Cape to Cape Track

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A 130km, Class 4 multi-day trek along the Leeuwin-Naturaliste Ridge taking 6-7 days end-to-end, per trailswa.com.au, passing Boranup karri forest and alternating clifftop views with pristine beaches; walkers need bushwalking experience, navigation and first aid skills.

☰ Trail details

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Distance

55.67 km

Est. time

14 hr 31 min

Elevation gain

582 m

Route type

Point to point

Steepest stretch: +37m over ~300m (around the 32.0km mark)

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In an emergency

Call 000 for police, fire or ambulance — Australia's emergency number works even with a weak signal, and without a SIM if any carrier has coverage.

You're in Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park, Margaret River/Dunsborough, WA. Mobile reception in this area is not guaranteed — this is exactly why the offline map and GPS position on this page work without signal.

Tell someone your plan and expected return time before you set off. A PLB is the most reliable backup where there's no reception at all.

Tracks & plans

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Species to look for on this trail

Ancient trees and rare flora confirmed in this park. Spot one? Add it as a sighting pin below.

KarriDocumented on this trail

Eucalyptus diversicolor

SW WA giant forest tree▾

SW WA giant forest tree

Australia's tallest tree species, karri can exceed 80m in height and forms towering old-growth forest through the Southwest's high-rainfall belt, including the Boranup Forest and the lower slopes of the Porongurup Range.

How to spot it

Smooth light grey to cream bark that sheds annually in plates and ribbons, exposing patches of fresh white bark underneath; lance-shaped leaves on very tall, straight trunks. Look for stands along the Boranup Forest section of Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park and through Porongurup National Park.

Family Myrtaceae · Source: Wikipedia — Eucalyptus diversicolor

Photo: Boyup (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Wikimedia Commons

Wildlife you might see on this trail

Animals confirmed in this park. Spot one? Add it as a sighting pin below.

Western ringtail possum

Pseudocheirus occidentalis

IUCN Critically Endangered▾

IUCN Critically Endangered

A cat-sized, nocturnal marsupial endemic to a narrow strip of south-western Australia, now restricted to the Swan Coastal Plain, the Southern Forests around Manjimup, and the south coast between Walpole and Cheynes Beach. Known to the Noongar people as ngwayir, it has suffered severe decline from land clearing, climate-driven heat stress, and predation.

How to spot it

Dark grey-brown to black fur with light patches behind the ears and a creamy underside, stocky body, and a long prehensile tail with a whitish tip used for climbing. Almost entirely arboreal - look up into peppermint (Agonis flexuosa) groves and eucalypt canopy at night rather than on the ground, where it forages for leaves and flowers.

Family Pseudocheiridae · Source: Wikipedia; IUCN Red List

Photo: Kaori Yokochi and Roberta Bencini (CC BY 4.0) via Wikimedia Commons

Baudin's Black-Cockatoo

Zanda baudinii

IUCN Critically Endangered (2021)▾

IUCN Critically Endangered (2021)

Baudin's black-cockatoo is confined to the tall karri and marri forests of far south-western Australia, where it relies on old-growth hollows for nesting and marri seed capsules for food. It is easily confused with the more common Carnaby's black-cockatoo but has a distinctly longer, narrower bill adapted for extracting marri seeds.

How to spot it

About 56cm, dark grey-black with fine pale scalloping, white cheek patches and a white-banded tail - near-identical to Carnaby's black-cockatoo except for its longer, narrower upper mandible. Best told apart by habitat: Baudin's sticks to tall karri/marri forest rather than Wheatbelt woodland. Its wailing call is softer and higher-pitched than Carnaby's.

Family Cacatuidae · Source: Wikipedia; IUCN Red List

Photo: Paul Weber, paulweberphoto.com (CC BY 4.0) via Wikimedia Commons