All the way to WA - Experience Esperance!
Day 16 August 8, 2023
We had a slower start to the day today as the onward journey
to Esperance was only going to be two hours in length. As a result we were all
able to go for a walk/run around Hopetoun and take one more admiring look at
the white sandy beach and the turquoise ocean before breakfast and the inevitable
pack the bags and the car and get out of town routine.
Wallsy was the captain of the ship today. The trip to Esperance
was straightforward and we arrived at about midday. We found an outdoor food
van selling delicious paninis and fresh juice and its neighbour - a coffee van,
so all appetites were covered. As these were situated on the foreshore in the
jetty precinct, we took a walk out on the jetty, not quite beating the rain,
and then, once the rain had passed, walked to the tourist information centre.
Armed with brochures about things to do for the afternoon
and tomorrow, we found our accommodation and checked in. A cup of tea or coffee is usually the first
order of business when arriving at new digs, but today washing was first
priority, after a few days without access to a washing machine. Once that was
under control, we were able to sit out on our balcony with its pleasing sea
views and enjoy a much-needed cuppa.
The weather was still looking a bit dodgy, but I suggested a
4km return walk to Dempster Head and the Rotary Lookout. Tyrone and Wallsy were
the only takers, so we set off along the Esplanade, over the rail bridge and up
the hill. Along the way we met a couple of fellows who appeared to be sleeping
rough under the shelter of the verandah of what we realised was the station
building for a miniature railway. They engaged us in conversation, as they saw
me taking a photo of the unusual clock tower and told me I should take a photo
of the Birds of WA poster on the wall near where they were sitting. I did as I
was told, only to find one of them in particular was very knowledgeable about
birds and proceeded to tell me about the Australian Raven, mistakenly referred
to as a crow, and to take special notice of their eyes, and then all about the
speculum – that iridescent patch of colour on the wings of some birds and how
it is made up of secondary feathers! Just goes to show you should never judge a
book by its cover, or a person by their circumstances. After some interesting
conversation we thanked them and moved on, with a wary eye on the impending
rain.
We made it to the lookout with its spectacular 360-degree
views over Esperance, the coastline to the west, the Recherche Archipelago, the
pink lake (although not pink at the moment!) and the hinterland beyond. It was
obvious that a storm was definitely on its way though, so we didn’t hang
around. After taking a few photos, we hightailed it back down the hill, over
the rail bridge and along the Esplanade, until we found the bar, 33 Degrees,
that Nicki and Shane had taken refuge in. We all gathered again, and taking
advantage of Happy Hour, enjoyed a drink on the verandah, while we watched the
storm travel through.
The plan was to eat in tonight, so shopping needed to be
done before dinner could be cooked, the men were tasked with this job, so they
dropped the rest of us at our rather lovely apartment, where we continued the washing/drying
tasks. The apartment is spacious and well set out, with one bedroom upstairs
along with an ensuite, the kitchen and living/dining area, and another two
bedrooms downstairs with a bathroom, separate toilet and a full laundry. This
is a much more viable arrangement than the Harbour Master’s House in Hopetoun,
where the one bathroom had a door opening into it from the largest bedroom, plus
an access door through the toilet. Trouble was, if you were in the toilet, you
could lock the external door, but not the one which opened into the bathroom,
and if you were in the bathroom, you could not lock the door that accessed the
bedroom! Bizarre!
Dinner was a delicious risotto, thanks to team Renfrey. We
had a quiet cuppa before all settling into our beds for the evening. Not sure
what the plans are for tomorrow, nor what the weather is going to offer us, so
we will have to wait and see.
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