Esperance & Cape Le Grande

Tree farms by the dozens.

Wheat silos come in all shapes.

Leaving sleepy Bremer Bay we are off to Esperance some 400 kms further west, and about as far east along the southern coastline of WA that we can drive on regular roads. The drive is through more of the tree farms before opening up into the plains of the wheat belt. We drive through Jerramungup which is really just a huge wheat silo, and stop for coffee in Ravenshorpe, which is a small town and the major centre for grain handling in the region. As we head out of town Carolyn asks how far is it to Esperance? I respond "look there is a sign up ahead and it says 187 kms." We travelled another 200 metres and there was another sign, this one saying 185 kms!!! A further 200 metres down the road was a third sign proclaiming Esperance was 180 kms, so we concluded that at this rate of travel it must be just over the next hill!!! It wasn't, so it is on to Munglinup, just a roadhouse, but a good place to eat the fresh chicken sandwiches we bought for lunch, at Ravenshorpe. They had just taken the chickens out of the oven, and the smell in the car has been driving us crazy!

The town of Esperance.

The port of Esperance.

We arrived in Esperance early afternoon and checked into the Esperance Seafront Caravan Park. It was another of those unfortunate check ins, where the delightful lady I had spoken to on the phone, has stepped out for a while, and been replaced by the "we don't make promises and we are very busy" lady, who should really not have a front office role to play in any caravan park. We are assigned the absolute worst site in the park, to which we say "not going to happen", and then tell her the site we have chosen. Thankfully the good sister had returned to the office, and sanity prevailed. So off we went to set up. The wind was howling across the bay which was full of white caps, and the caravans along the front were taking a frightful battering, but up at the back of the park, it was just a light breeze. We will be here for ten days, so want to be comfortable.

West Beach.

Blue Haven Beach.

Esperance is one of our bucket list places. It is famous for its beaches, and the nearby Cape Le Grande National Park. It is claimed that the beaches here are the best in Australia, and we can now add our agreement. They are magnificent. Around every headland is another gorgeous beach. The water is so blue and the sand so white. Contrasted against the smooth granite boulders and headlands, it is a sight to behold. The Great Ocean Drive, is a 40 km circuit that

Fourth Beach.

Twilight Beach.

starts in the middle of town, follows the coastline out past the wind farm, and then returns past Pink Lake, a large salt lake that is sometimes pink from the right mix of ingredients, but isn't pink when we drive past, and then returns to town. We made sure we had a sunny day and light breeze to ensure we saw these magnificent beaches at their best. We passed by West Beach, then Blue Haven, on to rugged Salmon Beach and Fourth Beach,

Stairs to Observatory Point.

Ellie & Stefan from Switzerland.

before arriving at Twilight Beach, voted Australia's best beach in 2006. How can a beach be best for only one year! Next stop is Observatory Point, where a huge wooden staircase has been built up to the top, to gaze upon the magnificent coastline. It is quite a steep hill down to the beach, then the big climb up the stairs. Here, we met a delightful couple, Ellie and Stefan, who are from Switzerland. They were on bicycles, and doing a 6 month bicycle tour

Eleven Mile Beach & Wind Farm.

Nine Mile Beach.

around parts of Australia. They load their bikes onto buses and trains to do the long miles, then cycle around the scenic destinations, staying at campgrounds and caravan parks. We were joking about how different the scenery must be, with Switzerland having no sea coast. We concluded that if they were used to cycling around Switzerland, then flat old Australia should be a breeze!! The drive continues on past Nine Mile Beach and Eleven Mile Beach and then turns inland past the Wind Farm, and out to Pink Lake.

The seafront is lined
with Norfolk Pines

Ships being loaded in port.

Esperance itself is a town of around 14,500 people and has most services, due to its isolation. It is a busy sea port, with a railway line delivering grain to huge silos at the wharf for export. There is also an iron ore loading facility from the mines up north, nearer to Kalgoorlie. Every day the port would have two or three ships loading, as well as three or four sitting out in the harbour. It is a popular holiday spot for Perth residents as well as the miners from Kalgoorlie, so there are 6 caravan parks, and lots of hotels and apartments. Unfortunately for us, and anyone visiting for the last 12 months or planning to visit for the next six months, the sea front is closed off, undergoing a huge restoration to prevent more erosion by the sea. From our caravan park all the way to the port, it is one big construction site, all fenced off. Attractions like the Tanker Jetty, are closed, which is a shame, but necessary. The seafront is lined with Norfolk Pines, stretching over 2 kilometres. Unlike Albany, the waterfront has been, and will again

Soul mates,
Celebrating 33 years together.

Grain Silos at the port.

become, the focus of attention for tourists and towns folk alike. The busy port just blends into the overall scene. We have enjoyed our stay. As usual, we found the best coffee in town at "Onshore Cafe" next to the theatre. Excellent coffee, the best in Esperance by a country mile, and a daily event. Most mornings, We would walk the 1.5 kilometres into town, have our morning fix and head back. The food scene wasn't outstanding. We were going to have dinner at a place in town called The Loose Goose, but upon reading the menu, we decided $38.00 was a bit rich for Pigs Nipples or Duck Knuckles. I am serious. These were dishes on the menu!! Instead, we sort the safety of the local Chinese, which was very nice. We had a little anniversary to celebrate while we were here. Thirty three years since our first date. 

Carolyn in the museum's old shop.

Paid at last.

Another must see is the Museum. Remember the 70's when Skylab fell to earth. Well it all happened nearby. The countryside was littered with space junk. NASA missed the Indian Ocean! These days they could put a missile up Saddam's backside! How things improve! The museum has some great bits of space junk, and the museum makes a great joke of having fined NASA $400.00 for littering. Ironically, with all the billions spent by NASA they never paid the fine! It was left to a Las Vegas Radio Station, who finally paid the bill in 2009, 30 years late!! There are also a lot of great exhibits of the history of Esperance, all wonderfully preserved and presented. They also have the longest and most boring audio visual display in the history of museums. A local identity, with a put you to sleep voice, put together some old footage from some of the townsfolk, from the 1950's to the 1970's. I think he used every inch of tape he had! Not even the staff have seen the whole thing! I slept through 45 minutes while Carolyn waited to see if her little VW was there in 1973. The museum closed before we even got to the 1970's!!!

A Grand welcome.

Hellfire Bay.

Just 45 kilometres away is Cape Le Grande NP. It is not a large National Park, but it sure packs a punch. Anyone familiar with Australia's natural wonders will know the names, Hellfire Bay, Lucky Bay, Thistle Cove and Wharton Beach. They are some of the more famous natural beauties of this wonderful park. We entered the park and drove out and onto Le Grande Beach, a long arc of sand stretching more than 20 kms to the west. We could have driven halfway back to Esperance along the beach! Instead we just took a short drive, to admire 

Pristine waters Thistle Cove.

The crystal clear waters
around Thistle Cove.

the white sand and crystal clear water. Around to Hellfire Bay, which is protected from today's cool south easterly wind. It is almost deserted and absolutely beautiful with some of the whitest sand we have ever seen. The sand is almost pure silica, and squeaks as you walk across it, almost feeling wet and slippery, but it isn't. We drive back past Frenchman's Peak and head around to Thistle Cove, another delightful little protected beach, then on to Lucky Bay. At Lucky Bay, there is a good camp site suitable for caravans, but we conclude that our big rig would probably only get into a

Protected waters of Lucky Bay.

Sea weed covers the beach
at Lucky Bay.

couple of sites. There is a Camp Host on duty, to control who goes where in the campsite. The hosts are volunteers, who give up their time to help the National Parks staff out, in return for free site fees. If you wanted a few quiet weeks by the beach, this would be a great spot to do it. Camping fees are usually around $10.00 per person, and there is no power or water, but bush toilets and showers. Most people just come for a couple of days. The section of the bay near the campground is buried in sea weed, in some patches a couple of feet thick! We parked and walked out to the cairn marking Matthew Flinders' visit back in 1802, on his

Heading down to Little
Wharton Beach.

Our car on Lucky Beach
from the Viewing Platform.

epic journey to map the coastline of Australia. How different must it look now? No campground host back then. Maybe just a few aborigines. We drove out along the beach to the east, where there is a viewing platform built above the rocks. This is the most protected part of the bay, and here there is no weed. It is just white sand and blue clear water. It is way too cold for us to swim, but it is tempting until we put a toe in the water! Out to sea, the bays are full of the islands of the Archipelago of the Recherche. The islands come in all shapes and sizes. Our drive out to

Wharton Beach.

Parked on the rocks at
Little Wharton Beach.

 Rossiter Bay found a sea weed covered beach being blown to pieces. We didn't even get out of the car! The last area of note to visit is Duke of Orleans Bay, just outside the National Park. Wharton Beach and Hammerhead are the major points of interest. It is a bit of a drive so we stopped in at the Condingup Pub for lunch. As we walked into the pub, we doubled the number of customers! We had a so so lunch and continued on. We found this area similar to the others, with the open beaches covered in sea weed and the protected ones just magnificent. Both Little Wharton Beach, where we could get the car down onto the rocks of the headland, was particularly lovely, whilst the main beach at Wharton is a wonderful arc of white sand. There can be no doubt that the beaches of this region are the best we have seen around the coast of Australia. There are just so many, and they are all just amazing.

Fishermen near Starvation Bay.

A section of The Rabbit Proof Fence.

There is so much to see and do around Esperance. Another great drive we did was quite a long day travelling the Southern Ocean Drive to Hopetoun. Much of this road is gravel, and travels through some very isolated country. It is coastal land mostly frequented by fishermen, and features some wonderful coastal scenery. Our biggest issue was dodging all the Bobtail (shingle back) Lizards trying to commit suicide on the road! They must be related to tortoises as that's their speed!! We called in at almost every bay and beach, just to see the ever changing coast. Munglinup Beach, Starvation Bay, Mason Bay, and Twelve Mile as well as Five Mile beaches. A real point of interest was the fact that The Rabbit Proof Fence started at Starvation

Inside the Jerdacuttup Grain Bin.

Hopetoun Pub.

Bay. Now my sister will always have to remember this fact, as we were standing next to the fence marvelling at the history, when we received a text message from her! Sometimes Telstra amazes us! Anyway, I digress. The Rabbit Proof Fence stretched over 2,000 miles to Eighty Mile Beach, north of Broome. It was built to keep out those wascally wabbits (sorry Elmer Fudd!), and is the longest fence structure on earth. It is mostly in disrepair now, and was made famous by the excellent movie of that name, tracing the lives of three young Aboriginal girls. We arrived in Hopetoun and were quite underwhelmed. Not much happening in Hopetoun. It appears that most of the population is mining related. There is a nickel mine nearby, which BHP closed and sold, and is now up and operating again. We found a cafe to have lunch, and had a surprisingly good Fish 'n Chip lunch. We took the faster, sealed road home, which wound it's way past the mine site and through the endless grain farms. At a little place called Jerdacuttup, we decided to take a look inside one of the huge grain bins that store the harvested grain. This one was empty, but we got a good look inside the huge structure.

Three dogs on a bike!

The glass bikini.

There were many other sights in Esperance. Our daily coffee stop at Onshore Cafe was where we saw this lovely lady with her three dogs, all travelling with her on her bicycle. She had two baskets and a little trailer. She is obviously a local identity, as we would see he most mornings as she met up with a friend for coffee, who also had dogs in tow. Quite a sight! There is another very talented young lady doing amazing things with glass. Her studio was lovely, the wow factor being the glass bikini! One size fits all!! For something really different, we visited Mermaid Leather. Here they make leather from fish skin! Can you believe that. One thing is for sure, it ain't cheap. It looks like snake skin on steroids and they die it all these colours, and make all kinds of things including shoes. My feet smell bad enough! I don't want them mixing with fish leather!! Still, it was interesting watching the DVD on 

Stonehenge as it looked 1950BC.

The Mermaid Leather Factory.

how it is all done. No trip to Esperance is complete without a visit to the original Stonehenge. I kid you not, someone has built a complete, life size replica of Stonehenge, as it would have looked like back in 1950BC. Of course, it begs the question why on earth would anyone want to do that, but there you go, someone has. I found it a little light on history and a bit too heavy on the owners and the construction, but there is no doubting that it is an impressive pile of rocks. It was very well maintained, but I believe it could have benefited from some historical commentary. Then again there is Wikipedia. Oh, I should report to the owners that when I did a Google search on Stonehenge, they came up after the "Stonehenge Bouncy Castle" at Bunbury, which probably isn't such a good look!!

We have certainly been busy around Esperance. It is a "must come back to" destination, and will be on our agenda one hot summer down the track, so we can make use of all those amazing beaches!!