Esperance & Stokes Inlet
Esperance Bay Holiday Park was our first taste of caravan park camping. In order to see Esperance we had little other choice. We pitched on a postage stamp and instructed the kids not to run through people’s camps. It was a very small and simple caravan park and did the trick for a night.
On the Tanker jetty, Hugh got his first lesson in fishing from a very kind 14 year old fisherwoman from Mackay. Hugh and I got icecream cones at Aurelia’s and Claire cried at the injustice at not getting her own.
We explored the Rotary lookout and called cousin Frances for her special 2nd birthday. On the short and stunning lookout walk we entertained the idea of permanent residence, comparing Esperance with Victor Harbour and Port Elliot and musing on house prices, mean temperatures, schools and travel times to Perth and Adelaide. Our reverie was interrupted by the whip of a baby snake we disturbed on our path. A great day was rounded out with a swim and fish and chips on the beach at West Beach.
In our interactions at the playground we learned that "slippery dip" is an east coast term (here they’re just "slides") and that Claire is very big and able for her age. She appeared Amazonian next to the bird-like Neve who was three months her senior but a good 1/3 smaller. I can also report that Hugh still adopts the identity of nearly every female we encounter. Though in the last couple of weeks he has started taking on male personas as well. Most recently he’s been Oliver the stock-whip wielding 10 year old we met at Benwenerup.
The weather was again closing in on us, threatening 40mm rain over the next two days. So rather than camp at Quagi beach, we just stopped in for lunch then drove 50km further on to Benwenerup Camp in Stokes National Park, which promised better shelter and a camp kitchen.
Des and Tanya greeted us on arrival and on assessment said they'd "put us in site 6". We were a bit taken aback by our lack of choice but more concerned about Tanya's gushing proclamations of love for our two "adorable children". It was certainly the warmest welcome we'd received from any camp hosts. But it turned out site 6 was a winning spot and Tanya's company was a welcom distraction during the three overcast and cold days we were there.
We cooked and ate all of our meals in the camp kitchen, often joined by Frank, a retired local farmer who was pretty much a permanent resident of the camp and seemed to enjoy our company.
We managed the short Stokes Heritage Trail that gave us good views of the inlet and ended amidst the paperbarks that fringed the salty lagoon. We returned to camp where Tanja announced she had Tim Tams for the kids. Hugh was very excited but revealed his innocence when he asked "How do you play Tim Toms Mummy?"
The kids and Matthias got a lesson from Tanya in cooking fried rice while I spent a morning working. And in the afternoon we had our first 4wd experience to Moir Homestead ruins and the isolated Fanny Cove. We were pleased to learn that our, until then untested air compressor does indeed work.
NOTE TO THE READER We have no intention of resettling in Esperance or any other town or city along the way.
