17 Mar 06

Impressions of Esperance

I mentioned earlier that we were heading to Esperance, which we did last weekend, but due to work commitments I haven’t had a chance to post my impressions until now.

It’s nearly a four-hour drive from Kalgoorlie via Norseman. The countryside changes from forested scrub to farmland about 70km from Norseman, or 110km from Esperance.

We went from warm and sunny to cool coastal drizzle once we got within 10km of the town. People who have driven from northern Victoria to Melbourne will know the feeling!

Esperance has a population of about 14,000 and the coastline is largely unspoilt. There are some beautiful white beaches.

We stayed at a caravan park a few kilometres from the popular Esplanade, and by forsaking a sea view we obtained a four bedroom house for $160 per night. It was genuinely a proper house, much more spacious than the cabin we paid more for at Queenscliffe 13 months ago.

We didn’t explore the national park, but stayed in the town and went to Twilight Beach. Although it was cool the water temperature was quite mild compared with Victoria. The only downside was march flies, although the wind on our first day helped to keep them away.

Margaret loved the water; James was less keen. We had fish and chips each night, asking for grilled whiting instead of fried and it was delicious.

I’ve set up a new roster with my deputy so we each have a three-day weekend once a fortnight to compensate for the alternate six-day weeks. I expect we’ll make a few trips to Perth and Esperance on those long weekends.

These articles might be of interest:

• Visiting Esperance soon
• Weekend at Esperance
• The flies have it

Tags: coastline, esperance, Kalgoorlie, Melbourne, PR, Victoria, war, work

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