Circumnavigating Australia — Esperance

Esperance Clock Tower — by the jetty

We arrived to our next destination on February 27, but here we had to tender in from Radiance of the Seas. This week we will take a look at this destination, Esperance, Western Australia, which is situated along the southwest shore of the Great Australian Bight.

Everything was just ducky at the Miniature Railway

On this port we once again had a tour planned, and we met up with our tour guide just outside the tender jetty area. Spots of interest on this van tour included the Pink Lake (no longer pink), Rotary Lookout, and numerous nearby beaches. many of which were named from their mileage from Esperance (for example: “11 Mile Beach). But first we had to walk a bit from the jetty, during which we passed this charming miniature railway:

Train station for the Esperance Miniature Railway

One of the stops we made on this tour was the Rotary Lookout high above Esperance and the surrounding areas. Here’s a view of West Beach:

View of West Beach from Rotary Lookout

While we were up here, Ursula asked to take a photograph of your favorite mystery author, and here it is (not my best angle):

Me hanging out at the Rotary Lookout

Now, I’m a huge fan of old English cars. I particularly love the cars from the ’60s and ‘702 heyday of English automotive design and technology, back when the English car industry led the world in unreliability, defective Lucas electrical systems, and the like. Indeed, from this era I’ve owned three such vehicles — 1977 MGB, 1972 Triumph TR6, and an Aston Martin DB6 — all of which I positively loved. Why bring this up? Here’s why, as seen from Rotary Lookout:

Rover 3-Litre P5 Mk III

What you’re looking at is a classic Rover 3-Litre P5 Mk III from the mid-’60s. This beauty was in pristine condition, and I simply could not resist drooling over it. This particular example even came with Rostyle wheels, which were the same style of wheels that were original equipment on my old MGB.

Rover 3-Litre P5 Mk III

On Wednesday we’ll look at Pink Lake and tour some of the beaches we encountered on this tour. As for now, I’m going to skip ahead to the end of the tour for a look at the town of Esperance itself with these final two images:

“The Book Box” — a former train station

“Our Heroic Dead” 1939-1945