Woody Island Boat Trip

The temperature in Esperance is forecast for 40 degrees today, so it’s time to head to the water. Even though I hate the thought of rough seas, I decided to take the risk and book a boat trip to Woody Island. I’m happy to say the one hour trip went well (not exactly smooth sailing, but no disastrous stomach issues).

Leaving Esperance, we saw the bulk carrier was still loading grain: it must take over 24 hours:

The catamaran cut through the water at speed, riding the waves very well and leaving a big snowy white wake behind:

I stood at the back the whole way, my eyes on the horizon: it worked!  We stopped alongside several small uninhabited islands en route and spotted seals and white-bellied sea eagles:

We landed on Woody Island where they gave us morning tea in a beautifully shaded canteen area, open to the breezes and looking back towards Esperance. A guided hike is on offer, but it’s all up hill and just too darn hot for me. Most people have gone, including H.

It’s possibly to “glamp” on the island if you want:

H took this photo from the hike, looking towards Cape Le Grand, where we are heading tomorrow.

Ravensthorpe to Esperance

Arrived!  First stop the Visitors Centre to sit in the aircon to cool off after a hot morning on the road. We came away with more information than we could possibly use in two days. We checked into our spacious apartment, which is directly across the road from the Yacht Club. After a siesta, it was time for a stroll along the Esplanade to get some sea air.

A huge container ship is in port. The catamaran at the end of the row of yachts will take us on a trip to Woody Island tomorrow. Fingers crossed for calm seas!



Daredevil kids showed off their skills at the skate park. They were being photographed for a Horizon Power sponsored project.

Katanning to Ravensthorpe

We were a bit hot in the night, thanks to the high quality feather duvet on the king sized bed. Breakfast was in the Dome Cafe on the ground floor of the mill and we discovered that Dome owned the entire establishment and had financed the restoration, no expense spared. A superb purple motorbike was parked outside, property of the local vicar:

We drove along straight roads through wheat fields, lined with lovely mallee trees:

At Ongerup we hoped to visit the Mallee Fowl Centre, but in spite of lots of signage it was all closed up, presumably a casualty of Covid.  The town was all quiet, except for the area of the grain silos to which large vehicles came and went every few minutes, depositing their loads:

Our destination for the night was Ravensthorpe, where I had a booking at the motel. The accommodation cost $110, so we didn’t expect luxury; but our little unit has everything we could require including a decent fridge:

The place is up for sale: 12 units and manager’s residence for $850,000.

Ravensthorpe is known for its “silo art”. There is a trail all around country W.A. but this is the first one I’ve seen:

The artist, Amok Island, has done these huge murals around Perth including a big fish on the wall of Kailis.

Back at the ranch, H discovered a very unusual banksia where the flowers hang down instead of going straight up:

Finally I had a chat with a man in a neighbouring unit. He earns a living killing wild dogs which prey on sheep. His vehicle has the euphemism  “Animal Solutions”:

Perth to Katanning

This is the first leg of our trip to Esperance. I’m travelling with H, a friend from the Bushwalking Group; she decided at the last minute that she’d like to come along. We stopped for lunch at Williams; the Woolshed was packed with people on a Saturday lunchtime. Driving around W.A. was never so popular!

We arrived in Katanning at about 3.00 pm. and found our way to the Premier Mill Hotel. This is a converted flour mill, very tastefully done. It has received rave reviews and its 20 rooms are fully booked till February. I must have been lucky to snag a cancellation since I only booked a week ago.

Some interior shots follow. The first one is our room with a king sized bed and a tiny wall mounted fridge:

We have Room 102. There is a little booklet which provides a self guided tour, which I’ll do when I’ve had a rest.

Step outside and you see this:

Tapas later:

A couple arrived at the hotel late in the day to take up their reservation. It transpired that they were actually booked in the following day! The man admitted it was “his own bloody fault.” The woman said nothing. They had to leave with a list of B and B’s in the area. Not a successful weekend for them.

Lake Leschenaultia

The bushwalk was supposed to start (unusually) at 8.30 am to avoid walking in the heat of November. Not everybody had read the instructions! This is a walk we do every year; people are set in their ways. In any case, we have had a spell of cold wet weather, so it doesn’t feel like November. The bush looked green and fresh after all the rain.

At 8.30 am only 4 were assembled, so we proceeded on a stopgap measure of walking round the lake (about 3 kms) so as to be back at the start for others who might turn up at 10.00 am. There was an added complication of a triathlon in progress, so cars were parked everywhere. In addition, there appeared to be a men’s camping trip - they had been under canvas since Friday night when there was a non stop downpour! Lake Leschenaultia was never so popular.

There were still some wildflowers to see, even this late in the season. I haven’t been able to to identify all of them:

Xanthosia

... or Southern Cross

When the others arrived, they set off on their usual walk. I decided to just sit in the sun for a while and eat a sandwich. The cold wind off the water eventually moved me on, so I circumnavigated the lake one more time at a slower pace. We all had lunch together, then N distributed some bread which she picks up from Lawley’s Bread Shop on Saturday afternoon to distribute to the “poor”, otherwise it would just be thrown out.

Burswood Park

"Farmers" Market

Burswood Park Board are attempting to make the place more popular by adding attractions and events. I have given feedback when they were seeking this from the community: that it was just perfect as it is. No improvements needed (especially not anything noise-generating). Today was the first of a series of Sunday Farmers’ Markets. There are already too many of these in the area, so I imagine that stall holders were committed elsewhere. It was a pretty poor showing, with hardly any actual produce from farms. The most popular offerings were in the form of numerous coffee vans. I didn’t buy anything, but took a few photos of the spring flowers just coming into bloom:

White Agapanthus

Princess Lilies

I sat down for a while on my favourite park bench in the shade. Something was happening on the opposite side of the lake. People were arriving for an open air wedding. I’ve photographed weddings in St Petersburg and Salamanca, so this one close to home could be added to the list. For a long time, I could only see men in suits. Could this be a gay wedding? Finally a glimpse of a long white dress appeared through the trees. This was it! 

See my Instagram account for a short video.

Baby coots swimming near their nest.

The Race that Stops the Nation

Melbourne Cup is a bit different this year, with no crowds at Flemington. People are celebrating locally - and dressing up for it. I called in to my local coffee shop this morning (for a flat white) and people were already ordering sparkling wine. Two of my friends were dolled up to go out to lunch. A sweepstake was being organised, so I bought a couple of entries at $2 a time.

They said they were wearing their most outrageous attire!

My draws in the sweepstake

So, did they win?

Stratum Albion came 9th.

Surprise Baby ( a favourite) came 13th.

I would like to have drawn the only female jockey who rode Prince of Arran; she came 3rd.