Day 63 Esperance

What a full day we’ve had. At 5:30 this morning, I woke with the thought that I’d try my luck at helping some poor fish out of the cold salt water and onto a nice warm BBQ griddle, so by 6am, I’d showered, had breakfast and 2 cups of coffee, brushed my teeth, and prepared my tackle and bait. By 6:30, I was standing at the far end of the jetty with just a few other hardy and hopeful souls full to the gills with anticipation and confidence. By 8, I was heading back along the jetty without the bait and still without a fish wondering why all the small fish had decided to come to Esperance Bay for the New Year. I caught two small Harlequin Cod but threw both back as neither would have fed a small cat, let alone provided breakfast for 5 hungry Dinters. At least I’ve improved to a level where I can now at least catch a fish, and I’m less certain they laugh when they see me coming.
Back at the van, Jacqui and I discussed our plans for the next few days. The car needs some attention and Jacob is having his 4th birthday on Monday so it makes sense to hang around for a few days. When I went to the caravan park office, to give them the good news that we’d stay with them for at least two extra days, we discovered that our site has been promised to others. We can stay one extra night but we’ll need to move locations if we want to stay in the park on Monday night. A pain but with little choice during peak holiday season, it looks like we’ll be moving sites on Jacobs birthday.
Everywhere we go, people speak of Esperance as having the best, most beautiful beaches in Australia. We’ve always thought our own Northern Beaches of Sydney are impressive and Byron Bay and Crescent Head on the NSW north coast, or Queensland’s Sunshine Coast beaches would take a bit of beating for the Best Beaches title, so we thought we’d have a look around. I’ve gotta admit, it’s not a false claim. The beaches and coastline here are mighty impressive. The islands off the coast provide a spectacular backdrop and the rugged coastal cliffs remind me of Hawaii but for pure family satisfaction, we couldn’t get past Twilight Beach just west of town. The sand is a pure white and fine as powder, and the water is crystal clear. The beach gently slopes into the water making it a perfectly safe beach for small children despite the consistent, gentle waves delivering enough swell for body surfers and boogie boarders. The boys had a fantastic time and for the 1st time, we saw Thomas head out into the swell with complete confidence when he’s normally reticent around any kind of wave. While the water gave us all hours of enjoyment, Jacqui and I also enjoyed sitting on the beach watching people jump from the huge rock just off shore. Locals and visitors alike, climbed the rock, full of bravado, and then become seriously nervous once the arrived at the jump-off point. The only down side here is the water temperature. It’s a little like Sydney in October. Probably about 17 or 18 degrees which is a little hard to take after the 30 degrees we enjoyed at Broom.
After a few hours at the beach, we explored the coast a little, with every curve in the coastline unveiling another stunning vista. This south coast must be a haven for anyone involved in wind sports. From one particular bluff, I took a photo that has a surfer, a sailboarder, and a kite surfer all together, one behind the other. They put on a great show for us up on dry land.
Back at the van, the boys completed their travel diaries while Jacqui prepared dinner and I took Jacob for a shower. After dinner, I loaded my photo’s onto the laptop and now with everyone asleep around me, it’s time to turn out the lights.
We’ve all had a very full day.
Cheers,
Jorg