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MINI GUIDE TO ESPERANCE
Beautiful beaches, remote national parks and untouched islands? Look no further
STORY & IMAGES: COURTESY OF TOURISM WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Esperance has a country charm, beautiful secluded beaches, a gateway to the Cape Le Grand National Park, and beyond to Cape Arid. It's a one-anda-half-hour flight or an eight-hour drive southeast from Perth, making Esperance an ideal weekender or short getaway.
Here, our favourite must-dos.
CAPE LE GRAND NATIONAL PARK
Cape Le Grand National Park can be accessed for day trips from Esperance, or pitch up for a few nights. The Coastal Trail works its way along the coast from Le Grand Beach, where you’ll find a popular Department of Parks And Wildlife campsite (with few pitches, be sure to book ahead), then on to Rossiter Bay. This 15km walk takes around nine hours. With varying degrees of difficulty it can be broken into sections taking in Hellfire Bay, Thistle Cove and Lucky Bay (where you’ll also find an ocean-side campsite).
While walking the trail in a day holds appeal for experienced hikers, breaking it up is a good option for those with more leisurely aspirations: spend a morning hiking, then an afternoon on the sand at Lucky Bay where kangaroos, drawn by the freshwater streams, run across the sands – believed to be Australia’s whitest, by the way.
Kangaroos at Lucky Bay, Cape Le Grand National Park
CAPE ARID NATIONAL PARK
Given much of the area is only accessible by 4WD – it’s safe to say Cape Arid National Park rewards those who go the extra distance.
The park is a wildly beautiful and biodiverse area: coastal sandheaths, mallee and low granite hills extend inland to Mount Ragged, after which the vegetation is transformed into woodlands dominated by saltbush and bluebush. The jagged Russell Range, which rises to its highest point at Tower Peak (almost 600m), comprises ancient uplifted quartzite that has the same origins as the Barrens Range in Fitzgerald River National Park.
Woody Island
Taking in Lucky Bay
RECHERCHÉ ARCHIPELAGO
The Recherché Archipelago, known by the locals as the Bay of Isles, is made of 105 islands and is pristine wilderness at its best.
Middle Island is the site of Lake Hillier, a saline lake coloured bubblegum pink. Inaccessible by land, take a stunning aerial tour; the pink contrasting against the blue ocean, white beaches and verdant bushland. The pink lake isn’t the only draw. A flight uncoves the scale and natural beauty of the region, with remote beaches and coves, and in season scanning the ocean for migrating whales.
Woody Island is perfect for nature lovers. There's plenty of native bush, stunning lagoons for swimming and snorkelling and a variety of wildlife including bandicoots and wallabies. The island is open for camping and offers excellent facilities which range from basic camp sites to safari huts with views over the bush to Shearwater Bay.
Visiting the Hamersley Dunes at Fitzgerald River National Park
Woody Island
Lucky Bay, Cape Le Grand National Park
Aerial view of Hellfire Bay
DINING
Esperance has, in recent years, started to cultivate quite the food scene. Taylor Street Quarters boasts a prime harbourside spot where chefowner Dean Wood has created one of the region’s favourite eateries. A casual menu is in full flow in the daytime, while evening sees Wood raise the culinary stakes.
Fish Face does a brisk trade on takeaway fish and chips but be sure to book a table for the busy restaurant. Grilled, battered or crumbed, the chefs here are working with predominantly local fish: samson, queen snapper, gummy, nannygai, ling and trevally. Also check out the daily specials board, for classic surf and turf, and more.
Downtown Espresso, with its whitewashed walls and contemporary design is a place you’d expect to find in one of Perth’s trendy inner suburbs. Expect to find single origin beans, housemade cold brew, Kono pour over and Aeropress alongside the espresso.
Travel around the Golden Outback region from Esperance to Kalgoorlie and you’ll find Lucky Bay Brewing Co. on tap and in cans. Head for the source where Nigel Metz, a grain researcher turned brewer, uses local wheat and barley, raw, in his brews; an unusual move, but one that’s got beer lovers talking for all the right reasons.
Hellfire Bay
Aerial view of Lake Hillier, Middle Island
MAIN IMAGE: Cape Arid National Park
