Hiking Margaret River

Hiking Margaret River – if you’ve toured with us, you know our guides make the difference between a gratifying trip and a memorable lifetime adventure. Simply put, our guides are the best in the business. Painstakingly recruited and selected, our guides bring a set of traits that foster a comprehensive and educational travel experience. They are passionate about the places they share, with an irrepressible enthusiasm [instilled and driven by Gene himself] that can’t help but inspire those who travel with them. As naturalists, biologists and environmental educators, their knowledge deeply enriches our guests’ experience, who view the natural world through their eyes.

Gene Hardy whose vision and passion drives the company was born in Margaret River and has an in-depth knowledge of the Capes’ attractions reserved only for true locals. Prior to becoming one of the directors at Cape to Cape Explorer Tours, Gene travelled and worked worldwide as a journalist for various sporting publications, developed environmental, interpretive and team building programs in both Australia and the UK and worked for a number of Conservation agencies and NGO’s in the South West of Australia

Gene says the key to his award winning eco-tour business’ success [Cape to Cape Explorer Tours] lies in a “genuine desire to see people have the best possible experience”.
“I’m really passionate about people walking away from our tours thinking – ‘that was one of the best things I’ve done’.”

Another integral member of the team is Saul Cresswell – Operations Manager, Track Expert & Wildflower Specialist, Anthropologist & Linguist. Saul Cresswell was born in the small picturesque village of Augusta, near Cape Leeuwin, the end point for the Cape to Cape Track. Saul completed a Bachelor Degree in Sustainable Development in 2007, with a strong focus on Mandarin Chinese. He went on to work in the field of natural resource management and sustainability education. From 2011-2014 he worked for HotRock, a non-profit delivering sustainability education to high schools in Western Australia, running the highly successful Seed2Tree program.

Guide, Russell Pratt has a vast experience with the Western Australian coastal environment through his lifelong love of surfing, wave sailing, ocean yacht racing, diving, and fishing bringing a unique perspective and understanding of the Western Australian coast. Rusty was state champion wave sailor 1991-1996 and competing on a national level until a knee injury slowed down his ambitions. Rusty moved to the region in 2002 to be close to one of his favourite sailing spots, the legendary Margaret River Main Break a wave reputed to be one of the most powerful in the world. Russell has a love of all things green – a keen home gardener with a native garden, vege patch and orchid. He loves to walk the trails around the region as well as the Cape to Cape Track itself and spot wildflowers with his wife Gail.

“At ground level, the sense of wonder heightens during a walk led by Gene Hardy, whose company Cape to Cape Explorer Tours runs treks on a 135km trail regarded as one of the country’s best.
The starting point is the Contos Cliffs where a quirk of the terrain means the wind speed can go from mild to a tear-the-shirt-from-your-back gale within a few steps. From here the route climbs up into a forest of giant karri. The biggest are hundreds of years old with trunks that climb to dizzying heights before branches and leaves reach up further to seemingly grasp the passing clouds.
Gene, a wild-haired surfer, bushie and family man, mixes history, geology, aboriginal culture and a few tall tales as he evokes the spirit of this ancient land.

His accomplice and plant specialist Saul Cresswell explains that the poor soil quality has forced species to adapt or perish. He introduces us to the trigger plants with spring-loaded stamens that snatch unsuspecting insects; the snotty gobble with seeds covered in a gross mucus; and the leaves of the fartbush that, when scrunched, smell like … well you get the idea. There are 8000 plants in the region and it is officially listed as a biodiversity hotspot.

The porous limestone is also riddled with a series of more than 150 caves. Gene hands out torches and helmets before leading us into the maw of one of the grandest, Giant’s Cave.
We follow a trail that scrambles through narrow passageways, up and down ladders, stopping in each chamber to take in the different formations, some weighing several tonnes. Deep, deep underground we gather in “The Ballroom”, lie on our backs and take in a world where there is no light nor sound … just blood rushing by ear drums.” [an excerpt from an article written by Simon Wilkinson, Escape
August 28, 2015 – Gourmet Escape Margaret River]

Our professional, local guides have extensive knowledge and experience interpreting the natural beauty of the Track. We’ve been hiking, surfing, fishing, and foraging in this local environment all our lives – Nobody knows the local spots, local stories, local food and local wildlife better than us!

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