I Hiked the 125km Cape to Cape Track With a Surfboard Strapped to My Pack

We Are Explorers acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the Country on which this adventure takes place, who have occupied and cared for the lands, waters, and their inhabitants for thousands of years. We pay our respects to them and recognise that sovereignty was never ceded.

Standing at the northern terminus of the Cape to Cape Track, about to begin my 125km journey south, I could really have throttled past-Amber for this insane idea.

Past-Amber hadn’t thought about the truly cumbersome task of hiking with a surfboard.

Past-Amber hadn’t thought about the level of muscle soreness that could result from already surfing every day for three weeks.

Past-Amber was a real masochist. But present day-Amber, she’s also a keeper of her word.

How did I get here?

Sitting in the warmth of a cafe one freezing evening months prior, our hands circled around mugs of hot chocolate and with a view of sunset surfers, I casually announced to my friend that I wanted to hike with a surfboard. Eyebrows raised, my friend side-eyed me, gauging my level of seriousness.

‘Uh-huh, okay’, she muttered, taking a sip of sweet hot choc. You see, my friend was used to entertaining my ideas and knew better than to overly encourage them or completely shut them down. But she couldn’t help letting one, ‘Girl, you’re crazy’ slip out of her mouth. I let the idea simmer on the back burner of my mind.

Then, a fire was lit in my belly on a cool August morning. It kept me warm as I lay under the covers, fingers flying over keys, a surfing guidebook next to me, and a double-sided track map unfolded over my legs like an extra blanket. I’d decided where this adventure would take place. I was going to hike the 125km Cape to Cape Track in Western Australia. With a surfboard. In just over a month’s time.

Read more: Cape to Cape Track – 7 Days Along the Coast of Margaret River

For several years, I’ve participated in SurfAid’s Make A Wave challenge, in which people surf every day of September to raise awareness and funds for remote island communities in Indonesia connected to us through surfing. They’re the places in Indonesia where foreigners pay good money for hotels and surf charters, capitalising on the unreal waves, but where the locals still don’t have access to clean water, food security, or healthcare.

This September, I had wanted to hike the Cape to Cape Track in my time off from studying. It was a no-brainer to me to combine the surf challenge with a multi-day walk that was on my adventure to-do list and help raise more funds for a cause I truly cared about. And so, the good-cause surfari was born.

Read more: Surfari: Hiking With Surfboards In Remote East Gippsland

No Backing Out Now

It’s truly remarkable how quickly you can mobilise a plan once you fully commit to it. With not much time left before my window of opportunity to organise this adventure closed, I needed some yeses.

I found a trek buddy: my friend Rowan, a fellow student in my outdoor leadership course. He was a yes. I contacted a surfboard company to see if they’d sponsor a small surfboard. They were a yes. Thanks, Mullet Boards. I contacted SurfAid to see what they thought about the whole idea. They were, resoundingly, a yes. There was no backing out now.

The trip was organised. We had a route, food, equipment, and transport. The last affair to get in order was attaching a 4’8″ surfboard onto a 60L hiking pack. Using short bungee straps with hooks on the ends, each looped through D-rings, and a couple of handy carabiners, I secured the board. It’d likely be a sail in the wind if the south-westerlies picked up in the afternoon, a common occurrence after a sweltering spring day on the West Coast. But that was a future-Amber problem. Which was approaching sooner than I thought.

The First Rule of Survival

My Dad tells me that the first rule of survival is attitude. Shelter, water, fire, food – those things come later. He was an outdoors survival instructor for over 20 years, so I suppose his advice is trustworthy.

As I stared down at the 125km about to unfold before me over the next six days, I knew he was right. It’d be easy for me to go into this with a bad attitude. I’d been experiencing a severe toothache, which turned out to be a pesky wisdom tooth infection. I still had one day left of antibiotics and felt like I was starting the trek with a sub-optimum level of energy and health.

But what got me here was the realisation of my privilege to choose hard things. I chose this challenge; life itself was not a daily struggle to meet my basic needs. It reminded me of my why. With my bag filled with 18kg of gear, water, food, a surfboard, and a surprisingly positive attitude toward the unknown, I took my first step southbound.

Read more: Remember to Leave No Trace

The Trek Begins

Within the first couple of minutes on the track, my friend Rowan tripped over his hiking poles and faceplanted onto the path. Is this the end before we’ve even begun? Luckily, he dusted himself off, and our initial hurdle was overcome.

Day one of the Cape to Cape Track delivered breathtaking views of the stunning coastline we were lucky to call home. Brilliant ocean blues, Humpback whales breaching out of sea mist, and incredibly intricate rock formations greeted us at every turn. Distant cliffs plunging into the sea and endemic species of wildflowers delighted our eyes, while snakes sliding across our path kept us on our toes.

This is Western Australia.

We made it to the first campground early – Mt Duckworth, a small grassed area with trees. With a whole afternoon ahead of us, we decided to keep walking until we reached the next township of Yallingup, where we hoped to find a spot to camp and break to surf.

Yallingup is well known for its stunning surf break past the sheltered rock pool, and I was keen to test it out. It was a place you could sit for hours and watch the sets rolling in from the point.

Read more: Injidup Natural Spa at Yallingup is Like Swimming in a Saltwater Bubble Bath

The caravan park in town had one spot left for us to camp, so we quickly set up and then headed down to the beach to wash off the first day of our journey. It was golden hour by the time our feet felt the sand again. The beach was awash in a honey haze, and I felt alive as the coolness of the Indian Ocean weaved itself around my skin.

It was my first surf of the trail, but my 25th surf of the month. I was sore all over. Day one had been painfully beautiful. I took a moment to let it sink in that I was doing this. The surfboard beneath my chest was the same one I’d had strapped to my back for 14km. It was the same one that, I hoped, would be a symbol of change and impact.

The Best Moments

On the following mornings, we awoke to dewy tents and got a move on before they had time to dry. After 20 to 30km days, broken up with surfs at Smiths Beach, Gracetown, Redgate, and Hamelin Bay, we found home each night, always with time to enjoy the sunset. The sand walking nearly broke me, feet sinking centimetres with every step for most of the day. A shared set of hiking poles between Rowan and I is what got us through.

The most beautiful moments for me were: the fading sun at Contos Beach, watching in fear of the double-overhead waves at Gallows (which I didn’t dare surf myself), dilly-dallying through the flowers in Boranup Forest, the bright, sparkling stars, daily surfs, the friends that joined us for the last day, and finally, touching the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse after walking 125km with a surfboard strapped to my pack.

Connection to the Cause

I’d made small cards to hand out on the track to anyone whose curiosity got the better of them and asked me, ‘Why on Earth are you hiking with a surfboard?!’. The card explained my purpose and fundraising goal, with a link to my SurfAid donation page. I connected with many fellow walkers and surfers, who promised I’d see their name on my page when I finished.

By the time my hand grazed the white brick of the lighthouse, I’d raised over $3,000 for SurfAid. The blisters, kilometres of sand, and aching shoulders were all worth it. This adventure had been a symbol of change and impact, indeed.

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