As we drove off from Albany, the rain continued to fall for the first hour or so. Having left the top end a long time ago, we thought that all our river crossings were behind us, but we soon came up to a queue of traffic, with a decent sized river flowing over the road. There was a bloke with his shoes off, pants rolled up, wading through the water to check it out. Eventually a ute drove through the water with no dramas so then the rest of the waiting cars, including us, headed across without incident. About 30 minutes later we hit another one, this time just a massive pool of water over the road. With only about 10cm of the road side posts showing above the water, it must have been at least 50cm deep but was not flowing. We waited for the oncoming car to make it through before successfully driving through it ourselves. The rain thankfully started to ease at this point, with the sun even shining through at times and we continued on towards Esperance, our spirits lifting by the minute. We had planned to stay in Esperance, and given the threat of wind and wild weather, we were considering staying in a cabin instead of our camper. As we got closer, we checked the weather forecast and it suggested the weather wouldn’t be as bad as expected, and we also found a farmstay about 30km outside of Esperance that had great reviews so we decided to stay there instead and take our chances with the weather. The farm was a small cattle farm, with rolling hills and loads of space. It had a huge deck with a BBQ for cooking, and a tyre swing that the kids loved. It was peaceful and just what we needed after the last week of wild weather. We set up next to the main house, and through sheer luck rather than good planning, we chose a site that Tom the owner said would offer us shelter from the prevailing winds in the area. After a simple BBQ dinner that night up on the covered deck of the house, we headed to bed, crossing our fingers that the weather would stay calm and maybe even dry.
We awoke the next morning to no rain, light winds and even a bit of blue sky! We got chatting to a German family that was staying there as well. They had been on the road for 2 years, and their kids and ours soon hit it off. Their son had made a lego boat and he was testing its seaworthiness in the spa bath on the deck. Tom decided to see just how good it was and turned on all the jets. The kids thought that was hilarious as the boat struggled in the choppy ‘seas’. They then all headed down to play some lego together while we got a few things ready for our day trip into Esperance. Back in Albany, we had seen a cinema program and with the weather being so bad, we had promised to take Oli to see the new Captain Underpants movie. As we left Albany earlier than planned, he missed out and was very disappointed, so we decided to head into Esperance and I would take him to see that while Kat and Em checked out a few op shops. Both missions were successful in town (I have to say the movie was actually pretty funny), and we then all had a picnic lunch together in the park followed by a play in yet another great beachside playground. We then drove back to camp and had a lovely relaxed dinner up on the deck with the other family. The kids all then played together for a while leaving the parents to enjoy a chat before it was time for bed.
The next day we were keen to go for a drive along the coastal road which was supposed to be very scenic, but the weather was cloudy and rainy so we just hung out at camp that morning. The kids did some school work and journals and we caught up on the blog. Mid morning Kat called me over to the tent to herd away a few farm cows that were getting a little too close to our camper. After lunch the kids played with their mates and we had all but given up on going for the drive, but then around 3pm the rain eased and the sun started to shine through a bit so we quickly got sorted, jumped in the car and drove to Esperance. The drive along the coast was well worth it, taking us past a string of beautiful beaches and cliff top lookouts along the coast. We then swung by town to pick up a couple of things before heading back to camp a little late. Everybody helped to get dinner sorted and before long we were sitting down to a delicious burrito feast. The kids all played together again after dinner and we enjoyed another chat over a couple of drinks with their parents before heading to bed.
The next morning the weather was looking better, and with little wind and rain forecast for the next few days, we decided to head to the national park for a few days of camping by the beach. We bought some meat and sausages from Tom, who was also the local butcher in the area, before driving off, happy to see the sun shining.
The coastal drive
Wide open spaces 