29 Esperance Great Ocean Road

From Esperance we took a drive along the Great Ocean Road going West. Fortunately, the sun came out and we saw the Bay of Isles, which Esperance is known as. There are over 120 islands in the harbour and bays. You definitely need the sun to be shining to do this magnificent trip. Although it’s a trip of only about 40 km, You have to keep stopping the car to take photos. The colours and the beaches give beautiful surprises. We felt privileged to see such beauty.

 For those of you who have crossed The Great Australian Bight by ship, out there in those thunderous rolling waves which smash over your ship, it is hard to imagine they end on a beautiful colourful shore, gently lapping onto these pristine beaches of the Great South Land.

By the pier, we enjoyed the company of a local sea lion and his mate, who performed beautifully for us.

Another day whilst out photographing birds in the bush we had a close encounter with a snake, who turned out to be a harmless tree snake. We’ve seen a few snakes on this trip.

We admit we had a beautiful few days in Esperance and were glad the sun shone a couple of days so we could get these lovely photographs.

Leaving Esperance we spent six days crossing the Nullarbor and the salt bush desert lands. One day was close to 40 degrees and we did 500 km that day. There is little water or power available during that trip. However, for several days, the waters of the Great Australian Bight are close by, as well as the giant cliffs which comprise the rocky fabric of the coast of Australia. They are very high and the water is way down below. There are a few places where there are lookouts and you can see the cliffs. Other than this you have little sense of the great ocean being there, as the salt-bush plains are up high on the top of the cliffs. The only way to get a good view of the cliffs is to be on a ship at sea looking toward the coast. Surprisingly, the ocean is a beautiful colour of blue, similar to all the coastal waters around the Western Australia.

We are having a rest in Adelaide at the moment and plan to leave shortly for a visit to our dear family in Victoria before we eventually arrive home.