Frenchman Peak is within Cape Le Grand National Park, which is 45 minutes drive east from Esperance, in the south east of Western Australia.
Frenchman Peak was discovered and named by surveyor Alexander Forrest in 1870 in search of a good country for pasture. The peak’s shape is quite unusual and very distinct, resembling the hats worn by French troops in the 1800s.
Hiking Frenchman Peak
We hiked this 262-meter mountain, which was quite an interesting experience. It started as an easy walk but quickly turned into quite a hard and challenging climb, the path consisting mainly of loose, bare rocks.
Frenchman Peak hike is ranked Class 5.
Being quite a warm day, there were lots of flies, which ceased being a problem due to strong winds at the top of the mountain.
And now it’s time for a snack 😊.
SNACK TIME!!!
Cave
There was an interesting surprise near the summit – a large cave, which is thought to have formed by wave erosion and underwater currents some 40 million years ago when sea levels were about 300 meters above their current levels and the peaks of Cape Le Grand were submerged.
Walking further around the cave, we discovered that there was another entrance to it.
Getting closer to the walls of the cave we marvelled at the amazing rock formations.
From the cave it was only a short walk to the granite peak.
The views from the summit are magnificent. I felt a sense of an immense expanse and wonderment standing on the top, reflecting on how we, as human beings, are only tiny grains in this vast universe and so much of it is unknown to us. The desire to know and explore is what drives us on travelling adventures.
Are you ready to follow our adventures? On to Day 2 of our 9-day stay at Cape Le Grand.