Esperance, WA to Albany, WA - 484km (3,806km)
We were told that we had to do the Great Ocean Drive tourist loop while in Esperance, so the first thing on the agenda was a ride around the 40km loop.
The morning dawned beautiful, it was already warm in the sun, there was no breeze, a few small clouds were forming in an otherwise clear sky. A perfect day for riding.
The first stop along the route offered the most amazing sites, I was now starting to see the attraction of Esperance.
Wherever you looked there seemed to be islands poking through the water. The water was a beautiful clear blue contrasting against the whitest of sand.
It would've been quite easy to site here for hours just watching the world drift by, we couldn't, we had to move on as we needed to travel 480km to Albany today.
We couldn't resist stopping again to take in the magnificent sights, the coast line was stunning, now accented by ominous looking clouds that had formed from the light fluffy ones from just 30 minutes earlier. They were quickly building to appear threatening, there was no doubt they contain a lot of water. Rain was surely in its way.
We pushed on to the next look out, the Pink Lake, only to find that it was no longer pink. When pink, and in full bloom, the lake takes on its colour from the algae that lives in the extremely salty water, apparently this lake is more buoyant than the Dead Sea. Unfortunately run off from the many farms in the area is killing the algae and the lake is now just a plain white and quite unremarkable.
While here, we had another accident. One of our group, who will remain nameless to protect his identity, dropped his bike while trying to put down the stand. For some reason, only known to him, tried parking the bike on a hill without it being in gear, of course it rolled forward and off the stand and over she went. After laughing, yes at his expense, we lifted the bike off his leg. He tried to park the bike again, and yes, again without it being in gear. Oh, for f*ck sake.
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| Protected identity ... not any more. |
Having completed the loop we now needed press on towards Albany and the next stop of Ravensthorpe, the sky was now threatening rain, so the sooner we were moving the better.
At 188km towards the west, Ravensthorpe was away from the coast and would see us climbing through what I guess Western Australia must call mountains, the land was certainly starting to gain altitude as we passed through many fields belonging to farms. This area looked perfect for farming, it was green and lush. The ride itself wasn't too inspiring despite having a few decent twists and undulating road but at least the rain was holding off.
Pulling into Ravensthorpe it was clear the town was overwhelmed by all of the bikes. Then lady manning the register at the service station said this was the biggest group she had ever seen, and probably the biggest day that the business would've ever had.
It was a similar story just a little further up the road. There was quite a line for café, perhaps the towns only one. The owners had only been notified the day before that we were coming through so did a great job to accommodate everyone. The pie and yoyo I had were delicious. If you are ever in the area check out Ravy's Café, great service and food.
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| Great roads around Esperance |
While having a bite to eat the clouds let go of what they were containing and the rain started, it looked as though it might be on and off, I took a chance and didn't put the water proof linings in my jacket or pants ... idiot!
The remaining 300km took us through some amazing country, farms mixed with stunning forests, it reminded so much of the east coast that I thought I was back in Victoria. There was no doubt a lot more to look at but given that I was now soaked to the bone and freezing cold I couldn't be bothered and pushed on as hard as I could to get to the days overnight stop.
Pulling in Albany, I was just glad to have found the hotel immediately and was able to check in without problems, a hot shower soon thawed things out.
The day ended with a brilliant feed at Albany's Indian Tandoori Restaurant. This has to be one of the best Indian restaurants I have ever been to, the food was fantastic and the service just as good. The perfect way to end the day.
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