Day 70: West Cape Howe to Torbay
We acknowledge the Nyoongar People as the traditional custodians of the land and waters along the Bibbulmun Track
Today comprises a delightful walk through a burn, along clifftops, coastal heath and forest in cool, cloudy weather with only a few showers.
Overview Map
Use Bibbulmun Track Foundation Map 8: Denmark/Albany
Today is a relatively demading one with plenty of ups and downs:
Elevation profile for today. We follow the coast, then cut across coastal heath at the base of West Cape Howe with expansive views, before descending into forested terrain.
Once again we begin through beautiful myrtle scrub.
Caladenia latifolia with a Mini-Me
A glimpse of West Cape Howe
Then into the burnt area. It is too recent for much to be up but it’s always worth keeping an eye out for fire responsive orchids like the Fire Orchid (Pyrorchis nigricans) which flowers in ash beds with red, white and black blooms that resemble meat; as soon as they are pollinated the entire plant blackens to camouflage it from grazing. I’ve seen them elsewhere on this hike but none have emerged yet.
Still great seascapes to enjoy!
You can see here how well the bush recovers when (and only when) fires are timed well for intensity and time of year. There is a whole art to firestick farming that we recent arrivals have ignored for a few centuries, only now realising that just maybe the people with 60,000 years of experience might have more appropriate management techniques.
View back towards West Cape Howe Camp and Bornholm Beach
Morning snack on the side of the track.
A kaleidosope of colour as West Cape Howe nears. Pink Pimelea, blue Scaevola, yellow banksia and daisies, silvery Adenanthos and many orchids tucked amongst them. Delightful!
Like that last mile marker on a road trip, here is our first to the destination rather than a waypoint enroute. But we are in no hurry to finish: as we have maintained since Day 1, it is about journey for us, not destination.
An old, old man greets us from amongst the flowers. “Enjoy,” he says. “Enjoy my beautiful part of the world.” Indeed we are.
Looking at these images makes me want to walk these sections again, perhaps in early spring with an entirely different cast of actors in bloom.
Skirting the ridge behind Shelley Beach. There is a famous hang gliding site around the corner on the seaward side but our packs are heavy enough!
Woodbridge Poison (Isotoma hypocrateriformis). Just one of several toxic plants that have kept so much of Western Australia’s areas free from grazing.
And down into tea tree forest, soft and muffled underfoot.
Up again onto spectacular granite slabs and monadnocks.
From a little earlier in the day, we are still finding duck orchids in bloom, here Paracaleana brockmanii.
Still climbing! Sticky tailflower (Anthocercis viscosa) exploiting the hollows in the rock.
Sticky Tailflower, Anthocercis viscosa
Plants aren’t the only ones to exploit these open sunny granite outcrops. You’ll see aboriginal peoples’ artifacts in many places if you know what to look for. Here, slabs have been raised and supported with smaller rocks to provide shelter for reptiles and other potential foods.
Heading down towards Dingo Beach
Slipper orchid (Cryptostylis ovata) grows in a huge range of habitats, here on the edge of the granite slab.
Between the paperbarks
Shingleback or Stumpy Tailed lizards (Tiliqua rugosa) are common throughout the southern half of mainland Australia. They eat insects and snails, crushing them with their strong jaws, but they also love flowers and strawberries - they were the bane of my grandmother’s berry patch! Although they look fierce when they open their mouths in a threat display, they’re not venomous or dangerous, although if you pick them up and they bite you, your finger will have a bruise. Look at how fantastic that camouflage is, blending exactly with the leaf litter and ground. You’ll often only notice them if they move: immobile they’re almost indetectable.
Here we are at Torbay Hut.
The campsites: two are small and very sloping…
… while those in a clearing are also in a drainage hollow, no good if expecting rain. The sites are the worst of any we’ve seen on the track. We find a spot on the very edge, set up the tent and return to the hut for dinner and a chat.
But wait, we have a visitor! Back in the hut, a very tame quenda or bandicoot (Isoodon obesulus) is scurrying about. She is looking for food, no doubt because she is carrying her hungry kids in her pouch, but it’s really important not to feed any of our native animals. In South Australia, many Yellow Footed Rock Wallabies have died because of a disease directly attributed to tourists feeding them. How lucky we are to interact with native animals like this!
