Go Esperance

Location: 725 Location: 725 km south east of Perth.
Population: 15,000
Climate: Maximum average temperature range during the year is a maximum 22°C, minimum average temperature 12°C. Yearly rainfall 617mm. Daytime Temperature from October to March is approximately 24C, in the core summer months the temperature is around 26C.
Attractions: National Parks, Great Ocean Drive, Bay of Isles, Woody Island, beaches, marine and wild life, diving, fishing and wineries.
Accommodation: YHA hostel, caravan parks, hotels, motels, B&Bs, self catering chalets/apartments, luxury and camping and eco safari hut accommodation on Woody Island.
Visitor Centre: Museum Village, Dempster Street, Esperance. Tel: (08) 9083 1555
www.visitesperance.com

The Noongar People are the first known inhabitants in the Esperance region and populated the area 20,000 years ago. Kepa (water) Kurl (boomerang) is the local Noongar name for Esperance, meaning "where the waters lie like a boomerang". The region provided a wide variety of food.

Esperance European history began in 1627 when a Dutch vessel Gulde Zeepaard passed through the Archipelago but did not actually land in the area. Discovery, however, is generally credited to the French when two ships, L'Esperance and Recherche, were forced to seek shelter from a storm in 1792. In 1802, Matthew Flinders and crew sailed through the area while carefully mapping the granite Islands that surround the town. Their navigational and charting skills were extraordinary: to this day the majority of charts for the Archipelago are based directly on their work.

A leisurely one hour takes visitors around the Great Ocean Drive past beautiful beaches and bays with stunning coastal scenery. Those pressed for time should not miss the views from the Rotary Lookout across the Archipelago. A stroll down the old wooden Tanker Jetty provides an excellent chance to view an Australian Sea Lion at close range... resident seal "Sammy" always puts on a show. For the more energetic activities include swimming, snorkelling, diving, fishing, kitesurfing, windsurfing, sandboarding... the list goes on.

The Cape Le Grand National Park is home to some of the best beaches in Australia, indeed the world. With pure white sand so clean it squeaks. Lucky Bay is not to be missed. Bushwalks in the National Park offer opportunities for viewing wildflowers (Sep- Oct) and wildlife, every turn is a photographers delight. Further East Cape Arid National Park offers even more rugged coastal scenery and remote beaches.

Bremer Bay and the Fitzgerald River National Park Esperance are very unique south WA destinations.

Located in an area surrounded by the islands of the Recherche Archipelago you can spot amazing sea life such as penguins, humpback whales, seals and sea lions. The coastal region around Esperance is somewhat isolated. You can visit or stay on Woody Island, the only island of the Archipelago that is open to the public and offers camping and safari tent accommodation. Only half an hour by boat from Esperance, Woody Island is the only Island accessible to the public, and provides camping and Safari Hut accommodation. A cruise to Woody Island provides an opportunity to see Humpback and Southern Right Whales, Australian Sea Lions, New Zealand Fur Seals, dolphins, Sea Eagles and other marine and birdlife the Archipelago hosts. See www.woodyisland.com.au for cruises, diving and fishing and eco accommodation on the island.

Monjingup Lake Reserve provides its visitors with a breathtaking experience of Western Australia's ancient landscape. Monjingup has fossilized zamia plant fossils that are believed to be 1000 years old and a myriad of bird life.

Esperance accommodation includes a YHA hostel, caravan parks, hotels, motels, B&Bs and self catering chalets/apartments.

Events: October to December
The main events will be the 2011 Cliffs Esperance International Tennis Tournament from 1st to 9th October and the Agricultural Show on 21st and 22nd October.

The Christmas Pageant is on 15th December, the Carols by Candlelight on 18th December, and there are various concerts and plays at the Esperance Civic Centre throughout the year. Esperance has markets twice a month on a Sunday morning at the Museum Village.

After Esperance, the towns are spread out even farther apart, as you head out across the Nullarbor Plain...