Week seventeen:  Esperance and Kalgoorlie

Since up near Kalbarri, Tony has had his eye on the gorgeous yellow fields of Canola flowers.  On the drive from Bremer Bay he spotted the perfect opportunity:  a little road leading to a section of field combined with a magnificent cloudy sky...it was Charlie's 5th birthday the next day, and his favourite colour is yellow, so we convinced him to allow us to take a 'birthday portrait' or two.  He wasn't exactly that cooperative, but the result (both on iPhone and Nikon) were worth the hassle.  It pays to have your eyes peeled for photo opportunities, even when driving, it seems!



Our almost five year old :)

We arrived in Esperance in good weather...this was not to last so we made a beeline for the groceries and got some washing done.  I had asked at check-in:  what is the weather going to be like here in the next few days?  The answer: well, in Esperance in Winter you can look out the window and see blue skies, then look out again five minutes later and see pouring rain.  This proved to be exactly the case for the next two days. 



 We had allowed for it to be raining on Charlie's birthday, and hadn't made any big plans for the day.  This proved to be a good strategy as the boys were content to play with all of the new toys and take birthday phone calls, which was a very lovely way to spend a birthday morning.  We did manage to head out for a little while and visit Sammy the resident sea-lion at Tanker St jetty and to explore the AMAZING (probably the best we have seen on the trip) Museum.  Such a broad range of items collected there from all areas of past life, domestic and rural, and not to forget the amazing amount of pieces from the NASA Skylab space station that fell to Earth and crashed near Esperance and Belladonia.  Seeing the impact on the equipment of coming through the Earth's atmosphere was quite interesting.   



The cute and clever Sammy the Sea-lion...waits around
 for the fisherman to clean their fish, and scores!




Parts of the Skylab on display at the Esperance Museum.

 So Charlie had a fairly quiet birthday, but that was fine by him...he declared it to be the 'best birthday ever' so we must have done something right!

The next day started out okay and we set out on the Great Ocean Drive, which takes you west past some of the beautiful, beautiful beaches Esperance has to offer.  About 10 minutes into our drive though, it began absolutely pouring down rain.  Never mind, we knew the weather was expected to get better so we perservered.  We headed east to Cape le Grande National Park, where the clouds weren't so heavy.  At last, to be standing on the beautiful beach at Lucky Bay: what a happy moment!  Actually, we found this beach to be not as white and pristine as other beaches in the National Park, like Hellfire Bay, for instance.  But that was more likely a reflection of the recent weather. 

Lucky Bay, Cape le Grande National Park.

Hellfire Bay, Cape le Grande National Park.

 We enjoyed a wonderful picnic lunch followed by a gorgeous walk along a path making it's way up the hill towards Thistle Cove.  This was a very beautiful walk and had magnificent views...but you know what?  A crazy thing happened before we left on the walk:  neither Tony nor I thought to grab a camera!!  Unbelievable I know, but true!  We enjoyed Cape le Grande National Park immensely and look forward to returning in finer weather, and will camp in some of the great spots available right near the beach. 

On the way back into Esperance, we turned off in order to find Wylie's Sand Dunes...we found them and the boys had a wonderful time rolling down them while Tony went beserk taking lots of beautiful photos...you'll just have to wonder what they look like as he is saving them for another day.  We had a powerful combination of moody grey clouds and the late afternoon sun breaking through and bathing all in golden light.  Gorgeous! 



An approved for publishing photo of the dunes...




Last little rays of light, quick, get a portrait or two!!




Charlie still not happy about having yet another photo taken of him!
(I'm gripping his hand pretty tightly here)
A funny moment captured forever!



Friday dawned and it was a cracker of a beautiful day.  This was the day we had booked a boat cruise with Esperance Island Cruises.  And what a day it was!  Great commentary on the boat from the Skipper Peter, ably assisted by his very lovely colleague Tanya.  Peter had noticed a pod of dolphins playing on his way to work that morning, so he took us around to that beach to see if they were still there...and they were, oh yes they were.  Truly an absolute highlight of our trip was witnessing the spectacle of these magnificent animals in all their glory, set in the beautiful crystal blue waters of Esperance. The photos just cannot do them justice, but hopefully give you an idea of the delightful scene every single one of us on that boat was able to marvel at.  They jumped, swam upside down racing the boat, dived, cavorted...it was wonderful!

But this was not the end of the wildlife to be seen on this trip.  Peter and Tanya took us around some of the islands in the Archipelago and showed us seals and plenty of birdlife.  We finally arrived at Woody Island for a lovely walk and commentary on the flora, fauna and history of the island. It was a really great trip and we are really glad we went on another boat cruise.  They have all been worthwhile; a great way to see an area.

Below are photos of a Sea Eagle who comes in to grab a fish thrown by Tanya.  They are such a clever and magnificent bird.  

  

Saturday was haircuts for the boys and a last look at the gorgeous white sand and blue sea that can be seen all along the Esperance coastline.  We found a really great lookout with a walk, and as the great weather was continuing we enjoyed another walk along the coastline for on Sunday we were to head to Kalgoorlie and away from the beautiful sea that we had been spending so much time beside in recent weeks.  The water has had a powerful effect on Matt particularly - we have been having lots of role play: he 'swims' on the caravan floor, his bed is a boat and he is often running around being a dolphin or a shark.  Oh, to be a 3 year old! 



Bye bye beautiful ocean...see you in a week or so!!

So, it was up early on Sunday and off to Kalgoorlie.  Tony and Charlie did the Super Pit Tour on Monday morning.  Matt and I had some quality time in the local Library.  You are required to sit still for 2 and a half hours to do the Super Pit Tour: Mission Impossible for our Matthew! 



Safety gear...sooo attractive!!

In the afternoon we checked out the Museum, which was quite interesting, especially The Vault with it's real gold nuggets!  Then we checked out the Lookout atop the Super Pit.  The newly knowledgeable Tony was able to inform me that the Pit is approximately 520 metres deep!  The constantly working trucks look so tiny as they climb their way back up to the top.


We spent a day taking a day trip out to Menzies and on to Lake Ballard.  This is an eerie salt lake with one of the prettiest hills I've ever seen in the middle of it...and 51 sculptures representing the townsfolk of Menzies.  It was impossible to see all the sculptures as they are quite scattered and the boys and I found the mud quite challenging and slippery.  But what we saw allowed us to have some important conversations about human anatomy, so there was a bonus!




He's facing away as we are left in no doubt that this is a male!

 We have had great neighbours here at Kalgoorlie.  Jan and Ken are into fossicking, mostly with metal detectors, and showed us some of their finds from this year.  Their stories were quite fascinating and of course, there is the gold!!


There's gold in them thar rocks!!




Some of their finds from this year.

And of course, we have caught up with our friends Sue and Peter and their gorgeous dog, Jake.  We will make our way across the Nullarbor together.  Sue and Pete offered to look after the boys so we could go on the Brothel Tour...well, we couldn't pass up that opportunity!  So, off we went...


The Pink House...with the 'Starting Stalls' (the darker pink doors).

 This was a great way to hear more about the coloured history of Kalgoorlie, as this brothel has been around for about 100 years.  The collagen-lipped, plum in the mouth Madam told us tales of the brothel's history then took us on a tour of the rooms...as this is a G Rated Blog I will be careful not to expose too many details...

The Starting Stall:  where the lady awaits her customers
and where the deal is struck in relative privacy...
then it's onto the rooms...



The only room left with the original ceiling: pressed tin brought from overseas.
Any of you wishing to see more photos will have to ask me later!

   

Tomorrow we embark on the trip across the Nullarbor...it will be very interesting to see what this most talked about of journeys is all about!  See you on the other side.