Day 19 - Monday 16 January - Esperance

DAY 19

MONDAY

16 January 2017 – Cairns 80 - Wildcats 78. Bugger

Esperance

Well that was certainly a better nights sleep.  The air con was needed and this helped drown out the noise of the caravan park. Feeling refreshed and Paul a little brighter, we headed out for a walk along the foreshore. We had wanted to walk up the lookout tower, but like the jetty, was under repair. So we had to stick to the redeveloped frontage.

It was quite grey and overcast this morning, such a difference to the weather of yesterday. Once back at the van Paul had a rest while I attempted to use the park wifi. Don’t know why I bothered, a 2 min task was taking 30min. 

Paul was ready to head out by the time I had given up. The car was packed and we made our way to Windabout Lake where he could throw a line in and try to catch bream. We set up on the edge of the lake. I took photos while he gave his bait to the little fish and weeds. The wind started to come in so we packed up heading to Bandy Creek Harbour instead.

There were some people fishing of the jetty, Paul did the usual “Catching anything?” and then decided to join them. The only successful fisherman was the same seal from last night. He pulled a crab off some kid’s line which made it snap, he then surfaced to show us his bright red catch before making off with it. He certainly has worked out how to get an easy feed.

I walked along the beach. It was blowy and cold. When I returned Paul had packed up and we made our way to the picnic area on the other side of the harbour to have our lunch.

We were glad to get back to the van for some respite from the wind and cold, though we didn’t hang around for long. We drove back in to town and did a walk around the centre, before going to the jetty to check on what was being caught. Our next stop was the Pier Hotel to see if they had Foxtell, but no go. We thought about Maccas, but couldn’t stomach sitting in there for 2 hours, then Paul remembered seeing a sports bar not far from the caravan park, so we made our way there instead. It was a bit of a dive, but they were happy to accommodate our request for the Wildcats game. We set ourselves up at the bar with our drinks and chips and settled in for the two hours.

The game, unfortunately, didn’t go the way we were hoping for, with a 2 point loss to Cairns. Guess we will have to turn it around when we meet again on Saturday in Perth.

With the game finished it was time to find dinner. We drove back into the centre of town and picked up a kebab, which we took with us to the Rotary Lookout to peer out over Esperance town, the rugged coastline to the West and the islands dotting the coastline.

We followed the Great Ocean Drive as the sun began to set. We stopped at West Beach and Twilight Beach for photos of both spots, as the sun left pink stains on the clouds gathering ominously above. It was just divine, despite the biting wind. I look forward to coming back and checking this area out again sometime.

The road does a loop, becoming Pink Lake Road and returning to the centre of town and for us, back to the caravan park, where it was quieter, as our neighbours had taken their noisy kids and gone and the light drizzle was keeping the others in close quarters.