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Cape Pillar on the Three Capes Track

Cape Pillar Lodge Return

Three Capes Lodge Walk

The Hike - Waking up in paradise with the morning sun streaming through the window and another day of hiking on the Three Capes was not the worst way to begin a Sunday. My body clock had adjusted to east coast time but I was still excited to see the sunrise from the Cape Pillar Lodge so was up early. Ahead of us today would be the start of the truly stunning scenery and a few of the iconic scenes that everyone pictures when they think about the Three Capes. Grabbing my camera I headed off to the relaxation lounge where the best views of Munro Bight and Cape Hauy could be found, interrupting Giselle in the process as she was enjoying some morning yoga. While not quite as spectacular as the sunset from the previous night, the stillness of the morning air made for a serene experience just sitting there on the wooden deck soaking it all in. This is probably the first time on the trip where I fully present in the moment with no distractions or thinking how this scene would look in the photos.

Speaking of photos, I have all my photos from this day so can relay all the beauty from my own camera back to you (thanks again to Uncle Hal for coming to the rescue). With the sunrise thoroughly enjoyed I headed back to the room to see if Caris was up and about yet. Given we were returning to Cape Pillar Lodge after the days hiking there was no need to pack everything up so it was a more relaxed start to the day not worrying about getting everything together. So we didn't have to use our 50L packs to carry water and lunch, there were some new Sea to Summit lightweight day packs for us to use and this made things a lot easier. After enjoying another yummy breakfast we had some chill time to get our things together, relax in the lounge or have a morning shower. 

On the cards for today was a 14km return trip to Cape Pillar through some absolutely stunning landscapes and towards the southernmost point of the Three Capes Track. Lauren had the troops gathered at 9am ready to depart and ran through what the day would look like. Given it was another relatively short distance we would be given freedom to move at our own pace and experience the day as we saw fit. We descended down the switchbacks from the lodge to the boardwalk and made a sharp left to re-join the official Three Capes Track. The start of the day is pretty inconspicuous with a stroll through some lovely forest scenes but given what was expected of the day, I couldn't wait for this section to be over and to get into the amazing cliff walking. What was very enjoyable along here was the abundance and variety of wildflowers as we made our way over Lunchtime Creek (marked by another piece of public art) and onto the start of the open section. 

Climbing up some stairs I spotted some flowers at the top that I wanted to photograph and as I bent down to get closer I noticed something in the bushes. It noticed me too and slowly slithered off into the thicker undergrowth. My first nope rope (snake) sighting on the Three Capes and I managed to get a picture of its tail before it was gone forever. Feeling buoyed by this (I rarely see snakes on hikes because I wasn't sorted into Slytherin) I was in an even better mood as we moved onto the first of the ocean views for the day. Albeit a very brief glimpse, they had me excited for what was to come as the water was perfectly still and a lovely blue colour. Coming across the boardwalk section, there was a rock formation that looked suspiciously like the scene I had just encountered with the back end of a snake forming from the boardwalk (the head of the snake would be much further up the trail).

 

This long boardwalk section takes you on the side of a hill complete with sweeping views of the ocean and down below the bleak greens of Corruption Gully. With the direction of the track very clearly disappearing down the valley and then away over the hill, this little corner of the landscape felt like you were on the precipice of the great walking that was promised. The handrail of the boardwalk was lined with She-Oak, both male and female (more on that later), and a Currawong flew right by us, landing on the branches of a distant She-Oak. There is a photo in the gallery I took of the Currawong as it sits on the branch overlooking the distant crowd that had gathered on a seat in the distance, a shot I almost forgot about when editing up the photos.