Log One Hundred and Five – There’s Gold in Them There Hills

11 August 2024

We have reached Esperance and are now facing the long journey home. The curiosity and excitement of crossing the Nullarbor has been replaced with the acceptance that to get home we have to cross the Nullarbor (cue a deep sigh). I am guessing it would be like Burke and Wills or Lewis and Clarke, having reached their destination to have to then turn around and go straight back (cue a deep sigh).

The impressive sight as you drive the 480kms from Albany to Esperance is the vast golden fields of canola. This country was once the destination for gold prospectors who were chasing minerals underground. The gold that now fills the scene is flowering canola.

I had incorrectly assumed the country between Albany and Esperance would be dry savanna. I was so wrong. This is wheat and canola country with vast areas under cultivation. It turns out WA produces more than a third of the wheat grown in Australia. I think we have seen most of the fields that produce those grains.

Still there are mines in this area namely nickel and lithium. The nickel mines are in ‘care and maintenance’ while the lithium mine is just hanging in there. The Indonesians have swamped the market with cheap nickel and lithium is in worldwide oversupply.

Once you arrive at the coast you are overwhelmed by the shear number of beaches that are largely empty of humanity. The water is a brilliant blue and the beaches pure white. The beaches stretch beyond the horizon in both directions with hardly a human in sight.

In contrast to these magnificent ocean views, we have recently experienced travel destinations that has been slightly oversold by local tourism interests. We’ve all experienced places invariably described as the ‘world’s biggest …’, the ‘worlds last …..’, ‘the world’s longest…’ or even ‘the world’s rarest…’. This trip has not been without such experiences. Whilst the super pit was accurately described as super and wave rock is a pretty big rock there have been other destinations that didn’t quite live up to the hype.

Pink Lake at Esperance for instance is not pink nor has it been pink for many years. The blow holes at Albany would probably be best described as a crack in the rock where sea mist is emitted as the waves break. That said they remain part of the story and the adventure.

Tomorrow we pack up and head for the Nullarbor. Unlike the trip west, this time we have planned refuelling points, places to camp and daily distances. I am hoping for a tail wind and no rain.