When Robert Hines was told he needed a hip replacement, he had one thought: I better tick off my goal of hiking the Cape to Cape Track while I still can! Robert and his partner Margaret Walker travelled from Brisbane, Queensland to join our 8-Day Guided End-to-End adventure during autumn 2021. And they both said they loved the experience, ticking the Cape to Cape Track off their hiking bucket list.
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But Rob was lucky to be able to hike at all. After booking their adventure, Rob’s doctor told him he needed major surgery to replace a hip. “It’s pretty much bone on bone in my hip,” Rob says. But he was determined not to give up or delay the couple’s dream of completing the Track. “The surgeon said it couldn’t get any worse than it already is, so I thought we’d come anyway and give it a go!,” Rob says.
Slow and steady key to hiking the Cape to Cape
Give it a go he did! He walked every kilometre of the 124km Cape to Cape Track over seven days with a group of like-minded souls and our expert guides. “I was concerned that I may not make it. But I just kept going nice and steady. And I got there!,” Rob says. “It was fantastic. The pain was OK. Just sore legs and just knowing that at any moment, I may not be able to take another step, and that it was out of my control. That’s what was concerning me. But it worked out.”
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Rob says he’ll always remember touching Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse, which marks the completion point of the Cape to Cape Track. “It was good. Oh, it was good!” he says. His partner Margaret was not without her own battles, with a hip and knee injury. But she too soldiered on, and the pair finished arm in arm.
Fantastic times in Margaret River despite Covid travel drama
Luckily, the couple managed to fly into WA despite an 11th-hour Covid-19 scare in their home state of Queensland. “We got in on the last flight in the last hour before travel restrictions came into place,” Robs says. “We were lucky. Boy, I’m so glad we made it without having to go into quarantine, because we’ve had a fantastic week. I’d absolutely recommend Cape to Cape Explorer Tours!”
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We loved meeting Rob and Margaret, and seeing them hike every step of the Track! Book your spot on one of our 8-Day Guided End-to-End adventures on the Cape to Cape Track by clicking here. And we’ll see you on the Track soon!
