Happenstance in Esperance

The photos are untweaked. We stopped at a string of intensely saturated beaches, but we almost missed them. Esperance had long on my visiting wish list since reading about it in a caravan magazine. The article talked about vibrant beaches and fishing at the shore.

Caravaners we've met over the years confirmed those tales, but warned us that the town was growing too big for it's boots. We rolled in expecting paradise, but landed in an over-built non-notable harbor. The town felt very dense. The caravan parks were packed to the gills. We almost rolled out of town as quickly as we rolled in. Were it not for a refueling stop at Maccas, we might have missed it entirely.

After staying bush in Munglinup, we weren't ready for the density in the Esperance. We stumbled into Maccas, pulled out our atlas and considered moving on. The man next to us leaned over and said, "you can't go without visiting Lucky Bay. The Pine Grove caravan park is about 5k out of town. It's quieter. Stay there a few days and then decide."

Little did we know this man would become a recurring figure in our journey. Like an extra in a vacation flick, we'd meet him again and again at tourist sites and gas pumps. Travel buddies heading the same way across our great big country.

We took him at his word, pitched our tent and on the advice of the park manager drove to the southern Esperance beaches. Blue and beautiful. Beyond description.

 

The next day, the skies turned grey and they would stay that way for the rest of time in Esperance. Even then, the beaches shined. We made our way to Cape Le Grand to see the white sand of Lucky Bay and hear the call at Whistling Rock. Kangaroos sauntered along the beach. It would be hard not to call this paradise.

This is part 7 of our Nullarbor crossing camping trip. In part 8, we golf in the desert.