Travel
A long weekend in Esperance
Experience other-worldly natural beauty and crystal blue beaches in Esperance.
By Seana Smith
I knew that Esperance was one of Australia’s most beautiful places; we’ve all seen photos and videos of blinding white beaches and bright blue seas. But being there in real life looking at the ocean, the islands and the beaches, it was still a stupendous shock: they are literally breathtaking, almost otherworldly in their beauty. I was rendered speechless, and that doesn’t happen often.
And how lucky was I to have an old school friend to be my guide during my long weekend in Esperance? I was given an insider’s tour of both the town and of the spectacular national park Cape Le Grand.
The town of Esperance is just over 700 km southeast of Perth, 390 km south of Kalgoorlie. The indigenous name is Kepa Kurl which means ‘where the waters lie like a boomerang’ in the Nyoongar language. The Wudjari Nongar and Ngadju peoples are the traditional custodians of this land.
For those planning a trip, the visitor centre is a great place to start.
If rolling hills and wineries are more your speed for a weekend away, try the Hunter Valley.
Esperance Visitor Centre
Address: Corner of Dempster St & Kemp St, Esperance
Find maps, advice on tours, accommodation and attractions here. The website is an excellent place to use as you start to plan your visit.
Visit Esperance website is here.
My school friend, who emigrated from Scotland to a farm near Esperance over 20 years ago, started our sightseeing with a drive along the stunning beaches to the west of town. We visited West Beach and the Rotary Lookout on the bluff above the town then we drove on past Second Beach and Fourth Beach to Twilight Beach where we had a stop to enjoy the views over the huge rocks which protect this beach and make it suitable for swimmers and families.
There is a walking and cycling track along this route too, the Great Ocean Pathway which is 7 km one way from West Beach to Twilight Beach, and is an easy walk.
The Great Ocean Drive is a 40 km loop which passes these beaches and many other interesting places inland. You can find an online map and brochure for it here: Great Ocean Drive.
Things to do in Esperance
Next my friend took me back into town for a drive along the long Esplanade foreshore. This is an excellent place to walk past some beautiful homes, with wonderful views of the Recherche Islands out to sea. There are parks with play areas for children, and several information boards which explain the story of this town and its port.
I enjoyed looking at the towering Whale Tail sculpture and then had a swim at the enclosed swimming area at James Street Jetty Beach. There is a 50 m lap swimming area, also good fun for diving from, plus plenty of space to play within this shark netted section of the beach.
The Esperance Growers Market is held at the Scout Hall on the Esplanade every second Saturday in the morning and is the best place to find the freshest food grown around Esperance. Check dates on the Facebook page here.
Next we had a look around the Museum Village, close to the Visitor Centre. The Museum Village is a very pretty group of historic building which have been relocated from various sites to their home on the site of the old railway marshalling yards.
Here you will find some delightful boutique shops. The Museum Village Markets are held on the village green every second Sunday. Keep up to date by looking at the Markets’ Facebook page here.
Address: Dempster Street Museum Village, Esperance,
Take a look at the house at 155 Dempster Street, the Dempster Homestead, which was the first house to be built in town by this early pioneering family. The house is privately owned and cannot be visited but is well worth a look from the outside.
Esperance Museum
Address: 6 James Street, Esperance
Located in the old goods shed of the railway, Esperance Museum has interesting collections from the early pioneering days which started around the 1860s. You’ll find information on many historic homesteads in the area. On display are farm machinery, historical maritime exhibits and a more modern display about NASA’s Skylab which came to earth north of Esperance in 1979.
Do check the website for opening times when you plan a visit as the museum is not open every day.
History buffs will love these 12 best historical sites in Australia.
Cape Le Grand National Park
My second day of sightseeing saw my friend and I packing a picnic and driving 60 km to the east to visit Cape Le Grand National Park. Weathered and rugged, the land here is all scrub, heath and granite with the harshness of the land offset by the sparkling turquoise and azure sea and the glittering white of the quartz beaches.
Rising high is Frenchman Peak with its remarkable cave at the top. There is a trail which leads to the summit via the east slope, just a 3 km return walk, but it is steep in places. From the top you are rewarded with sweeping views over the coastline and the Recherche Archipelago.
The Cape Le Grand Coastal Trail runs for 17 km one way and is often done as a two-day walk or in four short sections. Running between Le Grand Beach and Rossiter Bay, the trail leads from beautiful bay to even more beautiful bay with many opportunities to stop and swim. We did not walk this trail ourselves but ventured along some short sections of it. It would be a magnificent walk to do next time.
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We did walk, however, on the squeaky white sand at my friend’s favourite beach at Hellfire Bay. The waves were pounding in, living up to its name and we did not swim there, instead heading round to the more sheltered Lucky Bay.
Lucky Bay is famous for having kangaroo visitors who like to hop about on the beach, and as a place where people can drive their 4WD vehicles onto the hard sand of the beach and set up camp. Here we had a swim in the clear sea of the most startling blue. This really was a special swim for me, a bucket list dip ticked off, and one I plan to tick off again for sure.
We were also very lucky to find a mobile café on the beach at Lucky Bay, so we could have a coffee with our picnic lunch. Life’s small luxuries!
Best places to grab a bite
Talking of food, here are two excellent eateries that I can highly recommend:
Bistro Louis
Address: 54 Dempster Street, Esperance
Phone: 0424 541 611
A restaurant with French flair, Bistro Louis has a café menu for breakfast and lunch and then a haute cuisine dinner menu for evenings. There is indoor and outdoor seating, an excellent selection of French and Australian wines, beers, cocktails, and a welcome alcohol-free drinks menu too.
Bistro Louis does get very busy so bookings are advised.
The Quarters
Address: Taylor Street Jetty, Esperance WA
Phone: 0457 232 039
At the end of The Esplanade and close to the harbour, The Quarters is a large, family-run café/restaurant with lovely views from the outdoor tables. The inside is very cool too, the old wooden building used to be a hospital. With delightful décor, this is a lovely spot for a relaxed lunch, as I found out.
Check the website for current opening days and hours.
What else is nearby?
Mudjar Aboriginal Corporation
Address: 4 Woods Street, Esperance
Mudjar Aboriginal Corporation website.
Find local artworks and craft at the Gallery within the Mudjar Aboriginal Corporation and find the Cultural Gardens
Check the website for current opening times.
Read 9 awe-inspiring First Nations experiences
Cannery Arts Centre
Address: Norseman Road, Esperance
Cannery Arts Centre website is here.
On the outskirts of town, the Cannery Arts Centre (and yes, it used to be a fish canning factory) is Esperance’s community arts centre where you will find exhibitions, workshops and art works for sale.
The Cannery Arts centre is open from Tuesday to Friday 10am to 4 pm and on Saturdays from 12 pm to 4 pm.
Cindy Poole (Glass Artist)
Address: 23 Longbotton Lane, Esperance
Open Monday to Friday from 1 pm to 4 pm
Just a five-minute drive out of town brings you to the gallery and studio of Cindy Poole, a renowned glass artist. Learn about her work with kiln-fired glass, using recycled glass bottled in this exhibition and retail space.
Mermaid Leather
Address: 6 Woods Street, Chadwick
This is a unique workshop and shop in the northern part of Esperance, where fish and shark leather is created and then made into a wide variety of useful and decorative objects. Check the website or call for opening hours.
Esperance Stonehenge
Address: 817 Merivale Road, Esperance
Drive 18 km out of town along the Merivale Road and you will find a little piece of ancient Britain replicated. This is, in fact, the only full-size natural stone replica of Stonehenge in the world. 137 pink granite stones were quarried locally and fitted together to recreate what Stonehenge would have looked like around 4000 years ago.
Tours available from Esperance include:
Woody Island Eco Tours – for visits to Woody Island in the Recherche Archipelago
Esperance Island Cruises – see pink Lake Hillier on Middle Island, plus amazing wildlife
Esperance Diving and Fishing – for shore and wreck diving and fishing
Black Jack Charters – for fishing
Fly Esperance – scenic flights over the pink lakes
So, you can see that there is plenty to do in Esperance, much more than can be done in one long weekend. So I must return! And I shall, ideally on a long road trip.
And I am sure that I will be looking at my photos many times before then, but once again will find that the real thing is just so, so much more stunning.
Feature image: Twilight Beach, Esperance. Image courtesy of Seana Smith
Tell us in the comments: Have you ever visited a place that left you completely speechless?
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