Why it's so nice to be home

For some reason jet lag is particularly debilitating this time. I find myself hand-washing a cardigan and repotting a plant at 2:30am in the morning, something I've never done before. And although Ross manages to sleep (for Australia this time), even he finds himself watching Star Trek reruns in the middle of the night to begin with. 

But it's so nice to be home. Despite the numbness of jet lag, post-travel digestive upsets, minutiae of household chores and, all too soon, the soul-destroying ennui of weekdays, this is what it's all about... the Sunday sunrises and beauty of my park. The park with all its gorgeous spring colours, golden light, moody river views framed by foliage, peace, calm and the cure for the nature-shaped ache that I've unknowingly carried around these last few weeks.

Some of the amazing colours of Kings Park (Sept 2018)

And the image which, for me, just sums up why it's so nice to be home is this....

Enough said.

Cloud clearing to a glorious day

I must admit I felt a bit cheated at breakfast this morning.  Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day so when it doesn't quite meet my expectations I feel sad.  Although we're early risers we had to kill time until breakfast at 8:30am, when all the guests descended on the dining room at the same time.  Shock, horror, there were only two communal dining tables so it was an introvert's worst nightmare having to scramble around and concentrate on small talk with strangers so early in the day.  Definitely not for me although Ross was in his element.  The cereal and fruit selection was a bit limited and there was no choice of hot mains.  Everyone eats the same cooked breakfast although it changes daily. I'm really not keen on eggs in the morning but ate my scrambled eggs anyway... will probably bring my own rice cereal to the table tomorrow and forego hot meals from now on.

Yesterday's cloud cleared to reveal a glorious sunny morning and so the clouds from breakfast cleared as we drove along Caves Road to the Cape Naturaliste lighthouse.  We opted to do the respectable (almost) 4km Bunker Bay loop walk.  It proved more challenging than we expected with steep inclines and rough sandy track, and took the full 90 minutes but it was well worth the effort.  

Coastal track

The coastal vegetation was an explosion of colour - the pictures below are only a tiny tiny sample of the wildflowers that were in bloom.

Coastal wildflowers

And the coastal views were absolutely breathtaking.  

Looking towards Bunker Bay

While at the Shelley Cove lookout some fellow walkers told us to keep an eye out for migrating whales as they spotted some off the coast yesterday. Sure enough, a little further along we spied a boat and at least three whales frolicking off the coast.  It was a real treat to see them even though they were quite a long way out.  Some other walkers told us about seals in the water visible from another lookout so we had a double wildlife treat today.

Shelley Cove

Limestone cliffs

What better way to recover from a walk than to stop at the nearby Bunker Bay Resort.  Not a bad spot to enjoy a mid-morning coffee really!

Nice spot for coffee

We sat on the rocks down by the water and contemplated the sea for a little while before heading back to Margaret River... via Gabriel Chocolate of course:)  

By the sea at Bunker Bay

Tired from all the fresh air, it was a lazy afternoon of reading and lounging about with only a short detour into town to buy a few things.  An early tapas meal at Swings Taphouse preceded an early night.  Blissful sleep in a warm comfortable bed, in the peace and quiet of Margaret River... until THUMP! Sounds like there might be something scratching about in the roof space above our room...?

Eagle View Walk (John Forrest National Park)

The stats

• Distance - 16km circuit
• Grade - classed as 'medium' to 'hard'
• Estimated time to complete - 5-6hrs
• Actual time taken - 4hr 45mins (with half hour stop for lunch)
• Resources - WA Top Trails website and Department of Environment and Conservation Eagle View Walk Trail guide
• Cost - $11 national park entry fee
• Tip - Doing the walk clockwise gets most of the ascents out of the way early on!

The verdict

One more week before we head to the UK and undertake the Coast to Coast walk for real.  The Fellowship was finally restored today for our final training walk as my Dad decided to test his rehabilitated foot on what would be our longest and most challenging walk yet.  Our thinking was, if we could best this we'd be able to handle C2C no problem...

On arrival at John Forrest National Park we marvelled at the explosion of colour.  The wildflowers were out in their full glory and the trail was dotted with splashes of yellow, pink, white and vivid purple. 

The riot of colour along the Eagle View Trail

With our collective knees strapped we headed to the ranger's office to register and then set off on the circuit.  The trail was well marked but the guide was helpful and is recommended.   

The path fringed by wildflowers

The gradient was in the most part manageable however there were steep sections and the track varied from easy to rocky and uneven.  The walk was varied and interesting in its passage through numerous habitats including riparian, woodland and granite outcrop.  Don't forget to stop and (see) the flowers!  Having said that we probably would have completed the walk faster had I not been stopping every 10m to look at flowers!

Rough track

Finding a suitable spot for lunch also took a bit longer than anticipated as the fallen log had to be 'just right' but we got there in the end!

The gentlemen at lunch

All up a fabulous walk which did test our fitness.  The good news is we did it in good time and dodgy knees/feet held.  It was the perfect season for visiting John Forrest National Park and the walk trail is a definite must-do-again next spring.  

Cumbria, here we come!

Kalamunda/Beelu National Parks (Piesse Brook walk)

The stats

• Distance - 10-11km
• Grade - classed as 'medium' to 'hard'
• Estimated time to complete - 4 hrs
• Actual time - 3-4 hrs (with stop for lunch)
• Resources - Shire of Kalamunda walking trails website and maps

The verdict

This ended up being a hybrid walk.  I was looking for a challenging trail in the Hills and happened across some excellent maps and guides on the Shire of Kalamunda website so I decided to link the Rocky Pool and Helena Pipehead Walks.  

We were still a diminished Fellowship as my Dad's foot was still on the mend so on a bright sunny Sunday morning, Ross and I headed for Kalamunda and parked on Spring Road where the Rocky Pool walk commenced.  The landscape was quite stunning.  The vegetation was dense and some early wildflowers added splashes of colour to the trail. 

Sweeping landscape - Kalamunda National Park

Wildflowers in bloom in Kalamunda/Beelu National Parks

We quickly comprehended why parts of the Rocky Pool Walk were classed as 'hard'.  The steep gravel tracks were pretty challenging with loose rock and corrugations making the trail particularly slippery.  Fortunately by following the trail in a clockwise direction most of the toughest slopes were on descents.

Ross on the steep and corrugated track

At Point #7 on the Rocky Pool Walk we took a deviation to the left and up a steep hill (under power lines).  At the T-junction at the top of the hill we turned right and followed the track around until it joined the Helena Pipehead Walk at Point #6.  We completed the circuit and then returned to finish the rest of the Rocky Pool Walk.

Crossing a water course - good practice (as we were to discover)
for the Coast to Coast walk although as we also quickly
found out, no Cumbrian stream was quite this tame!

The Helena Pipehead Walk brought home just how dire the water situation is in Western Australia.  It's now mid-winter and supposedly our peak season for rain and yet the ever decreasing rainfall over the last few years is taking its toll.  The water level looked decidedly low...

View over Helena Pipehead Dam (Puddle?)

It was more encouraging to find water in Rocky Pool - the pool fringed by boulders that gives the walk its name.  Approaching the end of the trail there was one last uphill section for good measure - ah, steps how I love thee...

Looking back down at the steps that weary legs have trodden

Kings Park walks

I really can't document our training for the Coast to Coast without mentioning the various Kings Park trails.  Ross and I are fortunate that it's right on our doorstep and every Sunday morning for the last two years I've been heading out for a weekly constitutional.  While gearing up for the C2C I gradually built up to a 10km circuit by joining together a few trails (Law Walk and a return trip along the Broadwalk to Zamia Cafe) and supplementing with various meanderings to link them.  

Path leading from the Roe Gardens - the beautiful
overhanging branch has sadly since fallen in a storm

The view of the city from the botanic garden

And of course Kings Park in August and September is resplendent with wildflowers, all helpfully labelled with the species names which is jolly considerate for us lapsed botanists!

Kings Park wildflower festival

The basic fact about Perth is that it's pretty FLAT.  While our training walks have been in the Hills thus giving us some gradients to work with, even this is limited.  Kings Park at least offers some undulating hills (more molehills than mountains in a landscape sense) but better than nothing.  While my Dad was nursing his foot it also offered a plethora of bushland tracks and slopes for him to train without exacerbating his injury.