Photo by Rheza Ardiansyah

Two kangaroos emerged from behind the bushes. They seemed to be curious upon seeing a group of humans traversing across their natural habitat. Not a moment later, they ignored us and passed by. Our attention returned to Saul Cresswell, our guide in the Cape to Cape Explorer Tours. He asked us to pluck some eucalyptus leaves to keep away the flies. There were indeed a lot of flies fluttering around us that afternoon.

We were traversing a route way Down Under along the Margaret River, south of Perth in Western Australia, near the shores of the Indian Ocean. The township along the 60-kilometer river is known as fertile land. A number of wineries have established plantations in the area. Journeying on a wine-tasting adventure can be an excellent choice for travelers. Apart from its farmland potentials, the region along the Margaret River is also known for the Leeuwin Naturaliste National Park, popular for its rich variety of flora.

While patting our legs with the eucalyptus branches to drive away the flies, we walked along the asphalt pathway, at the end of which Saul bowed and pointed to a wooden marker.

“This is the signage of the Cape to Cape post,” Saul explained. “The route itself is 135-km-long. It is here that I wish to show you something.”

His finger then pointed to the western edges of the walking trail that we were going to traverse.

“If you go to Perth, you will not find anything like this. Similarly, you cannot find this if you go south to Albany,” said the man, who was born many years ago in Cape Leeuwin.

He was telling the story of the very rocks that we were standing on: vast layers of granite with tints of orange and pink.

“This is, in fact, a love story,” Saul said, beginning his yarn.

The layers of granite were the outcome of the impact between the Indian and Australian tectonic plates. Millions of years ago, the two lands converged with one another and the fault zone between the two plates created a 5-km-high mountain range. In millions upon millions of years, as the sea level rose, India was separated from Australia and the rock where we were standing on was the only memory left from the communion.

We walked across shrubbery. The structure of the ancient soil was in fact lacking nutrition. However, the barren land was covered with various types of plants. They compete with each other for the nutrition they need to stay alive. Apart from the underground root system that allows the plants to steal nutrition from each other, they also display characteristics that attract bugs. This was apparently why our walking trail was full of flies.

We tried tasting some of the fruits we found along the way. “Manis (sweet)!” Saul said in Indonesian in regard to the fruit that we had just tasted. He also asked us to taste the salty samphire leaves and introduced us to the smell of coastal rosemary. The leaves on the shrubbery looked a lot like rosemary usually found in Europe. It was unsurprising, since Saul said that the 1-hectare of land on the Cape to Cape trail was home to variants of Europe-based plants. The Cape to Cape trail is located inside the Leeuwin Naturaliste National Park. However, there are threats to the biodiversity of the national park. Leeuwin Naturaliste is among 35 global prone biodiversity spots. The region around the peninsula is home to 131 types of extinction-prone flora and fauna and six ecosystems prone to destruction.

“Where is our finish line?” I asked Saul at the top of a hill near a huge rock.

“In fact, we will stop right there and then you will spend the night nearby,” he responded. I stood aghast looking at the hundreds of kilometers that we needed to traverse on foot. “But I think we need to change course,” he added.

I was relieved. Saul could crack good jokes. He was also great with surprises. After going down the route, we reached a lagoon. Coastal rocks surrounded it like walls. Beyond it were the open seas and white clouds marching on the skies. Saul gave us another surprise: snorkeling gear.

I took a plunge in the lagoon and felt the cold sweep all over me. I immediately jumped back to the shores. It was really cold. My heart beat faster and I shivered all over. Back there, Saul was already in the lagoon and was calling for me. Afterward, I felt the peaking sensation of my adventure in the Western Australian outback.

I took another plunge in the crystal-clear water. Dozens of fishes swam here and there. Around 10 meters ahead of me, Saul seemed to be standing on top of the water. Apparently, in the middle of the lagoon there was a huge sunken rock. I stood beside him. Red clouds were set ablaze by the afternoon sun behind me.

“This is really cool!” I said. Saul merely nodded in response.

“No, this is literally cool!” I repeated, my shivers more obvious now. Saul laughed. I was indeed shivering from the cold weather.

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