Overcast. This is how it started, so this is how it shall end. My friend and I have the last 14km to knock off to claim the Cape to Cape Track.
Day packs this time. We feel so light and free as we shrug them on and wander to the Cape Naturalist Lighthouse. Sauntering down the bituminised trail, conversation turns to when it all started: emotions, preparation and anticipation. Beaming, reliving our memories while spying breath-taking coastline and a variety of flora.
Shit! Snake! A small one, with a pointed snout and a stubby tail, turned out to be a legless lizard according to my snake wrangler mate. We press on with Sugar Loaf Rock in our sights.
Shit! Snake! Another false alarm. This time a large skink darts into the scrub. It is late spring and with things warming up, so are the local reptiles. It becomes a joke when a bush rustles or a tiny critter scuttles out of our path.
Hitting a sandy patch of single track, I look down… and freeze. “Fucken big snake!” Less than a foot away from my boot is a curled, black snake basking in the sun. A second later, it moves off unhurried into the scrub. The old heart is doing the Highland Fling as we get the hell out of there. So glad I have my gaiters today!
“Woo! We’ve seen a real snake now! I suppose we can’t do this track without encountering one.”
We speak too soon. The next one is reclining on a 4WD track. This one is a poser and wants his picture taken, plus a video. We have no option, but to sneak past it on the other wheel track. My friend slowly creeps past. Then, as I start to move, it wiggles away along the track and under a shrub. A few more choice words erupt into laughter. “That makes two now!”
Four more different snakes make us jump, swear and reference ‘Snakes on a Plane’, bringing the morning’s total to six. We are glad to descend onto Yallingup’s Beach. The only things left to do now is find the ute and grab our certificates. 125km – Mission Complete.
Inbetween Coffees 