Observations from the Bottom of Australia

Greetings from Esperance!

Looking back, Esperance was both a happy accident and an inevitability. Given the nature of our travelling style, we needed to find a viable pit stop once we left the Nullarbor, somewhere we could set up base for at least one week, to live and work. We already had to take a day off work to cross over from SA to WA and ~2,100km later, Esperance was the first habitable city we encountered (with a population of a whopping 10,200).

Given the lack of other viable options, we defaulted to Esperance with very little research on the place. We knew we needed a home and past finding a suitable Airbnb that was close to (what looked like) the town, there wasn’t much else to know.

I’ll never forget my first true encounter with Esperance’s and WA’s wondrous coastline. We arrived late on Sunday and were straight back to work the following day. Blessed with blue skies, I finished work for the afternoon (nice & early thanks to the 2-hour time difference! - more on this later), and went for a run. Imagine first my dismay - the huge hill ahead of me - and then my delight and surprise, when I discovered the view at the top of said hill: looking down at the stunning turquoise beaches surrounding our little home.

This is how little we knew about our surroundings - I literally snapped a photo of the view, and once home after the run (enjoying that beautiful downhill on the way back), I showed Fernando, “Hey Fern, you won’t believe what is just around the corner from us!”.

And from that moment on, our love for Esperance was born.

Touring Esperance by land, sea & air

We only had 2 weeks to enjoy the remote town (something that felt like ages at first, but soon turned into a rushed trip). That might sound like a reasonable amount of time, but with only afternoons and one(!) weekend free to enjoy the area, we knew we would have to squeeze out every moment of sporadic sunny weather.

Sea 🌊

Fernando and I enjoyed a sea tour with Esperance Island Cruises, whilst winter is low season in Esperance (no snorkel stop for us), the tour was surprisingly full - it felt like every person we had seen in town was now in this small boat with us. The four-hour tour takes you out to the many small islands that surround the coast. I spent the whole time hoping and straining my eyes to see a whale… but no luck! We did see lots of New Zealand fur seals, a handful of sea eagles and a pod of dolphins though!

Overall it was a freezing but incredibly enjoyable morning out at sea, the Recherche Archipelago is incredible to see, with 105 islands in total. Fun fact, one of those 105 islands is Cull Island: uninhabited except for a group of wild goats that roam the island after being brought (and forgotten) to the island decades prior.

Air 🛩️

If that wasn’t enough, we decided that Esperance was beautiful enough to warrant a plane tour (something we had both never done before!). So off we went with Fly Esperance for an hour-long tour on a tiny plane with a friendly young pilot (who promised us an extended flight if we could sit a whale) and another 2 guys.

Unfortunately, Fernando felt quite motion sick (no sickness, though!) which meant he couldn’t fully enjoy the experience. I was in good spirits however and absolutely loved the tour. Photos will do this much more justice than my words, but a true highlight was of course seeing the utterly incredible contrast of the white sand and turquoise waters as well as seeing the pink lakes (not super pink but rather all shades of maroon, purple and blue) but sad to report the whales were once again nowhere to be seen!

Land 🚙

Whilst the boat and plane tours were incredible and I highly recommend both, You can just as easily enjoy all the beauty the area has to offer by car. We enjoyed meandering along the Great Ocean Drive, a 40-kilometre circular loop that takes you past beaches that somehow defy logic by being even more beautiful than the last (when you thought it couldn’t get any more beautiful!)

We also got plenty of time with Fernando’s drone, which had been drastically under-utilised until that point. Fun fact, we bought the drone a few years back for our WA trip that got cancelled because of COVID, so here we are coming full circle!

Once again I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves, one thing I know for sure - if it wasn’t for the buzzing of the drone on top of me, I don’t think I could have ever worked up the courage to jump into that freezing water. It was worth it for the experience being captured though!

Most Importantly: Summer & Esperance

Whilst Fernando and I adored exploring the various beaches and driving the coastline, I think it was likely Summer who benefited the most.

True to her name, Summer was born to be out in the sun, preferably with sand between her little paws. She thrives on the beach, finding boundless energy to run up and down the soft sand (I could only ever dream). We were blessed with many dog-friendly beaches, enjoying lots of sniffs and ball chasing in Twilight Bay, West Beach & Blue Haven Beach.

Esperance

I found Esperance to be a fascinating town. It has a faded, nostalgic feel without too much gentrification creeping in. Today, it is mainly home to wheat farmers and those working in the iron ore port. Especially visiting in the winter time gave it a very forgotten feel. At a population of just over 10,000 and being a favourite amongst retirees and grey campers, you can imagine the crowd. With our early starts, it meant we fit right in with our 5 pm dinners and early lunches.

Travelling with a dog is a wonderful thing for so many reasons that I’ll save for another post, but this was especially enjoyable in Esperance where everyone seems to have all the time in the world and we enjoyed many long conversations with fellow dog owners on their walks. One lady upon learning we were from Sydney said, very seriously, “Why would you choose to live in Sydney?!”. This is a sentiment we are coming to grow familiar with as a venture more West, it seems the city we know and love is not as coveted over this side of the country.

About that time difference

Once we moved into WA (away from the weird time zones we encountered in the Nullarbor), we officially moved our clocks 2 hours behind Sydney, introducing a new territory for both Fernando and myself. It’s a funny thing, working in only a slightly different timezone to your team.

On the one hand, the new time zone is the best gift for us as we explore new areas: we finish around 3/3:30 pm, giving us the entire afternoon off to explore. So far, we have put this to good use, whether it’s a beach visit with Summer, driving to explore a new area or just enjoying the extra time to read, paint, play guitar (Fern) or play Zelda (me).

However, on the other side, we start our day with Sydney - which means a 6:30/7 am start each day. Whilst we are both more or less morning people, I’ve struggled with the lack of a morning routine. I miss setting my day up for success, exercising in the morning, going for a walk or journaling. Losing this time but gaining back the time later in the day has certainly taken some adjustment, but like so much of what this trip has taught me, it’s all about adapting and not letting myself get too caught up in how things “should be” and just going with the flow. We will be spending several months in WA all up, so I’ll be sure to report on how I go long-term with the time difference and finding that elusive work-life balance.

I loved my time in Esperance, I am already telling people it’s my highlight so far. Despite the cold weather and tempting, but freezing, turquoise waters, I loved exploring the area in winter. We were often the only people on the beaches we visited and truly got to enjoy the serenity and beauty. Despite, or because of, its isolation, I am eager to come back and enjoy the area in Summer, see you (hopefully) soon, Esperance!