Esperance started life as a sealing port in the early 19th century, but now that the seals are fully protected they are getting a bit cheeky, hanging around the fish cleaning table at the jetty for
scraps. It wasn't until the middle of the 20th century that scientists discovered that adding some trace elements to the local soil would make it fertile, and all of a sudden the sleepy backwater town became a major pastoral and shipping hub. Named for the French ships that originally discovered the sparkling blue waters of Esperance Bay and the 105 islands that make up the Recherche Archipelago, Esperance now is a major shipping port for grain and minerals, as well as a popular holiday destination. Not only that, they have a reasonable golf course, so we spent a pleasant week here.
The first thing we did on arrival was buy ourselves a new television, so hopefully we won't have any more problems in that department. Luckily the manufacturer of our old one has an agent in Esperance so we were able to leave the broken one with them. Although we are unlikely to ever get anything back from the manufacturer we have consoled ourselves with the thought that because the original tv came with the van it didn't actually cost us anything. Having got our major purchase out of the way we sampled Esperance's tourist delights. We firstly saw the bay from the ground, on a lovely drive for miles along the waterfront, following the beaches and inlets, then did a full day boat trip out to one of the larger islands. This included a couple of hours cruising, a 90 minute walk, some time on a glass bottom boat viewing the abundant fish, sea grass and corals and a barbecue lunch. We passed on the opportunity to use some free snorkeling equipment, but did go for a paddle! This island is the only one you can go on and was used by the original owner to fatten his sheep, rowing them over then throwing them into the bay so they (hopefully) swam to shore. To get them back he did much the same, threw them into the water and collected them as they swam past the boat.
Just east of Esperance is Cape Le Grand National Park, home to not only Lucky Bay, which supposedly has the whitest sand in
Australia, but also Frenchman's Peak, providing a tough walk/scramble to the top. The photo at the left shows one of the flatter bits of the walk, which basically followed the right hand contour shown in the photo at the right here. Our Esperance experience was rounded out by a one hour tour of the port area, run as a fund raiser by the local Apex club, and a couple of games of golf. Mind you, John claims that finally getting to watch some cricket and tennis on television was one of the highlights!
Esperance started life as a sealing port in the early 19th century, but now that the seals are fully protected they are getting a bit cheeky, hanging around the fish cleaning table at the jetty for 
scraps. It wasn't until the middle of the 20th century that scientists discovered that adding some trace elements to the local soil would make it fertile, and all of a sudden the sleepy backwater town became a major pastoral and shipping hub. Named for the French ships that originally discovered the sparkling blue waters of Esperance Bay and the 105 islands that make up the Recherche Archipelago, Esperance now is a major shipping port for grain and minerals, as well as a popular holiday destination. Not only that, they have a reasonable golf course, so we spent a pleasant week here.
The first thing we did on arrival was buy ourselves a new television, so hopefully we won't have any more problems in that department. Luckily the manufacturer of our old one has an agent in Esperance so we were able to leave the broken one with them. Although we are unlikely to ever get anything back from the manufacturer we have consoled ourselves with the thought that because the original tv came with the van it didn't actually cost us anything. Having got our major purchase out of the way we sampled Esperance's tourist delights. We firstly saw the bay from the ground, on a lovely drive for miles along the waterfront, following the beaches and inlets, then did a full day boat trip out to one of the larger islands. This included a couple of hours cruising, a 90 minute walk, some time on a glass bottom boat viewing the abundant fish, sea grass and corals and a barbecue lunch. We passed on the opportunity to use some free snorkeling equipment, but did go for a paddle! This island is the only one you can go on and was used by the original owner to fatten his sheep, rowing them over then throwing them into the bay so they (hopefully) swam to shore. To get them back he did much the same, threw them into the water and collected them as they swam past the boat.
Just east of Esperance is Cape Le Grand National Park, home to not only Lucky Bay, which supposedly has the whitest sand in 
Australia, but also Frenchman's Peak, providing a tough walk/scramble to the top. The photo at the left shows one of the flatter bits of the walk, which basically followed the right hand contour shown in the photo at the right here. Our Esperance experience was rounded out by a one hour tour of the port area, run as a fund raiser by the local Apex club, and a couple of games of golf. Mind you, John claims that finally getting to watch some cricket and tennis on television was one of the highlights!
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