Fitzgerald River

 The next town I went to was Hopetoun next to Fitzgerald River National park. Once again, just a magical place with stunning ocean views and granite mountains. The first day I met back up with Quentin and we hiked along the coast through sunset watching the sky change from blue to a brilliant traffic cone orange reflecting pastel colors on the ocean. Along the hike we saw lots of really co and unique plants known to this region. The most notable is Hakea Victoria. It grows around 6 ft tall and the leaves kinda look like cabbage. It’s quite remarkable and impossible to miss. It was so cool to see.

 I stayed in the campground at the national park where I had a really great camp spot a short walk in deep in the shrubs. This was especially fortunate because the winds were howling and the shrubs kept my tent still through the night. 

The following morning Quentin and I met up at East Mount Barren and decided to climb despite the gusting wind. It was a short hike, maybe an hour and a half round trip, but the top was almost entirely climbing granite. The view from the top was stunning and we enjoyed a quick lunch overlooking the landscape and the ocean before heading back down. Unfortunately on the way back down I took a bit of a tumble. Having gotten through the steepest section I quickened my pace ready to get out of the wind, unfortunately one of the small stones slipped under my foot and I fell. Hard. Knees and granite are not friends. With ripped pants and future bruises I limped down the mountain and decided I was done walking for the day. I headed for a cafe and told Quentin I’d meet him at our next campsite near Albany. 

At the cafe I chatted a bit with the owner and he showed me some videos of the amazing spring wildflower displays. I got a bunch of information from him about the best places to see wildflowers. It was a great chat and provided me with a lot of great ideas for future adventures.