Days 36 & 37, Monday & Tuesday, 24 & 25 August 2026

A couple of travelling days Monday & Tuesday.

Monday was a 350km drive from Albany to Hopetoun and then 200km from Hopetoun to Esperance.  Hopetoun was just an overnight stop to break up the drive to Esperance but turned out to be a nice little seaside town with a nice pub.  With a nice young German girl from Dresden working behind the bar.



View from near my cabin at the caravan park

As accommodation options were rather limited I stayed in a cabin in the caravan park, which a bit old and worn was perfectly adequate and walking distance to the pub for dinner. Being winter the town and caravan park were very quiet but the locals assured me the place is "jumping" through the summer.

As an observation I have noticed that West Australians are a lot like the ancient Romans, not that they hold gladiatorial contests at Optus Oval or have conquered most of the known world, no, they are like the Romans in that they love long straight roads.  And they love long straight roads with no potholes!

Today (Tuesday) I have driven a lazy 200km from Hopetoun to Esperance.  I am here for a couple of days and then start the long drive across the Nullabour heading towards home.

The drive today was through miles and miles and acres and acres of canola plants in full yellow bloom, very spectacular.  That set me to thinking, what is all this canola oil used for?  Surely we don't use this much oil for cooking, is it being converted to bio fuel or something else?  

I arrived in Esperance early in the afternoon and booked into my accommodation.  I am staying in an older motel that has undergone some renovation over the years and seems to be comfortable and suitable for my simple and humble needs.

Did I mention that the motel has a little bar and restaurant and it is right next door to a pub with a big bar and restaurant.  This had no influence on my choice of accommodation at all.


View from the esplanade in front of the motel.

I'm not sure that there is much to do here but I am sure that I will fill in my time in a productive & interesting manner.

Getting close to dinner time here, do I go to the motel restaurant of the pub, decisions decisions.


 

Comments

  1. Leanne26 August 2026 at 16:02

    Have you experienced Highway Hypnosis or White Line Fever?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Graeme26 August 2026 at 20:40

    No, but I still have the return trip across the Nullabor to come.

    ReplyDelete

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