Day 107 Esperance

Today we joined the Esperance Island Scenic Wildlife Cruise. We cruised through eight islands in the Recherche Archipelago, experiencing the spectacular wildlife up-close and personal in their natural environment. We travelled a total of 55km while enjoying a full commentary. New Zealand Fur Seals, Australian Sea Lions, Cape Barren Geese, Dolphins and White-Bellied Sea Eagles were the animals we saw.

Morning tea was in the protected bay of Blue Haven after we cruised along the shore that we drove along yesterday past Blue Haven Beach, West Beach, Lovers Cove and the Esperance Port/Foreshore before returning to Taylor St Jetty.

The Archipelago of the Recherche, known locally as the Bay of Isles, is a group of 105 islands, and over 1200 "obstacles to shipping", off the south coast of Western Australia. The islands stretch 230 km from east to west and to 50 km off-shore encompassing an area of approximately 4,000 square kilometres.

The Esperance Clock Tower operating since 2009, it chimes the hours and quarters throughout the day. It has 15 bells with the largest weighing a whopping 830kgs! The bells were cast in Holland with inscriptions commemorating their donor families. We walked past the clock tower and tearooms as it chimed at 8am going to board the cruise.
























We had some lunch in town and saw some street art.





In the afternoon we went for a drive through crop and pastoral country through Kau Rock Nature Reserve and Mount Ridley Nature Reserve. After all the rain the land is so lush and green just a beautiful picture.