Walking with sharks: Day 2.




The view from Cape Lesueur during todays walk

This is the story of the semi-grey nomad's attempt to circumnavigate the Peron Peninsular, hiking mainly on the beach from Denham to Monkey Mia. 


Day two: From Big Lagoon to Cattle Well. South to North.


“If yer liked your first day, today is even more spectacular” said my expert guide in his broad Australian lingo. We had a long conversation bent over aerial maps relevant to today's hike. Navigating needed to be discussed in detail due to some tricky points traversing around the keyholes of the tidal flats and finding a way through to Cape Lesueur.






The map from Francois Peron National Park

I was dropped on a high point overlooking Big Lagoon and had some work to do to get waterside. After rounding the first of the three large tidal lakes, I came across some old bones that belonged to a dead horse. A kind of eerie discovery from an expired pastoral lease.





Horse bones in the sand

Because of the persistent strong southerly wind, navigation became easy. Wind blowing in the left ear for East and wind in the right lug hole for West. On the back of the noggin is the preferred way today, South. There is no one out here in this arid land and that makes asking for directions impossible. In fact I could be doing cartwheels and backflips naked and no one would know (sorry, no photos included). I must admit I enjoy the solitude which at the same time spurs me on to get back to civilization.




Vast empty spaces around the keyholes

There was a lot of temptation to walk straight across the tidal flats but I was told that the ground could get muddy and uncomfortable to walk on. In my mind I did not want to start a new trail through a World Heritage area or trample over something significant unbeknown to me. I tried sticking to the edge of the flats on a faint car track even though it meant more kilometres.




A Cowtail ray cruising past

Almost around the third key hole a track veers off to the right, up the hill and into the scrub. On top, a couple of hundred metres up, is the last spectacular view you get from Big Lagoon and it is the point where I joined a vermin proof fence for almost 4km to cape Lesueur. It was slow going through the sand but the wild life kept me buoyed. A Bungarra tried to run away from me and kept banging its head to the left into the vermin fence about twenty times in a panic. I stopt walking in its direction to give it some space, even talked to it nicely and then with a presumed headache, the large goanna finally saw the error of its way and disappeared in the bush on the right. I heard bleating nearby from some goats but could not spot them and saw black and white fairy wrens that were too illusive for my camera skills.




One last look at Big Lagoon and a first look at the vermin proof fence

At Cape Lesueur I strolled down the dune taking many photos of the scenery. In fact, I found it hard to put my camera down for the next 10km to Broadhurst. Again, I saw many Nervous Sharks but the cliffs were the highlight of today;s hike. The colours varied from the white beach sand to a yellow clay shade with vivid red on top. In some spots, where rain had fallen down cracks and crevasses of the cliff face, all those colours were mixed up to create what's known as blow outs.






The bluff with an ancient vibe and a little camera trick

A sense of awe came over me at the sight of these rugged cliffs. Walking here felt special as if there was more going on than meets the eye. I would not be surprised if there was any Indigenous significance to these cliffs?





A turtle coming up for a breath and checking me out.

Today;s hike was marred by the underestimation of distance or overestimating of my speed. What does that mean? It was a bloody long way to walk. My lift had been waiting a while at Cattle Well. I finally spotted him perched high above me on top of that cliff. He had been watching me through his binoculars for ages and said in his best Aussie “Looked like you were strugglen.” After calling me “a smelly” which is the local nick name for hikers, we had lunch together and I was made a double spooned instant coffee which tasted “grand” after five hours of hiking.






Checking out the "smelly" from above



Grey bits

Please note, you can not cross Big Lagoon inlet due to strong currents, possible stonefish and sulphur smelling mud. Walking around Big Lagoon is a truly beautiful walk. Don't miss it!

To do a day trip to the above mentioned cliffs you could park your car at Cattle Well, walk four kilometers North and pass a low set of dunes called Broadhurst. This area is very beautiful. There is no public access by car between Cattle Well and Big Lagoon.


Please note, that this hike is through very wild, uninhabited country. In my opinion it is not advisable to attempt this hike without a support team or proper communication devices like a satellite phone or  EPIRB. Hiking experience is a must.




Cormorants taking flight over Shark Bay

Let the Department of Parks and Wildlife  know where you are going to be and when you plan to return. Phone (08) 9948 2226 or click on the following links www.sharkbay.org, www.dpaw.wa.gov.au for more information.

The best time to walk around the Peron Peninsular is at low tide. You can check the tide at www.seabreeze.com.au

 Emus out for their afternoon dip in the water at Broadhurst