Esperance, Beautiful Beaches and an Unusual Industry

We left Albany and started our long trek east.  First stop was Bremer Bay on the western side of the Fitzgerald River National Park.

We stayed at the Bremer Bay Caravan Park, just across the road from the tidal inlet.  We walked along the Paperbark Walk trail between the trees.

After one night at Bremer Bay we continued eastward to Esperance, driving though light rain for much of the day.  Also on the coast, Esperance is a major grain and fishing port.

The Information Centre gave us a map and we were off on the tourist drive visiting some of the best beaches in Australia.  Again the cameras worked overtime.




We dove past West Beach, Blue Haven Beach and Salmon Beach to Twilight Beach, Australia's Best Beach in 2006, to Observatory Point where the French ships Recherché and Esperance sheltered in the bay behind Observatory Island in 1792.

We turned inland towards Pink Lake, which is not pink at the moment, although this salt lake is home to the algae which can give it a pink colour.





In The afternoon we visited Mermaid Leather, a fish skin leather factory.  This small business is unique to Esperance and is well worth a visit.  Fish leather is light and strong and utilises a byproduct of the local fishing industry.  Most of the fish skin used is barramundi.  The process is fascinating and a variety of goods are produced and sold.  Most of the leather is onsold to produce fashion goods.  Some has been used to make patchwork artworks.