When Mother Nature created this part of Australia, she went all out

When Mother Nature was tasked with decorating the Western Australian town of Esperance, she went a little crazy with her colour palette. A splatter of blue – no: two, three, four shades – for the water, a drizzle of pure white for the sand, and a deep red for the soil. A sprinkle of yellow and green after seasonal rains. And like an impulsive toddler, why not create lakes made from strawberry milkshakes? Rules, who needs them when the final result is this photogenic?

Lake Hillier, pretty in pink (but currently poo brown).

From the air in late summer, however, the inland shades are a little muted, and the famous pink lakes – coloured by microbes that thrive in extreme salinity – have largely dried up, leaving shimmering grey and pearl indentations that resemble platters of freshly shucked oysters. Some, still full, have retained their rosy shades; others are latte-coloured purple or orange.

The most famous of Esperance’s lakes, however – Lake Hillier on Middle Island, known for its stunning bubblegum hue set against the intense jewel box of the Southern Ocean – was devastated by flooding and mudslides in 2022, and is currently a less attractive shade of poo brown. While anxious tour operators are hopeful that it will soon return to its Barbie-esque best, that certainly hasn’t been the case for the ill-named Pink Lake in the heart of Esperance town, which has been shimmering blue since 2017, leaving hopeful visitors to the site a little perplexed.

Bird’s-eye view

To avoid the disappointment of it not looking its best, Fly Esperance has currently dropped Lake Hillier from its scenic flight itineraries and instead spends time tracking over the curious rainbow lakes that dot private farmland inland from Esperance. As part of the Esperance Flying Pub Crawl, it certainly enforces that this coastal outpost – a 7.5-hour drive from Perth – is officially the start of Western Australia’s Golden Outback, with the region spreading from the southern coastline, through the Goldfields and as far north as Mount Augustus.

Covering the coast with Fly Esperance.

From the arid interior, our scenic flight heads south, skirting along the coastline for a bird’s-eye view of stunning beaches, the smooth granite boulders of the Recherche Archipelago and the gin-clear waters that lure around 300,000 visitors a year. A popular holiday destination for Perth residents and a beach break for miners from Kalgoorlie, Esperance is also an iconic stop on the Big Lap, as grey nomads and van-lifers delight in the novelty of driving on the concrete-hard frosted quartz sand.

From above, the five-kilometre Lucky Bay – named Best Beach in the World for 2023 – almost resembles a highway as 4WDs trundle along the shoreline, pausing to photograph resident kangaroos that feast on washed-up kelp on the blinding sand (said to be the whitest in Australia). But as beautiful as Lucky Bay is, there are countless rivals peppered throughout the Cape Le Grand National Park, deserted white crescents flanked by the bluest, most inviting water imaginable.

On the beach at Lucky Bay.

But Fly Esperance’s Flying Pub Crawl is not just about the coastline: it also showcases classic watering holes and some old-fashioned country hospitality. After a textbook (albeit slightly terrifying) landing on a remote, narrow airstrip, we are met at the “airfield” gate by Kevin Daley, who drives us in an old school bus to his family-run pub, Condingup Tavern.

The best beach of all? Hellfire Bay.

To define Condi pub’s lunch offerings as “generous” is an understatement – and after devouring a massive plate of fish and chips (snapper freshly caught from nearby Orleans Bay) accompanied by a glass of chenin blanc from the neighbouring Condingup Vineyard (the easternmost winery in WA), we hop back into the Cessna 206 to fly to our next waiting barstool.

At the congenial Lucky Bay Brewery, we sip on a paddle of hand-crafted beers brewed from barley grown in neighbouring farms (making it the only “paddock to pint” brewery in WA). Our final pub crawl destination is the historic Gibson Soak Hotel, a weathered outback stalwart filled with AC/DC memorabilia that has been quenching thirsts since 1896.

On the waterfront

Just 26 kilometres away, there’s a very different vibe in the township of Esperance, which bears the seasonal impermanence typical of a seaside holiday destination. Centred around the working port, the bayside is marked by a row of towering Norfolk pines, standing sentinel over the curved jetty where fisherfolk try their luck. Grassy parklands are lined with bicycle paths and coffee trucks for the requisite morning caffeine fix.

True to its reputation as a caravanner’s mecca, the most prominent accommodation provider is the freshly redeveloped RAC Esperance Caravan Park. While there are no large chain hotels or ritzy resorts, there is a smattering of retro motels and self-contained apartments along the Esplanade.

My accommodation, however, is something a little more on-trend – a tiny house tucked into an olive grove 20 minutes from town. Part of the Heyscape portfolio of tiny houses scattered throughout WA, Yirri Grove has two little off-grid nooks – Heath and Cate (named after the famous Aussie actors) – which embrace their countryside location through huge picture windows and open decks, where cast iron tubs await for the ultimate stargazing soak.

Cate cabin – a Heyscape tiny house.

A working olive farm, Yirri Grove opens to the public on weekends. Its cheery cafe serves paddock-to-plate platters featuring its own olives and olive oil, as well as home-baked sourdough, cheese, and pickled vegetables, plucked from the garden. Owner Anne O’Neill is not only a great chef but also will guide you through the olive-pressing process, with the fruits of her labour on sale in the farmgate shop.

Making tracks

Having rented a car for the duration of my stay (a necessity if you’re arriving by air), I take a leisurely drive to revisit the dreamy beaches I’d seen from the sky on a scenic route known as the Great Ocean Drive. A 40-kilometre circuit starting in the centre of town, it encompasses stops at coastal vantage points, including Observatory Point – where there is a memorial commemorating explorers who sheltered during a storm in 1792 – and the tranquil Dempster Head, a place of special significance for the Indigenous Nyungar people, who called this region Kepa Kurl (meaning “where the water lies like a boomerang”).

It’s an intriguing, appropriate name – there’s a lure to this water and its intense blue that draws you back again and again. But while having a rental car means I can stop off for as many icy dips and leisurely beach strolls as I choose, there’s one thing I can’t do – drive on the sand.

To experience what so many other tourists come to Esperance for, I’m joining an Esperance Coastal Tours 4x4 Beach Bus Adventure, taking to the hard white sands of the Cape Le Grand National Park with a seasoned beach driver and local guide.

Owned by popular local identity Jaimen Hudson – a passionate advocate for accessible travel and brilliant drone photographer – these tours are a great option for those who don’t have access to a 4WD, or perhaps, like Hudson, who is himself wheelchair-bound after a motorcycle accident, might be otherwise excluded from getting out on that incredible sand, to experience firsthand its ancient solidity and purity.

As for the winner of the beach beauty pageant? My vote ultimately goes to Hellfire Bay, a one-kilometre white crescent that stretches between two rocky headlands that is simply breathtaking in its perfection. And not a 4WD in sight.

THE DETAILS

Fly
Virgin Airlines flies from Sydney and Melbourne to Perth (virginaustralia.com), with transfers to Esperance via Rex Airlines (rex.com.au).

Stay
Accommodation in the Heyscape tiny cabins at Yirri Grove costs from $530 a night. See heyscape.com.au

Tour
The five to six-hour Esperance Flying Pub Crawl with Fly Esperance costs $899 a passenger (minimum of two passengers), including lunch and beverages. See flyesperance.com
A half-day Esperance Coastal Tour 4x4 Beach Bus Adventure costs $150 for adults and $100 for children. See esperancecoastaltourscom.au

More
visitesperance.com
australiasgoldenoutback.com

The writer travelled as a guest of West Australian Tourism. See westernaustralia.com