Esperance

Esperance. The beaches. The Great Ocean Drive. The vibe. The cafes and the festivals. We heard so much about this town and the abundance of beautiful places to visit. From endless beaches along a pristine coastline with white sands and crystal clear turquoise waters, Esperance would seem to have it all.

And it has. But …

Across from our campsite and along The Esplanade

Our visit was ill-timed. The world had been hijacked by COVID-19 and campgrounds, facilities and services were closing before we fully understood what was happening. Everything was off centre. This wasn’t supposed to happen. This was to have been a trip of a lifetime (and we hope it still may be); a bucket list item. And there we were in the middle of a world crisis, scrambling for somewhere to call home for however long it took for the world to right itself. I find myself wondering if it will ever be “right” like we know it: but that may be a good thing too.

But, we did find a campground still taking travellers and we booked for three nights. If we wanted to extend beyond the three nights it would be for a minimum of a month, in line with state regulations that people stop travelling and remain stationary.

Across to the tanker jetty

Our plan to stay for a few weeks crumbled with the closure of National Parks, restaurants and the restrictions placed on the older population – that’s us. The things we’d looked forward to seeing and doing were no longer possible and even being at the beach had its restrictions.

Autumn would have been the perfect time to visit National Parks and take advantage of bush walking trails. Certainly the weather was still warm and being able to eat our evening meal outside was a treat as there were no flies. Good on you Esperance, I will remember you for a number of reasons and no flies will be one of them.

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  Norfolk pines along The Esplanade

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  From Rotary Lookout to the Islands

While it was warm enough, it was overcast two of the three days. When the sun emerged on the third day we headed to the beach to get a taste of what Esperance could be like during the best of times.

As promised, the water was translucent and turquoise but the surface stillness hid dangerous rips which limited our swims to shallower waters. We had been chasing the sand, sea and sun for what seemed like months and for that one afternoon all was well with our world.

West Beach, Esperance. Our happy place for an afternoon.

It was simultaneously therapeutic, invigorating and restorative. We forgot the turmoil of the world and returned to camp, refreshed and ready to face some big decisions about where to spend the next month.

Do we stay here in Esperance or do we move on.

Gratitude Moments:

• To be able to splash in the sea and bask in the sun
• Evening meals outdoors
• Good camping neighbours

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2020 is the eleventh year in which thousands of bloggers participate in the A to Z Blog Challenge during April. I am combining this post as part of that challenge and a continuation of recording the 2nd Stage of our Oz Road Trip.