Esperance was a real surprise - we'd expected a small bay & a few shops, rather like Coral Bay; instead, we found ourselves in a big town, overlooking a huge bay. It was a very smart place, its esplanade lined with Norfolk pines, & it boasted a more than adequate shopping centre. The sea was a brilliant turquoise & the sand was probably the whitest we'd ever seen - we were impressed.
We had a little walk along the Esplanade before setting out on the Great Ocean Drive, which had been recommended to us. The Drive included some of the most beautiful coastal scenery that we'd ever seen - Blue Haven Beach, Salmon Beach, Twilight Bay & Ten Mile Lagoon, to mention a few of our stopping-off places. The turquoise ocean & the white sands gleamed so brightly that sunglasses were a must in order to avoid being dazzled - the views were picture postcard perfect!
Next, the Drive took us inland & around the southern shore of Pink Lake, before returning to the town. We found a picnic table overlooking Esperance Bay, where we enjoyed our sandwiches, cake & coffee. It was amusing to do a little people-watching, too. A mother arrived with a little boy, who was probably about four years old - Mum was carrying a very large package of fish & chips, which she opened & offered to the child. He promptly invited most of the local seagulls to join them for lunch & neither he nor his mother seemed to have very much left for themselves (seagulls can be quite forceful & demanding!) A family of Aboriginals, with two dogs, were sitting close by & the dogs, who had obviously caught the scent of the fish & chips, bounded over for their share of the meal - so much for the joys of picnicking on the beach! We offered the seagulls our apple & pear cores, but they declined - they're obviously not fond of fruit.
After lunch, Bob drove me to a wonderful shop called "Patches & Things" - I wonder how many of you can guess what was on sale there! I found a few more fabrics that I may be able to use in my Australian wall hanging. Bob was very patient & has earned a few more Brownie Points.
From "Patches & Things" we moved on to the Information Centre, which is located in the Historic Museum Village. This consists of historical buildings that house art, crafts & other items. I found an attractive pair of earrings in the Aboriginal shop (well, I can't get that kind of thing in Bury St Edmunds, can I!)
It was now late afternoon & we'd had a lovely day, so we decided to return to the caravan park for a nice cup of tea.
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