Esperance to Cape Leeuwin
Esperance is a delightful little port and one of our aims was to go on the MacKenzie Wildlife Boat cruise. Don MacKenzie (now 92 and still going strong) had a lot to do with the development of Esperance and the preservation of the 105 islands in the archipaeligo Only 5 are able to be visited and one – Woody Island – has eco camping facilities. The weather was ideal so we joined a group on the catamaran. One of the TV stations was filming a commercial for the cruise so we became “stars for a day”, being filmed boarding the boat and then the photographer went up in the helicopter to film the trip. The catamaran was able to nose in very close to the islands and we saw colonies of sea lions, NZ fur seals, a herd of goats, and many different birds, including some sea eagles which came out to the boat to receive the daily feed of fish. A couple of minutes out of Esperance we saw pod of dolphins close to one of the beaches. We were a little early to see the whales which come into the bay from June to October. Landed on Woody Island for morning tea and Heinz went off in the glass bottomed boat while I went on a short bush walk up to the top of the island. Topped off the day with a scenic drive around the headland, which passed by the large wind farm and to see many more bays from scenic lookouts.
The next day we drove out into the Cape Le Grand National Park which houses many beautiful bays, the main one being Lucky Bay, so named by Matthew Flinders on his voyage around Australia in the “Investigator” after he sheltered there after a severe storm. Nearby Thistle Cove was also named after one of his officers. We were able to drive onto the beach at Lucky Bay and set up a picnic. The sand is so white and the water is turquoise. Perfect weather and at one stage there were only the two of us on the beach having lunch watching two seagulls squabble . A young couple came by and said “it must be great to be retired”! They also told us that a stay in Bremer Bay was a “must” so we took their advice and headed off to Bremer Bay the next day on our way to Albany.
Bremer Bay and adjoining bays were very special and we visited some of the bays on the west in the afternoon. Decided it would be a good place to have a glass of wine and watch the sun go down, but it happened so quickly we almost missed it! Still enjoyed the glass of wine just as the sun set. The bays on the east were best in the morning so went down to the boat harbour after we checked out of our chalet. The water was so clear that you could see dozens of yellow tail and some other fish at the jetty. Many salmon had been caught the day before but we didn’t see any that morning. There is also a huge abalone operation out of Bremer Bay. We were able to take the car onto the beach at Bremer Bay and set up our awning (attached to the roof rack) for the first time. It is so peaceful having a picnic on the beach with no one in sight! Weather was around 22 deg C and fine.
From Bremer Bay we travelled to Albany, calling in to Cheynes Beach on the way, and arriving at our Big 4 cabin just in time to have a walk on the beach. Next day we went down to Frenchman Bay to visit the former Cheynes Beach Whaling Station. The former station is a museum showing just how the operation worked, from the former whaling boat Cheynes IV, the flensing deck , pump houses and the giant whale oil tanks and other buildings housing exhibits. The staff worked under very tough and dangerous conditions, particularly on the flensing deck, and no insurance company would cover them for workers’ compensation.
While there we noticed the Russian sailing ship “Ajibie Hapyca” sailed by Fedor Konyukhov an adventurer, who had just completed the inaugural solo circumnavigation of the Antarctic, heading for Albany port. The “Antarctic Cup” will be a yearly event. Later that day we headed for the wharf and to our surprise we were able to go on board. The yacht is 35 metres long and made of titanium. It was very well fitted out but very sparse for racing conditions. The Skipper, (who when we saw him interviewed on TV) just looked like Rasputin) is a real adventurer, having climbed Everest , skied solo to both north and south poles, rowed solo across the Atlantic, and sailed another boat solo twice around the world non stop. He left Albany on Australia Day and had been at sea for 102 days on two hour watches.
From Albany we pushed on to Coalmine Beach, which is very close to the giant tree walk near Walpole. The walk amongst the giant trees is some 40 metres above the ground at the peak and quite awesome. Certainly worth a visit, even if it was a bit drizzly. Our hosts put on a free fish bbq in the evening and it was attended by some 30 or so people. Everyone you talk to has some interesting advice on what to see and do if you wish to take the suggestions on board. Had an easy day the next day just visiting Mandalay Beach, so named after a Norwegian ship “The Mandalay” beached itself in a severe storm in 1911. The crew managed to get quite a lot off the ship before it broke up, but were five days before they were rescued after a couple of the crew went inland and were found by a pastoralist at Tinglewood.
While at Coalmine Beach we heard of the surfer who was attacked by a shark at Middleton Beach in Albany. We had stayed at the tourist park there so glad we didn’t venture in for a swim? Latest news was the beach was still closed with sharks in the area.
It was a bit drizzly as we headed for Hammelin Bay via Pemberton where we visited the giant “Gloucester Tree”. You can climb the tree to the lookout some 60 metres above the ground, but with drizzly weather and just rods stuck into the side we decided to leave it to the younger generation! Had our heaviest rain while lunching at Pemberton and then drove on through some very pretty forests to our overnight stay at Hammelin Bay, which is just north of Cape Leeuwin, which we visited the next day – and so we arrived at the Indian Ocean, having travelled over 5000 km since we left Sydney.
Esperance is a delightful little port and one of our aims was to go on the MacKenzie Wildlife Boat cruise. Don MacKenzie (now 92 and still going strong) had a lot to do with the development of Esperance and the preservation of the 105 islands in the archipaeligo Only 5 are able to be visited and one – Woody Island – has eco camping facilities. The weather was ideal so we joined a group on the catamaran. One of the TV stations was filming a commercial for the cruise so we became “stars for a day”, being filmed boarding the boat and then the photographer went up in the helicopter to film the trip. The catamaran was able to nose in very close to the islands and we saw colonies of sea lions, NZ fur seals, a herd of goats, and many different birds, including some sea eagles which came out to the boat to receive the daily feed of fish. A couple of minutes out of Esperance we saw pod of dolphins close to one of the beaches. We were a little early to see the whales which come into the bay from June to October. Landed on Woody Island for morning tea and Heinz went off in the glass bottomed boat while I went on a short bush walk up to the top of the island. Topped off the day with a scenic drive around the headland, which passed by the large wind farm and to see many more bays from scenic lookouts.
The next day we drove out into the Cape Le Grand National Park which houses many beautiful bays, the main one being Lucky Bay, so named by Matthew Flinders on his voyage around Australia in the “Investigator” after he sheltered there after a severe storm. Nearby Thistle Cove was also named after one of his officers. We were able to drive onto the beach at Lucky Bay and set up a picnic. The sand is so white and the water is turquoise. Perfect weather and at one stage there were only the two of us on the beach having lunch watching two seagulls squabble . A young couple came by and said “it must be great to be retired”! They also told us that a stay in Bremer Bay was a “must” so we took their advice and headed off to Bremer Bay the next day on our way to Albany.
Bremer Bay and adjoining bays were very special and we visited some of the bays on the west in the afternoon. Decided it would be a good place to have a glass of wine and watch the sun go down, but it happened so quickly we almost missed it! Still enjoyed the glass of wine just as the sun set. The bays on the east were best in the morning so went down to the boat harbour after we checked out of our chalet. The water was so clear that you could see dozens of yellow tail and some other fish at the jetty. Many salmon had been caught the day before but we didn’t see any that morning. There is also a huge abalone operation out of Bremer Bay. We were able to take the car onto the beach at Bremer Bay and set up our awning (attached to the roof rack) for the first time. It is so peaceful having a picnic on the beach with no one in sight! Weather was around 22 deg C and fine.
From Bremer Bay we travelled to Albany, calling in to Cheynes Beach on the way, and arriving at our Big 4 cabin just in time to have a walk on the beach. Next day we went down to Frenchman Bay to visit the former Cheynes Beach Whaling Station. The former station is a museum showing just how the operation worked, from the former whaling boat Cheynes IV, the flensing deck , pump houses and the giant whale oil tanks and other buildings housing exhibits. The staff worked under very tough and dangerous conditions, particularly on the flensing deck, and no insurance company would cover them for workers’ compensation.
While there we noticed the Russian sailing ship “Ajibie Hapyca” sailed by Fedor Konyukhov an adventurer, who had just completed the inaugural solo circumnavigation of the Antarctic, heading for Albany port. The “Antarctic Cup” will be a yearly event. Later that day we headed for the wharf and to our surprise we were able to go on board. The yacht is 35 metres long and made of titanium. It was very well fitted out but very sparse for racing conditions. The Skipper, (who when we saw him interviewed on TV) just looked like Rasputin) is a real adventurer, having climbed Everest , skied solo to both north and south poles, rowed solo across the Atlantic, and sailed another boat solo twice around the world non stop. He left Albany on Australia Day and had been at sea for 102 days on two hour watches.
From Albany we pushed on to Coalmine Beach, which is very close to the giant tree walk near Walpole. The walk amongst the giant trees is some 40 metres above the ground at the peak and quite awesome. Certainly worth a visit, even if it was a bit drizzly. Our hosts put on a free fish bbq in the evening and it was attended by some 30 or so people. Everyone you talk to has some interesting advice on what to see and do if you wish to take the suggestions on board. Had an easy day the next day just visiting Mandalay Beach, so named after a Norwegian ship “The Mandalay” beached itself in a severe storm in 1911. The crew managed to get quite a lot off the ship before it broke up, but were five days before they were rescued after a couple of the crew went inland and were found by a pastoralist at Tinglewood.
While at Coalmine Beach we heard of the surfer who was attacked by a shark at Middleton Beach in Albany. We had stayed at the tourist park there so glad we didn’t venture in for a swim? Latest news was the beach was still closed with sharks in the area.
It was a bit drizzly as we headed for Hammelin Bay via Pemberton where we visited the giant “Gloucester Tree”. You can climb the tree to the lookout some 60 metres above the ground, but with drizzly weather and just rods stuck into the side we decided to leave it to the younger generation! Had our heaviest rain while lunching at Pemberton and then drove on through some very pretty forests to our overnight stay at Hammelin Bay, which is just north of Cape Leeuwin, which we visited the next day – and so we arrived at the Indian Ocean, having travelled over 5000 km since we left Sydney.
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