Out West Day 11

 

We woke to another sunny morning and decided to go to a local market which was a few kms out of town in the Museum Precinct.  There were a lot of stalls with very interesting home made items.  I bought some beeswax food covers and a few other little things for the grandchildren..

We left the market and drove back into Esperance and took some photos around this lovely town.

An old railway crane in a park - some rust here in Esperance

The Whale Tail Sculpture, Esperance Foreshore

An old railway crane in a park

A fountain with seals carved out of rock

Whale tail sculpture

The Whale Tail sculpture represents the South Right Whales that frequent the ocean in the winter months in and around Esperance.

The very good market stalls

We enjoyed driving around the town of Esperance to do some sightseeing and then went back to the van for lunch and a rest. Later in the afternoon we drove out to Wheatfield Lake which was about 10 km from Esperance as we heard that the sunset is wonderful there and I love a good sunset.

Wheatfield Lake is part of the Esperance Lakes Nature Reserve and is known for its importance as a wetland habitat, particularly for migratory shorebirds.

Sunset at Wheatfield Lake

We only saw one bird and it was high in a tree but it was magnificent.  

What I did see while walking around was a snake, and I almost trod on it!  Surprisingly I didn't feel scared and it was probably more scared of me, as it slithered away and I made a dash for the car!  

I managed to get a couple of photos before it made its way into the bush.  I should have been more aware of snakes in the area but think I was only interested in taking my sunset photos.  We are not sure what the Snake is, but on checking I think it is a Dugite, which is common in Southern WA and is very poisonous. Must remember to look where I am walking in future.

The end of another great day and I luckily escaped uninjured!

Out West Day 10

 Cape Le Grand

This map shows roughly where we travelled

After our great day touring the beaches yesterday, it was time to do some housework! As it is quite windy I decided to get some laundry done and hope that it dries quickly as the weather is going to be sunny later hopefully. By 10.30am the washing had dried, and I folded it and put away.  I don't iron when travelling in the van as our camping clothes are wash n wear even if there are a few wrinkles, and they eventually are wrinkle free.  We decided to stay a bit longer at the Bathers Paradise Caravan Park and booked for another 2 nights, as it is a nice park, and  not too busy.

Beautiful Chittick flower - endemic to WA, I think

Cape Le Grand

Cape Le Grand is about 65 km east of Esperance and the roads are mainly sealed and easily accessible.

We spent the afternoon driving around the Cape Le Grand National Park which is a very scenic drive and quite close to the town of Esperance.

Frenchman Peak

Wildflowers on the walking trail

Banksia

Lucky Bay

The amazingly blue water at Lucky Bay

We enjoyed a coffee on the Beach at Lucky Bay, as it is such a beautiful beach and views were spectacular.

Kangaroos on the beach at Lucky Bay 

The kangaroos at Lucky Bay were so friendly and I was able to pat one.  The photos show the kangaroo eating a fish which I was so surprised as I didn't think that they would eat them but seeing is believing!

The kangaroo eating fish!

Ron at Whistling Rock

We drove to Thistle Cove and Whistling Rock which apparently you can hear a whistling sound but unfortunately we didn't hear the sound but think it depends on the wind.

Margaret River orchid

Kangaroo Paw in the wild

Coffee break with a great view

What a great day! 

I must apologise for some of the photos in this post!  Unfortunately there is not an awful beach scene to be  found in this part of Western Australia so I was not able to mess any  photos up!