Life's A Beach....

Esperance is a small town on the coast of South West Australia, and it took a six hour drive, along largely empty roads, with very few towns or settlements, to reach this small seaside community and port.

The town was named after one of the French ships L'Esperance, (translated to English it means 'hope'), which took shelter from a storm in the large bay that the town sits on, facing the Southern Ocean. We arrived on a lovely sunny afternoon but as it had taken us until mid afternoon to reach Esperance we contented ourselves with a walk along the seafront and having a look around the town. Its a good place to whale watch at certain times of the year and this is celebrated in the form of a sculpture on the seafront.

We arrived on 25th April - Anzac Day. In Australia (and New Zealand) this is an important day, akin to Remembrance Sunday in the UK. This year was particularly significant as it was the centenary of Gallipoli where so many Anzacs lost their lives in World War 1. We missed the Anzac day events in Esperance

The Anzac Memorial in Esperance

but it seemed that commemorations were taking place in the smallest of towns and settlements. On the way we stopped in a tiny place called Borden (population 164) just to stretch our legs and there had been a parade with scouts and girl guides and there was a barbecue taking place in the centre of this tiny community - and everyone seemed to have turned out.

Apart from whale watching Esperance is mainly known for its stunning beaches that lie to both the east and west of the town. The town had a sleepy atmosphere and a sense of humour as shown with a billboard advert on the side of the town museum.

In 1979 Skylab crashed near Esperance - so the town council fined NASA $400 for littering!

The next morning we went to explore some of the beaches but first strolled around the Sunday craft market set in the centre of town. Despite being early it was surprisingly busy. 

Our first stop on a day of beach combing and was Wylie Beach just a few miles from town. It was the most stunning location. The beach was hidden behind high dunes so to reach it we had to climb up and over these. It was worth the effort as the waters were turquoise blue, the sand was white and it looked like a scene from a travel agents brochure.

First view of Wylie Beach

4WD driving is very popular in West Australia and a necessity too in parts of the state as many roads are gravel and impossible to drive on in ordinary cars but many people choose to drive along beaches for fun.

Not a 'Top Gear' episode!

As we walked onto the beach we saw a 4 wheel drive vehicle close to the top of a granite outcrop!

Only having a two legged method of propulsion we climbed this outcrop for ourselves to take in the views from above.

More stunning Beaches followed throughout the day: West, Observatory and Twilight Beaches were all stunningly beautiful.  

Twilight Beach

The next day we travelled further afield. About 30 miles from Esperance lies Cape Le Grand National Park, 78,000 acres of natural wilderness with bushland, granite peaks and more white sandy beaches. Our drive took us to the whitest of them all at Lucky Bay. This has been voted the whitest beach in Australia. It also has kangaroos who visit the beach to eat seaweed. It lived up to expectations. Not only was there a kangaroo or two on the beach when we arrived but the sand texture was so fine and white and the sea so blue it was like stepping into a postcard.

A kangaroo at Lucky Bay

Lucky Bay

I walked the full length of Lucky Bay to a lookout point and then returned to Mrs B. who was chatting to the owner of the one and only coffee kiosk in the whole national park, a lovely lady called Robyne.

Even more beaches followed including Thistle Cove and Hellfire Bay. After lunch for some variety I suggested we climb Frenchman Peak. This is a granite hill, only 262 meters high but it promised commanding views of the national park. 

After a picnic we started the climb which involved some steep bits of ascent and an occasional bit of scrambling but nothing too demanding. The beautifully textured granite rock made it easy to grip and avoid slipping. Mrs B. made it to the top...where we admired the views of the coastline, the rugged granite outcrops and miles of bush that provided habitat for kangaroos, birds and reptiles. 

Frenchman Peak

The route to the top...

Mrs B on top of Frenchman Peak

Panoramic views from Frenchman Peak.

A visit to a final beach concluded our time in Cape Le Grand National Park but before we returned to Esperance we passed through a sudden light shower that produced an unexpected rainbow to end a memorable day.

We had now travelled 500 miles from Perth. A long return journey would be required to catch a plane. Fortunately this was quite a few days away thus providing more opportunities for some different sights and experiences in an ever changing landscape.