Esperance and National Parks Nearby

A decent run from Norseman saw me in Esperance in good time. I stopped at the Information Centre, where they gave me enough information to get me so enthused I was halfway to Cape Le Grande National Park before I realised I didn't get groceries.  This only meant variety would suffer, as I had plenty of food, even if it meant using Coffee Mate when I ran out of milk.  Cape Le Grande beach is a long expanse of white sand with gentle waves rolling in.  I soon got the fishing gear out and into it; pity about all the weeds, so my four  State record of yet not having to clean a fish stands.  The Camp Hosts told me that I shouldn't miss Cape Arid NP, 80Km further east, and good advice it was!  It is a fantastic long curving beach of white sand with row after row of breakers beating in.  There is a walk to other beaches in the area so I started along the track but after crossing over the hill to the next beach the rains came in so I turned back.  The weather is more like Tassie winter weather, being changeable, cool and plenty of showers, thus limiting longer walks.

An early morning return to Esperance five days later found me at The Coffee Cat, a kiosk on the Esplanade with a reputation stretching as far as Opossum Bay, for breakfast; the coffee was superb!  Next a grocery run, getting the gas bottle filled, a chance encounter with  a Super Cheap shop (and an LED reading light!), a visit to Bunnings AND it was still only lunchtime!  So lunch at the Coffee Cat before continuing west to Stokes NP but the weather here was really poor, the campsite was in scrub next to a large inlet and rather gloomy so I left after two nights for Starvation Bay, as recommended by the Stokes NP Camp Hosts. 

Starvation Bay is another great bay, with walks out to the ocean for more great scenery.  Again, weather iffy and again I got wet on a walk, but saw some terrific seascapes.  Another couple camped here had also come from Stokes Inlet, where, they informed me, the inlet is very good fishing!  sigh.

Continuing west to Hopetoun and to Fitzgerald River NP as per plan but the NP was mainly closed.  What was open could be seen in a couple of hours, which I did and then went to the campsite:  I'd planned to stay for a couple of nights but the campsite was mainly for tents, so I set off to position myself north of the Stirling Ranges, spending the night in the Ongerup Caravan Park.  Having saved a couple of days and being relatively near Beverley, WA, where a Grey Nomad get-together was scheduled for the weekend, I decided to attend it.  Thus, when I left it was to Beverley.