SIGNATURE EXPERIENCE

Cape to cape

Walk

Walk Into Luxury’s four-day hike combines the most stunning sections of Western Australia’s famous Cape to Cape Trek with intimate coastal accommodation and exclusive food and wine experiences. The incredible experience is part of the Great Walks of Australia — a collection of the country’s best multi-day guided hikes.

WORDS LARA PICONE

CLICK FOR FULL VIDEO

SIGNATURE EXPERIENCE

CAPE TO CAPE

Walk

WORDS LARA PICONE

CLICK FOR VIDEO

It’s a rare overcast day in Margaret River as we begin the first leg of our four-day hike along Western Australia’s stunning coast accompanied by our guide and long-time local, Anne. The moody sky rolls through varying degrees of cloud cover, never allowing the sun to burst through for more than a few seconds at a time, and the ocean responds with a procession of squally waves.

Guided luxury ...

Combining highlights of the Cape to Cape Track with incredible food and wine experiences and deluxe accommodation.

Sweeping views of the Indian Ocean abound.

Despite this atmospheric pantomime, I’m immediately struck by the proliferation of colour. It’s springtime and the wildflowers of the southwest region have come dressed for the occasion in their most fabulous garb, in defiance of the dreary day.

Those attention-seeking blooms make our first trek through this biodiverse hotspot take longer than it should, as none of our walking group can resist pausing for close-up shots of the brilliant-pink wildflowers and sunny yellow wattle contrasted against rust-red granite boulders and the muted greens of coastal hedgegrow.

The fully guided walk includes a mix of beach, cliff top, bush, and forest trails.

The day’s captivating walk ends with welcome drinks at the exquisite Injidup Spa Retreat and a fabulous meal featuring local Margaret River food and wine. The luxurious retreat will be our home for the next three nights. Nestled into the landscape, it boasts deluxe villas that are strategically positioned along the coastline to take full advantage of the breathtaking ocean views.

Each day of the lodge-based walk ends at the exclusive beachfront Injidup Spa Retreat.

What better way to end a delightfully tiring day than a dip in your own private plunge pool while toasting a shimmering Western Australian sunset (sparkling wine optional, but preferable), followed by an indulgent rainhead shower before succumbing to an invitingly large couch by the fireplace. As the sky darkens, the sound of the ocean lulls me into a deep, replenishing sleep.

While it can take seven days to complete the full 123-kilometre Cape to Cape Track, our edited four-day walk carves out only the most captivating highlights to create bite-sized hikes that fit neatly into a day – bookended by our incredible lodgings.

Meals showcase fresh, seasonal produce matched with premium local wines.

On our second day, our small group is bused to Cape Naturaliste to embark on a very digestible 14-kilometre stretch to one of Margaret River’s best-loved beach towns, Yallingup. Winding up, down, and around, with the sculptural granite and limestone cliffs plunging into the sea by our side, we peer down to secluded coves and across salt-blasted ridges. On a warmer day, the beaches would beckon us to peel off our hiking attire and frolic in the waves, but today we keep our jackets on as we put boots to sand on Kabbijgup/Three Bears beach.

By the time we reach our second beach walk at Yallingup, the sun has shouldered past the clouds and is glinting suggestively across the waves. Had I brought my swimmers, I would have been persuaded to dive in. No matter, the sun magnanimously hangs around long enough for me to put that plunge pool to good use once we hang up our boots for the afternoon.

Enjoy clifftop vistas of pristine white beaches and dramatic surf breaks.

The walk curates the most spectacular sections of the Cape to Cape Track.

Keep an eye out for passing pods of whales and dolphins.

Refreshed and rested, my fellow hikers and I are treated to a chef-cooked dinner at Injidup Retreat, paired with local House of Cards Wines. While we eat, guide Marcel recaps the ground we’ve covered so far and teases us about what’s in store tomorrow.

Waking under favourable skies, I join our group to be ferried to Redgate Beach, the starting point for our 12-kilometre walk to Boranup Forest. We walk tracks festooned with wildflowers; from dainty orchids to roguish banksias, blossoming shrubs and delicate pea flowers. The sheer diversity and spectrum of colours on display is astonishing. Later, we follow grass tree-hemmed fire trails into a karri forest, where the tall eucalyptus trees stand amid carpets of coral pea flowers. Draped in garlands of dainty, white clematis, the forest looks as if it’s been decorated by fairies.

The Margaret River region is famous for its towering karri forests.

The ethereal beauty of this scene is equally matched on our fourth and final morning as we walk the seven kilometres from Moses Rock to Wilyabrup. We meander through tunnels of sheoaks and trails lined with acacias and populated with some nonchalant kangaroos and a few curious emus before we pop out cliff-side, where neat posies of wildflowers look as though they’ve been planted and tendered by a team of horticulturalists. They haven’t, of course, but you could be forgiven for thinking you’ve veered off-trail and stumbled into a botanic garden.

Sadly, our walk is nearing its end, but first we must climb a thigh-burning staircase to reach Wilyabrup Cliff. Here, mere steps from the precipice, the vast beauty of this ocean-carved coastline is laid out on an impressive scale. The breathtaking view is an appropriately heart-swelling finale to the magical four days we have spent journeying through this incredible landscape.

Later, as our group savours exceptional wines over a farewell lunch at iconic Margaret River winery Vasse Felix, we raise a toast to the dirt on our boots and the imprint the Cape to Cape walk has left on us. Just as sure as the sun breaking through the clouds, a return here is inevitable.