Fri. 12th Oct., 2012 - Still in Esperance

We awoke to blue sky & bright sunshine, but it was windy!  It had been blowing a gale during the night & I'd had to persuade Bob to get ot of bed & dismantle the awning - needless to say, he wasn't happy.  However, I'm glad he agreed, as the wind might have damaged it; worse still, it might have acted as a sail & carried us away! 

Our destination today was Cape le Grand, which is reputed to have some of the best beaches in Australia, of not the world.

As we left the caravan park, we had to stop at a railway crossing where a train, pulling trucks of iron ore, was passing through.  It was long & took quite a time to pass by, though nothing to compare with those we'd seen in Port Hedland.

We drove through some eucalypt forests where the smell of the oil pervaded the car - fortunately, I love it!

About 50-60km from the town, we arrived at the Cape le Grand National Park, where large peaks dominated the horizon & pure white sand showed through the vegetation.  We stopped to photograph Frenchman Peak & noticed some exquisite little pink flowers that were shaped rather like miniature orchids, but were actually Trigger Plants.  This was wild & rugged country, reminiscent of Dartmoor & Exmoor, in England.  However, the plant life was somewhat different.  An amazing variety of wildflowers grew in amongst the bushes - a paradise for bees & honeyeaters.

Frenchman Peak



Trigger Plant





Thistle Cove was as white as snow but, unfortunately the sky had clouded over & the sea didn't have the depth of colour that we enjoyed yesterday, when the water sparkled!  However, "patience is a virtue" &, as we waited, the sun came out & the scenery responded favourably.



Thistle Cove



In Lucky Bay, we were amazed to see kangaroos hopping around on the beach & even lounging on the sand.  Some had attached themselves to a group of people who were fishing, probably hoping for some titbits of fruit or salad.

The white sand was of a strange consistency - in fact, it became exactly like plaster when wet, being ultra-fine & glutinous if mixed with water.  A couple of youngsters were finding it almost impossible to make sandcastles.

For the first time, flies were a problem & we found it necessary to eat our lunch in the car - Paradise comes at a price!

Apparently, Cape le Grand is Esperance's top tourist attraction & one can understand why - its stunning beauty would impress all who saw it.  However, its distance from large centres of population is probably its salvation - long may this happy situation continue; it would be a sin to commercialize it.

Thurs. 11th Oct., 2012 - Exploring in & around Esperance

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.

Wed. 10th Oct., 2012 - Albany to Esperance

It was 7.40am when we left Albany & a beautiful day.  We'd enjoyed our stay, albeit a longer one than planned.  Now, we wondered what lay ahead.  Esperance was 467km away & so we planned to break the journey by spending a night in Ravensthorpe.  We were leaving a lovely part of Australia - when would we see such lush green hills again?  The sheep & cattle grazed contentedly & a kookaburra observed us from a telephone wire above.

Two hours later, we were travelling through grain country - huge plains stretched endlessly on either side of us & fields of wheat or barley covered most of the land.  There were very few settlements & those who lived in the remote homesteads that were dotted sparsely over the countryside, must have been brave souls indeed. 

They'd have to enjoy their own

company & revel in solitude, or perhaps be downright anti-social!  Either way, they must have derived great satisfaction from farming the land, for the crops were flourishing.  The occasional comical mailbox indicated that those who lived way down the track had managed to retain their sense of humour.

At Ravensthorpe, we filled up with diesel but, as it was still well before midday, we decided to continue on to Esperance.  The drive had been relatively easy up to this point & we hadn't met with much traffic.  However, we had two scary moments ... a dog appeared at the roadside, out of nowhere, & was obviously intending to cross the highway.  Fortunately, it waited for us to pass but then ran straight infront of the roadtrain behind us!  Miraculously, it reached the opposite verge safely, by the skin of its teeth.  We'd just recovered from that, when a small plane flew right across our path - it was very low & gave us quite a shock.

We stopped at a roadhouse for some lunch, then set off again on the last leg of our journey.  Our route had been an interesting one, providing us with a variety of attractive scenery.

Suddenly, we spotted white sand dunes to our right - our journey was almost over!

Sat. 6th - Tues. 9th Oct., 2012 - Still in Albany!

Being without transport was a new experience - we'd forgotten just how much we rely on "wheels".  On Saturday, we had more fresh air & exercise than usual - we walked to the local food shop for supplies & carried our shopping back to the caravan.  Fortunately, the weather was good.

The caravan park has an enclosed area, which we hadn't noticed before - it houses five kangaroos, an emu, some chickens & some ducks.  We also enjoyed looking at people's gardens, which were bright with spring flowers.  We miss so much when we drive everywhere.

Sunday was a quiet day, catching up with chores, having a brief walk & then relaxing.

On Monday, we got the car back!  We had developed a bit of "cabin fever" & so we immediately went for a short drive.  The car behaved well but we decided to stay in Albany for an extra day & give it a more severe test before continuing with our big trip.



Middleton Beach Albany

On Tuesday morning, we set off for Porongurup, a very pretty area about 40km from Albany.  Initially, we drove through gentle hills that provided grazing for sheep & cattle.  Large areas were also wooded & strewn with wildflowers.

As we began the tourist drive, wineries became prevalent & the Stirling Ranges loomed large in the distance.  Grass trees mingled with the gums & lovely homes nestled amongst the hills & woods.

We entered the Porongurup National Park & began our tour with a little walk to the "Tree-in-the-Rock Rest Area".  It was aptly named for there was, indeed, a large tree growing out from the centre of a huge rock.

Much of our drive was steep & on an unsealed road that took us through wooded & rocky terrain, where high granite peaks showed through the trees.  When we came upon clearings, the views beyond were stunning, revealing beautiful green valleys with vine-covered slopes.  The flowers continued to delight us, as did the kookaburras that we heard as we drove along.  What an idyllic area - it felt a million miles from taxes, mobile phones, political correctness & other such irritants! 

 As we sat in the woods, eating our sandwiches, with nothing more than a little blue wren to disturb us, I was almost able to understand why some people choose to become hermits.  Only the arrival of a rather raucous red-tailed black cockatoo prevented our peace from being perfect!

Down a wonderful unmade road, called "Mira Flores", where all kinds of flowers grew profusely, a very large kangaroo suddenly appeared infront of us.  Frustratingly, the camera shut down, as the battery needed charging (strange really, as someone had assured me that it would be OK).  The kangaroo had escaped from being locked forever in the "My Pictures" section of our computer!

A few bob-tail skinks ran the gauntlet as they made their arduous treks across the road - one poor thing had already gone to the 'Great Reptile Centre in the Sky' but the others made it to the opposite verge.  Why do they bother to make such treacherous crossings when the two sides of the road appear so similar?

We stopped at "Duke's Winery" to check on the quality of the wine & were tempted by a Shiraz for Bob & a fresh-tasting rose for me (can't persuade the computer to add an acute accent - can anyone tell me how to do that?)

We'd had a great day, in a beautiful area, & wished we could have explored it further.  However, we needed to stock up the larder for tomorrow's journey & make preparations for our departure.  Albany is a very attractive town, with picturesque scenery around it, & one that we would be more than happy to visit again.