-made dahl and wine, and then dropped back off the next morning by a groovy couple (ex new york hippies) who run Wren Cottages. Stayed in their large onsite "caravan" for about $100ea per night. Link: http://wrenwoodchalets.com/index.html.

Best of luck.

[jez_au]

One night I'm planning on camping around the Margaret River mouth/ Prevelly area but I'd prefer to camp in a free little tucked away area than the Prevelly caravan park, any suggestions?

Hey Deb, I did the walk in May of last year. As the trail heads south from the river and Prevelly it enters a conservation reserve of some sort with a network of fire tracks. I think there would be many spots to free camp through there, esp the further south you go. At the start there are housing developments on each side, plenty of rubbish and probably people walking dogs. Further south past the antenna installation I doubt you would see anyone if you arrived lateish and left early. My blog includes a Google Map where you can zoom into Prevelly and see where the trail goes -> http://jez-hiking.blogspot.com/2010/05/cape-to-cape-track.html

I free camped near Kilcarnup Beach, but the rest of time I was in the official campsites. Watch out for stupid hoons in this area, I was almost hit by a car. In places here and the northern end of the trail the trail follows sandy vehicle tracks which surfers have pushed through over time to reach good waves. The track was deeply worn into the dunes, over a metre, and some stupid surfies were driving way too fast given they couldn't see either oncoming cars or hikers. I scrambled up the sheer sand wall when I heard a car rev just around a blind corner, it was very close to ending much more than just my hike.

I walked from Dunsborough to the start of the trail, it was a good hike length from the town to the first campsite on the trail. The coastline to the start of the trail is beautiful, more than half of it was in conservation park. At Augusta I called a taxi from the trailhead, it cost $20.

The coastline is beautiful. There's no-one else out there but surfies, and they're often good to watch and chat to.

[violet hill]

damon_james,
Watching big storms whislt hiking is incredible! I hiked on Fraser Island at Christmas with a friend and we got caught up in the leftover storms from the cyclones at the time. Scary as all hell but also amazing once we were safe!
I was wondering about getting poles or not. I think I might now.
Also a fresh home cooked meal is heaven on a hike but I think we will rough it and wait until we finish. I will probably spend the last few days of the walk dreaming of what I will eat at the end

Thanks heaps for the advice.
Deb.

P.S Nice pic!

[violet hill]

Jez,
Thanks for the camping info. I would love to spend a night or two camping 'just off the track'. I'm going with my amazing mum and we are both quite keen for a hike with mostly just the two of us and nature. If we get to a crowded campsite them we will probably just walk on a bit further!
Its good to know about the safety of the dune track. Especially since we are going in the summer. I'm sure there will be surfers and families everywhere driving around!

I'll post info on the track once i've done it!

I just clicked onto your blog and it looks great. I'm going to check out more of it now!

Cheers,
Deb

[rogo]

Yes Deb,

It will be crowded. I was down at the northern trailhead last Jan and just did a half hour walk down the track (ran out of time). It was bustling.
Lots of people take their 4wheel drives and soft off roaders everywhere down there.
We camp at Prevelly Park each year after xmas and for the first time this year we noticed a change in the type of people camping. I bit louder and rougher than I have noticed before.


But it seems a really nice walk all the same and my walking partner is trying to talk me into a weeks walking in Oct on the C2C.


Cheers

Ro