GRANDEUR OF THE SOUTHWEST

IT’S NEXT STOP ANTARCTICA IN THIS WILD AND BEAUTIFUL CORNER OF THE CONTINENT WHERE YOU CAN LEAVE THE MODERN WORLD BEHIND

Go to West Cape Howe National Park,” he told me. “Shelley Beach.

“One day when we were there, a bodyboard surfer kicked a salmon and it landed on his board ... so he brought back a nice salmon to eat.”

Graham had worked at Albany, 30km to the east of West Cape Howe, and being a keen hiker, he had plenty of tips to pass on to us.

“Whatever you do, have fun,” he said. With that, he handed me car keys. And that was why we were parked at the lookout above Shelley Beach one day in late February.

A real Australian summer’s day: 30-plus degrees but with a southerly breeze off the ocean. A place of sea cliffs and sand beaches, of whales, dolphins, seals and carnivorous plants.

There, you witness the raw power and beauty of the Southern Ocean as it crashes against dramatic cliff and rock formations. Then turn a corner and find a beautiful cove with squeaky sand.

From the lookout carpark, you can see the clean, white stretch of Shelley Beach curving beneath the steep limestone hills that drop sharply into the sea.

Twenty metres away is a ramp for hang-gliders to launch themselves off a perfectly stable rock face into the air.

Away to the southwest is Dunsky Beach and Torbay Head. Beyond that, there’s nothing between you and Antarctica – only ocean.

Torbay Head is the southernmost point of Western Australia. And Dunsky must rate as one of the more remote beaches in the world.

A small stretch of golden sand surrounded by cliffs and heathland. That’s our destination. It’s a 15km round trek from Shelley Beach.

We recognised the walk would be a challenge on such a warm day but the breeze was cool enough, so we decided to give it a go.

Fifty metres away from where we parked the car was the Tarbotton Track – part-boardwalk, part-sandy path.

Where the boardwalk ends, the sandy path continues along a limestone ridge before meeting the Bibbulmun Track and offers views down a rocky valley to Shelley Beach and the ocean. The Bibbulmun Track is one of the world’s great treks: a long-distance walking trail of 1000km from Albany to Perth.

The name comes from the Bibbulmun, or Noongar, people (indigenous Australians from the Perth area).

We had water, hats, long-sleeved shirts and trousers to protect us from the sun, the sharp native grasses and bushes.

What we hadn’t fully expected was the grandeur of the national park.

Make the time to fully explore the wild coastline, Graham had said. Get off the tracks most taken.

It’s rugged but worth it.

If you can’t explore this region in the time you’ve allowed, then stay longer. Don’t come back until you’ve experienced it. Cancel flights and make sure you see what’s around you.

West Cape Howe is remote, sparse and has little mobile phone reception. It was a chance to escape the world of “having to” for a while – having to do this, having to do that.

Instead, you just had to take in the unfolding natural landscape and the ocean ... no telephone towers, no traffic lights, no fast food shops.

And it’s so fulfilling walking in the clean air. You feel like you are at the end of the world.