Walking on the South West side.

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I first did the walk out to Bald Head from Goode Beach Albany twenty years ago and since then have found myself repeating the experience biannually. The walk never ceases to fascinate me and it has become a yardstick to my own physical health. If I can still make it out to the headland then all is not lost. More often than not I walk alone as this gives me the option of stopping to sketch whenever I please. It is however rare that I find myself totally alone on the walk and it is always interesting to write my thought into the rather tatty journal that lies secreted in a plastic container under the pile or stones at the furthest point on the headland. The comments of others is often amusing while I snack on a somewhat squashed sandwich. The outward journey can be a real slog and an early start is preferable to avoid the heat of the day. A scheme to irradiate wild geraniums seems to have worked and after a fire a few years ago the regrowth has been remarkable. However erosion remains a problem and is often associated with us walkers and the footpath. I remember the big sand blow out about ten years ago on the last beach which gave a dramatic descent and an alternative route back along the beaches. The sand slide has subsequently stabilised and grown over well but the area of sand cliff remains treacherous as well as beautiful. This time the sea swell was considerable and combined with a high tide made for a dramatic return along the narrow goat track with the sea thundering in fifty feet below. Coastal walking has alway featured highly in my life even from a young age when boulder hopping around Davaar Island in Scotland or sixty years on scrambling along the broken cliff line that runs northward from my home on the Isle of Lewis. Walking the coastal wilderness of Western Australia is not always easy in that so many beaches are today accessible by 4x4 or quad bikes. In the Cape Le Grand NP the walk from Helfire to Thistle beach comes highly recommended while further east at Wharton the walk around Hammer Head is magical and other worldly.

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Photos

Bald head.
From Banksia drop.

Sand cliffs.
These forms were noted by Darwin when he passed via Albany.

View from Hammer Head.
This is what one sees having climbed through the back of a cave and emerged out through a small hole onto the top of Hammer Head.