Round Australia By Motorbike: Norseman to Jerramungup

23/4/12 Total 7196km - 580km
Norseman, Esperance, Raventhorpe, Jerramunjup

Had a very cold ride from Norseman to Esperance this morning. Apparently the temperature in Norseman got to 44 degrees in the summer and they had all their air con machines cranked up trying to keep the icecreams etc cool. I think it is unusually cold today.

Riding out of Norseman there was a patch of green but it was mainly one paddock for some horses. A bit of beef and sheep farming but mainly what we saw today was cropping farming, some eucalyptus wood lots, some small blocks of pines. The cropping is huge on very baron dry looking land. Passed a nickel mine, there was also a lithium mine but didn't see that one.

Another thing of interest along the way were vast salt lakes, which are believed to be relics of ancient river systems.

In Esperance we checked out the Kawasaki shop where the good people there allowed us some of their space out of the rain, a couple of oil trays and tools so that we could change the oil and filters. Thanks again.

Esperance was first settled in 1792 when French explorers headed ashore to seek shelter from a storm and named it after their ship L'Esperance, which roughly translate to “hope”. Esperance is famous for its white sandy beaches but also as an ideal spot to exlpore the Recherche Archipelago, 105 islands that surround the coastline.

Left there and headed around their Great Ocean Drive, about 30km round the coast. The rain had stopped by this time. This would have to be the most beautiful ocean and beaches that we have come across so far. Beautiful clear bluest blue water. We carried on from there but later thought that we perhaps should have stayed for the afternoon and the night. It is a place that would be worthy going back to. Talked to a lady when we got to Ravensthorpe and she lives there, she said that even in the summer it is not overcrowded, I guess because it it so far from any where. She had just come back from New Zealand to her son's memorial. At 50 he had died in his sleep. She said to us to enjoy each day as it comes.

There wasn't much happening in Ravensthorpe so decided to carry on for another 100km to Jerramungup where we told there was only a camping ground. Don't think many of these people go far from their own towns, it looks like quite a busy little rural town and has way more than just a campground, actually haven’t seen the camp ground yet. Between Ravensthorpe and Jerramungup is the Fitzgerald National Park which is recognized as a World Biosphere Reserve (a unique area that combines both conservation and sustainable use of natural resources). Ravensthorpe does have something going for it during September they have a Wildflowers Show displaying over seven hundred varieties of flora.

Motel-Jerramunjup. $100