Post by Kristy
As mentioned in our last blog, the afternoon we arrived in Esperence the weather was absolutely horrible. It was probably the heaviest rain we have come across the entire trip. We had heard from a lot of travellers that Esperence was a 'must see' and that it has some of the nicest beaches in Australia. So as you could imagine we were desperately hoping the weather would fine up so we could see if this place really was all that its talked up the be. Luckily enough the next morning we arose to a beautiful blue sky with hardly a cloud in sight, so we took off the explore the area.
The photos below show some of the beaches along the Esperence coastline.
Esperence definitely deserves the wrap it was given. The beaches are absolutely stunning and the water is probably the clearest we've seen on any mainland beach in Australia so far. Unfortunately it was a bit too cold for us Queenslanders to jump in and have a swim. The fact that a man had been attacked by a great white shark near Esperence only a few days earlier may have also been a large contributing factor in our decision no to go for a dip.
After checking out the beautiful beaches around Esperence our next destination was to be 'Cape Le Grande National Park'. About 10km east of Esperecne is Wylie Bay, from here it is about a 20km beach run to 'Cape Le Grande'.
Wylie Bay! Another stunning beach with clean white sand and crystal clear waters.
The 20km beach run from Wylie Bay to Cape Le Grande wasn't the nicest, being almost completed covered in stinky sea grass.
At the end of the beach from Wylie Bay and Looking towards Mount Le Grande.
The next few photos are some of the beautiful bays in Cape Le Grande NP.
Thistle Cove.
Lucky Bay (above and below).
Hellfire Bay (above and below).
There are only 2 camping areas in the national Park. One is at Cape Le Grande beach (at the southern end of the beach from Wylie bay) and the other at Lucky Bay. We arrived at Lucky Bay camp ground pretty late and were very lucky to snap up the last camp site available.
Road into Lucky Bay.
The camp ground is nestled amongst the trees to the right of the picture above. Lucky Bay itself was stunning and there was a great view to the bay from the camping ground. We only stayed there for one night though, as the camping area was very busy, the sites were small and everyone was crammed in like sardines. So the next morning we were off again and looking for more adventure and a bit more seclusion with 'Cape Arid National Park' our next destination.
Cape Arid National Park is located roughly 45km east of Cape Le Grand. We travelled along the beach east of Cape Le Grande for about 15 Kms before exiting and getting back onto dirt tracks.
Massive piles of sea grass, yet the water still crystal clear.
Eastern side of Dunns Rock.
We didn't get a photo but as we were driving along the beach Tim spotted a pod of dolphins cruising by only a few metres off the beach.
The only track off the beach. Throughout our whole trip this was the first time we've nearly managed to get bogged. Luckily though we were able to drive out without too much hassle.
In between the two national parks we stopped in at Orleans Bay to have a look around. Photos below. There is nothing here other than a caravan park.
From there we were back on the dirt road which soon turned into a muddy dirt track. After driving through a few mud puddles with no issues and no low range, Tim may have become a bit complacent....
This was the second time in the entire trip that we nearly got bogged and this time it was pretty freakin scary. The mud pit behind the car in the photo above, was a lot muddier and deeper than expected. Mid way across we were bogged, the wheels were spinning and we were bogged!!!!! The muddy water was nearly up to the door handles on the drivers side and seeping in through the bottom of the doors and we weren't going anywhere. Uh oh!!!
Neither of us are sure how we managed to get out but somehow the Prado and its sick mud tyres (and Tim) pulled through and saved the day. We needed every bit of everything the car had but managed to drive out just in time, as the car started to slowly fill with muddy water.
Now we were left with a stinky and wet car/home :-(. But very thankful to be out of the bog. The situation could of been a lot worse considering we were pretty remote, with no phone reception and no decent trees near by to hook the winch on to.
I guess luck was on our side this day.
After that close call, and not knowing how bad the rest of the track would be, we made the decision to turn around and take a longer less muddy route into the national park.
Tim checking the depth of the puddles (probably should of done that before we got bogged babe).
After a long day of driving we finally make it to Cape Arid. We drove around the park for an hour or so trying to find a nice spot to camp. We were both starting to wonder whos descision it actually was to go there in the first place as the park was pretty barron and the first few camping areas we visited were pretty ordinary. Then we came across 'Jordnee Creek' and were over the moon to have found such a beautiful place.
Apart from the fact that the beach was closed due to a Great White Shark attack a few days earlier.
If you look closely in the picture above you can see a mother whale and her calf just hanging out in the bay literally 50m from the sand.
So after a tough day driving it was time to sit back, relax and enjoy a bottle of red on this beautiful beach, with not another soul in sight.
And then........
Tim proposed to me!!! I said yes ofcourse. I was over the moon. Tim couldn't have picked a more perfect spot. Considering we nearly didn't even make it into the National Parkit it was a magical ending to a somewhat stressful day.
The happily newly engaged couple lol.
That night it started to rain pretty heavy again and we were worried about the already boggy tracks becoming impassible, so we packed up early and headed north though the park meeting up with the Nullarbor a few hundred kms later. The photos below show parts of the track we took.
Just outside of the NP we came across a couple of fancy looking gates, so I made a small contribution. It would of been rude not too. Lol.
Hooray we are back in the bitumen, just in time for the longest stretch of straight road in Australia. I got the privial of driving this long and boring stretch of road.
Although there are lots of side tracks and plenty to see and do on the Nullarbor, by the time we reached it we were a bit over sightseeing and pretty keen to just get across the border into South Australia, so we stayed on the bitumen for most of it, only stopping at a few places on the way.
Eluca was the first place we had any decent reception since Tim had proposed to me 2 days earlier, so we stopped by this happy little whale for an hour or so and told all our friends and family the good news.
Keeping up with tradition, an S and A for South Australia lol.
We spent nearly 3 1/2 months in Western Australia. It's a massive state and we have loved every bit of it. Some of my personal favourites in WA would have to be the Kimberley's and the Horizontal Falls, Quobba Station, Steep Point, Karijini National Park, Cape Range National Park (Ningaloo), The Southern Forest Region (in particular 'Warren National Park'), and ofcouse Jorndee Creek.
Now to explore South Australia and all it has to offer.
Still on the Nullarbor but we haven't seen any of those prancing camels yet. Lol
One of the greens on the Nullarbor Links Golf Cousre. It is the worlds longest golf course spanning 1365km from Kalgoorlie to Ceduna. This green was at the Nullarbor Roadhouse where we stayed the night.
Once in SA we reached the official "Nullarbor Plain".
The Great Australia Bight. About 1km south of the Nullarbor Roadhouse a dirt track leads right to the edge of the cliffs. It was a great viewing spot and not another soul in sight.
Towards the end of the Nullarbor we took a small detour off the highway to check out a popular surf spot at Cactus Beach.
We came across another spectacular pink lake on the way to the coast.
Cactus Beach above and below.
Then it was back to the Nullarbor.
The town of Ceduna is pretty much the end of the Nullarbor. We stayed here for one night and were instantly amazed at our much cheaper SA is compared to WA.
From Ceduna we followed the coast along the Eyre Penisular, stopping off at a few small fishing towns along the way.
Smokey Bay (above and below).
Beautiful and rugged coast line at Streaky Bay (above and below).
The photos below show a stunning cliff top drive at Elliston. We were so lucky to have such lovely weather on this day.
Next stop Coffin Bay National Park.
Our campsite at Coffin Bay. We had planned to stay a few days but by the morning it was blowing nearly 40 knots head on, so we packed up and hit the road again.
The above photo is of Avoid Point in Coffin Bay National Park.
From Coffin Bay we cruised up the eastern coast of the Erye Penisular until we reached Port Augusta where we spent the night. Driving up the coast the weather was really hot and extremely windy so we didn't bother doing much sight seeing.
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