Beauty and the Bay
Visit Esperance, with its striking white sand, is a quintessential Australian beach lover’s dream. The pure colour is due to milky frosted quartz, especially surrounding Lucky Bay. Approximately 45km south-east of Esperance, travellers can 4WD along the beach and camp for the night among mobs of friendly kangaroos. It’s also a paradise for snorkelling, swimming and fishing.
Lake Hillier © Tourism Western Australia
There are more than 100 islands in the Recherche Archipelago near Esperance that are uninhabited, having been declared nature reserves in 1954. Middle Island is home to the phenomenal Lake Hillier – where a combination of salinity and bacteria is believed to be the reason for its stunningly vivid hot-pink colour. Scenic flights over the lake are the best way to see this sweeping portrait of magenta, especially when buddied up with the turquoise oceanic waters that run parallel to the lake.
Walkabout
Frenchman Peak, Cape Le Grand National Park. © Tourism Western Australia
Esperance has an abundance of beautiful bays to explore, all within a day’s drive from the city centre. Hellfire Bay has been said to have much softer sand than Lucky Bay – so soft it elicits squeals of delight from visitors, as it squeaks cleanly beneath their feet.
You can walk between the two bays over the course of a day if you tackle the Cape Le Grand Coastal Trail. There is no 4WD access on the Cape Le Grand beach, meaning it is often the more peaceful choice, and the carpark on site has been adopted by lazing kangaroos.
If you have a spare three hours in your itinerary you should consider the challenging walk to the 262m summit of Frenchman Peak.
The peak’s shape was thought to resemble the hats of French troops in the 1800s, hence its name. The trail is considered a Class 5 walking track recommended for experienced bushwalkers only. It’s steep, but you don’t need to climb right to the top to appreciate the serenity.
Did you know?
Aerial view of The Esperance Stonehenge, near Esperance
In Esperance, there is a model replica of the UK’s Stonehenge as it would have appeared in 1950BC. It consists of 137 pink granite stones acquired locally, and visitors can experience the summer and winter solstice just as they would have been at the original Stonehenge. Be sure to check it out when you visit Esperance.
Want to visit Esperance?
Rex airlines fly to Esperance from Perth, see below for more details and to book your flight;
Visit Esperance in Western Australia with Rex airlines.
Click here if you would like to read more about our stunning scenery on the West Coast.
