Driving across the Nullarbor – Part One: West Australia
A 2,700km stretch of road named “not a tree in sight” and nicknamed ‘Nullar-boring’ by locals doesn’t sound that exciting, does it? Well, in fact, the Nullarbor boasts a mysterious ‘nymph’, the world’s longest golf course, a magnificent whale-watching platform, and is littered with caves and blowholes. Driving across the Nullarbor, from West Australia to South Australia, it turns out, actually was quite an adventure. Having set off from Esperance, this post details day one of the two-day journey across the Nullarbor. Norseman – Gateway to the Nullarbor Norseman is where those arriving from (even) further West join the Nullarbor, a small gold mining community about 200km north of Esperance.…
Australia, the next chapter – Farewell Esperance
The start of this new year has been especially exciting because 2015 will be a year of big change for me. Having been living in Western Australia for almost four years, this year (next month, no less!) I’m moving to Queensland. Firstly, apologies to friends in Europe. I am are aware this is not the return to Europe you have been asking about! Those without much experience of Australia may think ‘big deal, moving within Australia. How different can it be?’ and having previously lived in other countries, I can understand this. It wasn’t until I had lived in Australia for a few months that I truly understood distance, from an Australian…
West Australia’s Crazy, Colourful, Tin Horse Highway
“Is that a horse made from scrap metal?” It’s not something you see on every roadtrip, but a small farming community in Western Australia’s wheatbelt region has created an open-air art gallery along one of their highways. Moving to Australia gave me a fresh perspective on distance. Living in Esperance, WA, our nearest city is Perth and it is over 700 kilometres away. That’s about the same distance as driving from Paris to Barcelona, or New York to Detroit. Roaring along the highway, about five hours into the eight-hour journey, I spotted the first of more than 70 tin horses that line the main road leading into Kulin. Kulin is…
Things to do in Esperance
Arriving in Esperance, in the south-east corner of Western Australia, feels like you have arrived at the end of the earth. Lying over 700 kilometres from Perth, and a two-hour drive from the next established town, Esperance sits in isolated splendour on the spectacular south coast and has several unique attractions for visitors to enjoy. Esperance Waterfront Over the past two years the foreshore by Esperance town centre has been transformed from a scrappy shoreline of grass and beach to a chic new waterfront featuring walking and cycle paths, planted areas, benches, picnic shelters, public barbecues, pieces of public art and, of course, beach access. It makes a great place…
Are Australia’s best beaches in Esperance?
Sometimes I forget how beautiful it is where I live at the moment. Living somewhere that my daily commute is a three-minute drive along the beach means (and I hate to admit it) I take the local coastline for granted sometimes. After a busy period at work, and while coming out of winter, I had sort of forgotten how spectacular Esperance can be. This weekend I rediscovered it. An article I read in a magazine last week said one of my local beaches was ‘stunning’. When great weather was forecast for the weekend I couldn’t resist heading to the beach to remind myself. Despite winning its fair share of awards…
Capture the Colour of Western Australia
This year for Capture the Colour I have decided to celebrate Western Australia, which is where I live at the moment. Some may see this as a limitation but I choose to see it as a challenge. Not that it makes things especially difficult; Western Australia is an extraordinary state, home to vastly contrasting landscapes, magical experiences and definitely plenty of colour. Blue Esperance lies at the east end of the southern coast of WA. The Esperance coastline is magnificent and just about every imaginable shade of blue. This photograph is the view over West Beach in spring. Red I love red earth and WA has plenty. It is especially…
5 Places to visit in Western Australia
Someone mentioned to me today that they had heard Western Australia referred to as ‘Perth and desert,’ which made me want to highlight all the amazing parts of WA that perhaps the world is less aware of. Western Australia is the largest of the Australian states and covers over a third of the Australian continent’s footprint. WA boasts a north, west and a south coast and is bordered by the Indian Ocean and the Great Southern Ocean. Yes, there is also a lot of desert, but also some of the most spectacular natural scenery you will ever see. Here are what I consider to be the top five places to…
Spend time in Fremantle Prison
Australia’s convict history is well known but did you also know that capital punishment was still in effect in Western Australia as recently as 1984? On a recent trip to Perth I thought I would investigate with a trip to Fremantle Prison. As first impressions go, Fremantle Prison does not disappoint. The striking gatehouse and perimeter walls, despite being built of what turned out to be rapidly deteriorating limestone (oops), give an impressively solid appearance. Those convicts who thought the journey from Britain was harsh had another thing coming. When they arrived in the blistering heat of the Swan River Colony (now Perth) in 1850 the first thing the prisoners…
