THE BIG TRIP - 2008
AROUND AUSTRALIA 2008
Saturday 29 November – Friday 5 December
Albany – Esperance
Blog 17
We left Albany on a day with clear blue sky with no wind and headed towards Jerramungup and Bremer. Bremer Bay was another of those stops where it was a place that we had heard of on the weather forecast every day in WA for wind warnings so we just had to see it for ourselves.
The countryside was lovely farming land and there were quite a few tree farms on the way. As we arrived at Bremer Bay we were greeted with the now familiar but ever so beautiful azure water with white sands. The beaches were fantastic. It is a funny little place with no real town centre just a general store which includes the liquor store and the post office.
We drove onto the beach that acted as a sandbar blocking the Bremer River from Bremer Bay and walked across to watch the little plovers and the pelicans. We stopped off at Little Boat Harbour and then the Tooleburrup Lookout which gave views of both Bremer Bay and Dillon Bay.
Even though it meant 400km extra driving we were determined to see Wave Rock this trip. We drove from Bremer Bay through Ravensthorpe, stopped at King Lake by the side of the road for lunch and then on to Wave Rock.
We walked to Wave Rock from the caravan park. It was very beautiful but smaller than we all had thought it would be. The colours are caused by microorganisms. The black is caused by lichens on the rock that then dry out after the water falling on the rock has dried out and the red is formed from cyanobacteria. It looks very beautiful. The shape is formed from the rock that is below the earth’s surface being weathered more quickly due to the moisture in the soil than the exposed rock. The soil is eroded away leaving the eroded rock exposed.
From Wave Rock we walked to Hippo’s Yawn which is another granite rock. Along the way there were many signs that explained the flora and the reason for it. Around the base of the rock there are many sheoaks which thrive where there is plenty of water due to the water coming off the rock and along with that water comes growth of lichen and other organisms which promote rich soil formation and hence the trees can thrive. A little further back there are many salmon gums where the soil is poorer and there is less water and then further back the vegetation is more low shrubs. We saw snakes on this walk and were very cautious on the way back.
The following day we went to see Mulka Cave for its aboriginal paintings. The story is that Mulka was the illegitimate son of a man and a woman who were not permitted to marry because they were of the wrong skin. He was born cross eyed and as a result had trouble accurate throwing his spear to catch food. He ended up killing small children and eventually murdered his mother. He fled but was hunted down by elders, killed and left to be eaten by ants as it was said that he didn’t deserve a proper burial. This was to be a warning for anyone else who was considering doing the wrong thing according to aboriginal law.
We then took the walk over the top of the granite outcrop called The Humps and it was a spectacular view from the top.
We stopped in at Hyden to look the fantastic metal sculptures that depicted the story and progression of the town and then the Lace Museum before we drove back to Ravensthorpe.
On the way to Esperance we enjoyed the farmlands with their grain crops and the nickel mine. Esperance is a beautiful little place but it was cold and windy.
We did a little bit of tourist shopping including the Mermaid Leather place which is the only place in Australia that tans fish hides; shark, barramundi, sting ray and many others.
From the Rotary lookout we could see some of the 105 Islands of the Recherche Archipelago, the town of Esperance and the Pink Lake which hasn’t been pink for 2 years due to heavy rains back then.
We decided to do the loop drive east of town to see the beaches, Observation Point and the Pink Lake. Observation Point is where 2 French frigates on a mapping voyage landed to shelter from a storm in 1792. The first ship was L’Esperance and so the bay was named and the archipelago was named after the second ship, Recherche. The weather turned nasty so we just headed home.
We woke up to a beautiful morning with a clear blue sky so we decided to go on the boat ride around the islands and to Woody Island. Even though the water was relatively calm there was still enough of a swell to force me to hold on to the railing.
We stopped to see the New Zealand seals, Australian seals, cormorants, he fed a sea eagle and we watched it swoop to pick up the frozen fish and take it to its nest. We continued on to Woody Island which is the only one of the 105 islands in the Recherche Archipelago which has accommodation on it and is the only island that has any trees, hence the name.
We had a wonderful day exploring Cape Le Grand National Park 55km east of Esperance down along the bay. The weather was good, not too hot so we decided to do the climb of Frenchman Peak first up. This is a huge granite rock and the climb was steep and quite difficult. It took us 1 hour to climb to the top and it was a little scary over the very steep bits but the view and the exhilaration was worth it. From the top we could see Esperance and many of the islands and the magnificent blue waters and white sands. Once we came down we drove to all the beaches in the park; Lucky Bay, Rossiter Bay, Thistle Cove and Le Grand Beach.
Saturday 29 November – Friday 5 December
Albany – Esperance
Blog 17
We left Albany on a day with clear blue sky with no wind and headed towards Jerramungup and Bremer. Bremer Bay was another of those stops where it was a place that we had heard of on the weather forecast every day in WA for wind warnings so we just had to see it for ourselves.
The countryside was lovely farming land and there were quite a few tree farms on the way. As we arrived at Bremer Bay we were greeted with the now familiar but ever so beautiful azure water with white sands. The beaches were fantastic. It is a funny little place with no real town centre just a general store which includes the liquor store and the post office.
We drove onto the beach that acted as a sandbar blocking the Bremer River from Bremer Bay and walked across to watch the little plovers and the pelicans. We stopped off at Little Boat Harbour and then the Tooleburrup Lookout which gave views of both Bremer Bay and Dillon Bay.
Even though it meant 400km extra driving we were determined to see Wave Rock this trip. We drove from Bremer Bay through Ravensthorpe, stopped at King Lake by the side of the road for lunch and then on to Wave Rock.
We walked to Wave Rock from the caravan park. It was very beautiful but smaller than we all had thought it would be. The colours are caused by microorganisms. The black is caused by lichens on the rock that then dry out after the water falling on the rock has dried out and the red is formed from cyanobacteria. It looks very beautiful. The shape is formed from the rock that is below the earth’s surface being weathered more quickly due to the moisture in the soil than the exposed rock. The soil is eroded away leaving the eroded rock exposed.
From Wave Rock we walked to Hippo’s Yawn which is another granite rock. Along the way there were many signs that explained the flora and the reason for it. Around the base of the rock there are many sheoaks which thrive where there is plenty of water due to the water coming off the rock and along with that water comes growth of lichen and other organisms which promote rich soil formation and hence the trees can thrive. A little further back there are many salmon gums where the soil is poorer and there is less water and then further back the vegetation is more low shrubs. We saw snakes on this walk and were very cautious on the way back.
The following day we went to see Mulka Cave for its aboriginal paintings. The story is that Mulka was the illegitimate son of a man and a woman who were not permitted to marry because they were of the wrong skin. He was born cross eyed and as a result had trouble accurate throwing his spear to catch food. He ended up killing small children and eventually murdered his mother. He fled but was hunted down by elders, killed and left to be eaten by ants as it was said that he didn’t deserve a proper burial. This was to be a warning for anyone else who was considering doing the wrong thing according to aboriginal law.
We then took the walk over the top of the granite outcrop called The Humps and it was a spectacular view from the top.
We stopped in at Hyden to look the fantastic metal sculptures that depicted the story and progression of the town and then the Lace Museum before we drove back to Ravensthorpe.
On the way to Esperance we enjoyed the farmlands with their grain crops and the nickel mine. Esperance is a beautiful little place but it was cold and windy.
We did a little bit of tourist shopping including the Mermaid Leather place which is the only place in Australia that tans fish hides; shark, barramundi, sting ray and many others.
From the Rotary lookout we could see some of the 105 Islands of the Recherche Archipelago, the town of Esperance and the Pink Lake which hasn’t been pink for 2 years due to heavy rains back then.
We decided to do the loop drive east of town to see the beaches, Observation Point and the Pink Lake. Observation Point is where 2 French frigates on a mapping voyage landed to shelter from a storm in 1792. The first ship was L’Esperance and so the bay was named and the archipelago was named after the second ship, Recherche. The weather turned nasty so we just headed home.
We woke up to a beautiful morning with a clear blue sky so we decided to go on the boat ride around the islands and to Woody Island. Even though the water was relatively calm there was still enough of a swell to force me to hold on to the railing.
We stopped to see the New Zealand seals, Australian seals, cormorants, he fed a sea eagle and we watched it swoop to pick up the frozen fish and take it to its nest. We continued on to Woody Island which is the only one of the 105 islands in the Recherche Archipelago which has accommodation on it and is the only island that has any trees, hence the name.
We had a wonderful day exploring Cape Le Grand National Park 55km east of Esperance down along the bay. The weather was good, not too hot so we decided to do the climb of Frenchman Peak first up. This is a huge granite rock and the climb was steep and quite difficult. It took us 1 hour to climb to the top and it was a little scary over the very steep bits but the view and the exhilaration was worth it. From the top we could see Esperance and many of the islands and the magnificent blue waters and white sands. Once we came down we drove to all the beaches in the park; Lucky Bay, Rossiter Bay, Thistle Cove and Le Grand Beach.
posted by Mike and Carol at
11:35 AM
