Beaches of Esperance

Esperance, the last town of any size toward to eastern end of the WA coast, wins my prize for the best beaches.

The 40km Great Ocean Drive to the west of the town is dotted with splendid white beaches.

Even the town beach is beautiful, lined with parks and Norfolk Pines.

I spent a day at Lucky Bay in the Cape Le Grand National Park to the east of Esperance. Granite rocks and more stunning beaches. My rather nice lunch time view at Thistle Cove, an hour of walking from Lucky Bay.

Whistling Rock, looks like a whale breeching. Apparently the wind sometimes make a whistling sound as it blows around the rock.

An un-named rock, on sentry duty, watching over Lucky Bay.

I stayed overnight  in the campground at one end of Lucky Bay and went for a walk to the far end of the 2.5km long beach, and back.

Too cool for me to swim but quite a few people were in the water.

The white sand is so soft, it felt silky beneath my bare feet 

My camp-site had the best view. The camp host did tell me that it is the one everyone wants.

Lucky Bay is famous for kangaroos on the beach. I didn't see any on the beach, but this mother and joey were happily feeding (and playing in the case of the joey) beside the main carpark. 

Ignoring my presence just a metre away.

A nice farewell as I prepared to begin my long drive back east.

Birthday hiking

Will you still love me? When I'm 64? 

That famous song was in my head as I climbed Bluff Knoll in the Stirling Ranges.

It is a steep two hour climb to the top.

I made it! Perfect weather- cool and windy. Lucky I packed a couple of extra layers to wear.

More wildflowers.

The route.

A glimpse of a local resident on rhe way down, a goanna, about a metre long.

I will admit to a few stiff leg muscles the day after. But, hey - I am 64! I really enjoyed my birthday hike.

Albany

The bike got a well-earned rest. Sally took me sightseeing in Torndirrup National Park near Albany. This lookout suspends you above The Gap where you can watch the waves directly beneath your feet as they sure into a narrow gap in the cliffs.

Natural Bridge - an obvious name. The rocks here are gneiss and granolite.

More views.

Australia's last whaling station, closed in 1978, now a museum. I didn't pay to go in.

Albany is a large town that sprawls around a huge natural harbour. It was useful for shopping - groceries, fuel, a backpack to replace my small one that I have worn out. It was hot - 28 degrees.

Mid-afternoon. About half an hour north of Albany, a steep 4 km walk, sweating all the way to Castle Rock. Rock scrambling and a ladder.

See-through walkway.

Huge views. Worth every drop of sweat. A refreshing late afternoon breeze.

Then to a caravan park in the small town of Mt Barker for the night.

Epicness

Bushwalking on steroids, aka a very long bike ride in William Bay National Park, between Parry Beach and the regional town of Denmark. Estimated length about 48kms which filled in about six hours, including stops for photos and food and a short walks. 

Greens Pool. A popular swimming spot. A row of granite rocks provides shelter from the waves.

Some hardy locals having an early morning swim. It was quite cool.

Elephant Rocks. They are much bigger than Elephants.

Riding the coastal shared path for about 15kms.

Found the only shade spot for morning tea. The day was warming up.

Out into the sun again. Yes, I did slip, slop, slap. Saw another small snake wriggling near my foot as I rode past quickly.

Lots of wildflowers.

Then I left the National Park for a combination of road riding, bike paths through the outer edge of Denmark and then a long rail trail and more road back to the carpark at William Bay.

I definitely earned an icecream from the food van in the carpark which I ate watching all the swimmers at Greens Pool. I was almost tempted to join them, but I was a bit weary.

A grand day out. Epic.

Big trees and big rides

Walpole is another very small town. But it has a big network of easy mountain bike trails and a lot of big trees. My day involved a 2 hour ride in the morning, then the Valley of the Giants treetop walk, followed by another two hour ride.

Morning ride. A mix of trail types climbing to a lookout, than a flowy fun descent and a level ride back to town through coastal heath.

Valley of the Giants. Tourists walking through trees.

The trees are red tingle and yellow tingle. The walk-way is a similar construction to the Tahune Airwalk in Tassie, but bigger. Maximum height is 40 metres.

It gives a new perspective on big trees.

Afternoon ride - a two hour loop undulating through the forest. So many big trees. They have shallow roots and a tendency to buttress and become hollow. This one is called the Cinderella tree.

Back to the beach for my next camp. I stayed two nights at Parry Beach. The small campground is the only thing here. 

Peaceful. Relaxing.