June 4th, 2011
Esperance
Distance: 28km
Total distance: 4926km
Yesterday, Selma (backpacker from HK) and I agreed to ride down the great ocean drive today if the weather is good. I was previously informed that there is a very nice bikeway on this road. Luck was upon us, it was sunshine today! It was still early when I was up so I took a stroll at the beach and then to the town centre. A lovely weather like this must not go to waste! I was dying to get out of the hostel too so the moment I saw the sunshine this morning my mood was all rainbows and lollipops.
Back at the hostel, I had a brief chat with a hostel guest from Japan. He too was surprised to find I was the owner of the trike. We rode out not long later, me on the trike and Selma on a rented upright bike. The bikeway was just opposite the hostel and it runs parallel to the Great Ocean Drive for 14km down the south-west. The ride was an absolute blast! Small rolling hills and corners that hits the sweet spot for trikes. The road surface was silky smooth too. The highlight was the fantastic view of the 5 or 6 beaches we passed. I couldn’t think of any more perfect bikeway than this. And of course, it’s nice to have a cycling partner after 80 days of riding solo, haha. But on a few occasions I got so carried away I somehow managed to ditch my partner amongst the rolling hills (sorry, Selma!).
After lunch at Twilight Beach and a couple of hundred photos, we headed back to the hostel. But not without a stop at the jetty to visit a resident seal. But we were out of luck, no sight of the seal today. Though, a pretty sunset made the visit worthwhile.
A wonderful side tour we had today. Tomorrow I am hoping to do another side tour, solo this time, to Cape Le Grand National Park, about 45km away, which means I would have to spend a night there before returning the next day. Heard a lot of good things about this national park. Shall see how true is that tomorrow!
OMG, i see beaches… WA BEACHES!
They are SOOO HAUNTINGLY BEAUTIFUL I TOTALLY MISS THEM!!!!
There are possibly 2 types of photos I am drawn to.
#1, Diving photos, #2, WA beaches.
I think you just earned yourself a new religious follower… PLEASE take more photos of the sea. Can’t get enough of it.
Ps, the dude that is paddling… That is a water sport is has recently become rather popular. Ps, when you do reach Perth you can try wind surfing in Swan River… (not sure how much it cost though, but its good fun)
And to answer your question, I think you should go for the giant tree top walk since you have travelled all the way there. And when you pass through mandurah, find the housing estate where EVERY house in the neighbourood is designed to have a river jetty in their rear yard. Something diff…. 😉
Noted! (regarding the tree top walk and Mandurah houses)
That guy was standing on a surfboard and just paddling, moving very slowly. Like that also fun meh? Bizarre sport!
Wind surfing sounds expensive. But I’ll definitely ride around Rottnest Island. Can’t wait to see some quokkas!
I actually took hundreds of photos of the beaches today. So difficult to choose which ones to put up here. lol!