June 5th, 2011
Esperance to Cape Le Grand National Park
Distance: 70km
Total distance: 4996km
A slight miscalculation, my destination today was 60km rather than 45km, and I only found out after I left the hostel. Because of this, I was forced to ride a tad faster in order to make it before dusk. Leaving late at 10.30am doesn’t help either. So does a visit to the bikeshop to get my new flag fitted, stepping into the visitor info centre to get a map, and a stroll at the Sunday morning market.
Despite the rush, riding was still pleasant. Beautiful weather with little traffic on most of the journey. Found out the distance of 45km was to the entrance of the national park, but the distance to my destination within the park, Lucky Bay, was a further 15km. A hill climb led me to the park office at the entrance. Not manned today since it’s a weekend so I self-registered as instructed. Once passed the office, the view becomes really spectacular. The granite peaks, Frenchman Peak and Mt Le Grand stood prominently in the background amongst the unique coastal bushland. I immediately fell in love with this park. The long and soft shadows cast from the evening sun amplified the characteristic of this natural landscape. Heaps of inspirational moments there. If only I had my guitar here with me, haha.
Kept my gaze at the majestic Frenchman Peak as I rode pass the foothill. The hill looks impossible to climb due to it’s insane steepness but there exist a walking trail. “That’s it, I’m doing this tomorrow!” I promised myself. Before reaching Lucky Bay, I took a brief visit to Thistle Cove. Nice rock formations and a great view of the ocean. A walking trail exists here too! But I may not have the time, will see how it goes tomorrow.
Lucky Bay wasn’t as pretty as I imagined. Famously known as the whitest beach in the country, I see nothing but washed up seaweeds. Caused by a recent storm apparently, according to a fellow camper, Richard. Pity, but there’ll be a second visit, for sure. The campsite, however, has full facilities (hot shower, camp kitchen, picnic tables), and shady trees to pitch a tent under. Beautiful campsite indeed. The only issue I had was the hot shower wasn’t quite hot enough (later found out it was solar heated).
I joined Richard for a dinner of traditional Dutch meal, kidney beans stir-fried with diced bacon topped with apple sauce. Unusual but tasted alright. We were later joined by a young Taiwanese couple, Winston and Andrea, who came down from Kalgoorlie to visit the national park. They were both curious about my trike so as usual I showed off my bling, haha. That was everyone at the campground here for tonight. An unexpectedly cosy atmosphere we had. Richard shared his horror stories of being chased by the deadly brown snakes, now permanently stuck in my head. Soothing ocean wave is all I hear now, I shall have a good rest tonight.