31/8/18 Eucla to Esperance

A bit of drizzle along the way, but not too windy on the way out of Eucla.

This delightful young lady at Caiguna servo was a bit shy.
Petrol (91RON) was the same price as the fruit, $2 a litre.
I explained to her that MMBear was a seasoned traveller, accompanying us around Oz.

We spent the night at Balladonia motel.  $155.  Good room. Expensive meals but OK.  A few workers were staying, along with the usual crowd of grey nomads.
Next morning we saw what the workers were up to, pushing the edge of the road back up against the bitumen.  A long road section at 60km/h.
Wind was gone.  A bit of dribble, but very pleasant riding.  John was happy to go at posted speed.
We sat and had thermos coffee outside the Norseman servo.  Chatted to a brother and sister in a car that had been leap-frogging us.  Yet another old biker.  (They waved to us again in Esperance.)

The ride for today was good.  Again, great to be alive and on a bike.
Along the way I reckon I spotted a patch of Sturt Desert Pea, along with various daisy-like flowers, including a beaut multi-coloured clump.  Taller trees, yellow wattles, white-flowered bushes, then the banksias.  We are in WA.

Esperance
Lunch was tinned fish & crackers along the esplanade in Esperance.  Then we went to the motel I'd booked online.  (Great to have the Internet
at night everywhere.  John's Optus let him down a few nights, so he hot-spotted to my phone.)
When I rang, the room price was $129.  I got it online for $107 a night!
On arrival they took $50 off a card in case we hit the mini-bar.  A bit rich.  The supplied bottle of red is only a tiny one.

The motel is huuuuge complex, with heaps of rooms, mostly empty as far as I can see.  The pool isn't heated.  Won't be doing that.

We stripped the bikes off and got back on them to do the beach road loop.
Saw the "Pink Lake" which isn't pink because salinity levels which support a pink algae, have fallen.

Stopped at some beach lookouts.
Very spectacular.  John was most impressed.

There was a Goggomobile in a carpark that was shipped to Perth, and being driven east.

The below 'sportscar' features a 400cc two-stroke engine.  (Petrol + oil premix.)

The guy above was flying a drone over the ocean.  It flew a long way away, behind the lump of island rock (next pic), but he could still see its view and control it.  A bit of wind didn't bother it.  (A Mavic Pro.)  I could see why it cost $1800 compared to my $50 one with very limited ability, which I left behind because its useless in a slight breeze.  (I'm tempted.)

John was in raptures over the beautiful beaches.

We dropped in to the Rotary lookout.  Chatted to yet another ex-biker.
I'm not grumpy, its just that the sun is in my eyes.

Great riding round the loop.  Terrific beaches -with few people around, no-one fishing.   Back to the motel, and John went out and came back with wine and nibbles.  Life's tough!

We walked down to the pizza shop for tea.  Not bad, but not quite up to my local shop's standard (Blackwood Pizza).  We'd run out of port, so John bought a cask on the way back.  (I assured him I'd be able to fit it on my bike.)

Sun 2/9/18 Cereal and coffee in our room for breakfast.
Did the clothes washing, some shopping, then hit the road.
Cape Le Grande National Park.  The entrance booth was unmanned, so people are supposed to pay the entrance fee via machine.  I think we were the only idiots who did.  $7 for old farts or motorcycles.  (Should be cheaper for old farts on motorcycles.)
Stopped at a lookout and had lunch of kabana, crackers, carrot (yes!), fruit and thermos coffee.

Lucky Bay was fantastic.  The caravan park sign said full.  We can see why.
John was in his element again, at a beautiful beach.

At another lookout, we saw this.  After I pointed it out to John, he reckoned they must be talking about my port.  (Look closely.)

The end of the road was bare compared to Lucky Bay.

 

After Cape Le Grand, we thought it was time to visit the brewery we saw a sign to on the way there.  We retraced our path, and couldn't find it.
So we went looking for the brewery sign we saw yesterday, near the Pink Lake.
Rode back there, couldn't find it!  Entered the name of it into Google maps and used that to get there.  (Lucky Bay Brewery.)  Closed!  All at a function in the scout hall for fathers day.
So our feeling is that the roadside signs did exist, we did see them, but they were removed when the respective breweries were closed.  (We were doubting our sanity.)  We rode back on Eleven Mile Rd again (the beach loop) for the scenery.

On the way back through Esperance, we spotted the scout hall, with a Lucky Bay Brewery tent out the front. In we went, and bought a couple of pints.  IPA for John, porter for me. Both very nice.  A couple were providing music inside.  -Not often you see a lady saxophonist.  She alternated between blowing and singing.  :)

Today's riding has been great.  Despite all the travellers we came across giving us doom and gloom on weather here, we had a cool but fine day.  Overcast with occasional sun.  No rain (on us).

Walked to the fish 'n chip shop.  Closed.  Tried the kebab shop.  John's falafel and my lamb kebab hit the spot.  Accommodation is booked (online of course) for Albany tomorrow night.  Time for a port.