3 Days in Esperance

7th July 2013

Our first day in Esperance was a very relaxing one. We started the day by going to the Animal Farm just out if town where we had a great breakfast with Wal, Mandy, Sian, Ayvon (Sian's Boyfriend) and his daughter Dakota.

After breakfast we wandered around the animal park for about an hour or so watching the kids run from one enclosure to the other, feeding the animals. They even got a chance to bottle feed some baby lambs, which was a bit of a highlight for them.

    

                                                The girls enjoying the Animal Farm

After this we went back to Wal & Mandy's place, where we spent the rest of the afternoon watching the footy and catching up. The girls enjoyed playing with "Wookie", Wal & Mandy's new & very cute Maltese/Shitzu puppy. It was a very enjoyable & relaxing day for all of us.

Maggie with "Wookie"

8th July

We had another relaxing start to the day leaving the house around 9am this morning. After a brief stop for fuel we made our way about 15kms out of town to Esperance Stonehenge.

This full size, purpose built replica of the original Stonehenge in England was very impressive. Apparently out of all of the 66 replicas of Stonehenge around the world, the Esperance version is the most accurate. It really was amazing to see and also great to be able to wander through, for most part we were the only ones there which was a special feeling.

The girls in front of Stonehenge

We were also treated to another violin solo from Chloe. The acoustics from the granite circle was  just fantastic, it was once again a very special moment for us all.

Chloe playing at Esperance Stonehenge

We left Stonehenge around 11am and drove back through town on our way to the Observatory lookout which gave us a 360 degree view of Esperance and the Bay, it really is one of the most beautiful areas in the world.

We spent the rest of the afternoon driving along the tourist loop marvelling at the pristine coastline that Esperance has to offer. We stopped and enjoyed the beach at Twilight Cove, before moving on and having a late lunch at Observatory Beach.

The Girls at Twilight Cove

Me & the girls overlooking Observatory Beach

Once back into town we made our way to Radio West, where our niece Sian works as the Accounts Manager. Sian gave us a tour and took the girls into the broadcasting booth, which they thought was pretty cool.

DJ Chloe at Radio West

After we left here, we had a short walk into town, drove back to the van, grabbed some fishing gear and headed out to Blue Haven Bay, which is again just another magic spot. We spent the rest of the afternoon fishing, not that we caught anything  (must be losing my touch!), playing on the beach and watching the changing colours over the water as the sun set on another fantastic day.

The girls playing at Blue Haven Bay

Sunset over Blue Haven Bay

9th July

Being our last day in Esperance, we decided to make the most of the day and headed off fairly early bound for Cape Le Grand National Park, which is 50kms east of town.

This area of Esperance again is just beautiful. We spent the day exploring the beaches and coves of the area. We drove along Rossiter Beach & played beach cricket at Lucky Bay, which is in the Guiness Book of Records for having the whitest beach sand in the world.

Hellfire Bay (I'm the little dot fishing off the end of the rocks)

Beach Cricket at Lucky Bay

We also enjoyed visiting Thistle Cove before having lunch, playing and fishing at the beautiful Hell Fire Bay. Later in the afternoon we made our way to and climbed the impressive Frenchman's Peak which again afforded amazing views of the bay below. This is a tough walk and we were proud of the girls for making it to the peak.

Thistle Cove

Frenchman's Peak

The girls at the summit of Frenchman's Peak

We arrived back in town late in the afternoon, got ourselves ready and went out to dinner to the Pier Hotel with Wal, Mandy, Sian, Ayvon & Dakota.  We had a really enjoyable evening. It's been fantastic catching up with the Walsh family after such a long time.

Dinner at the Pier Hotel with Wal, Mandy, Sian, Ayvon & Dakota

It has been fantastic coming back to Esperance, although 3 days is definitely not long enough. It is truly one of the most beautiful places in the world and we will definitely not be leaving it another 9yrs before we return.