Esperance to Hopetoun

We sadly departed Beach Heaven... I mean Esperance and headed further west planning on going from Hopetoun through the east end of Fitzgerald River National Park then south to Bremer Bay to explore the south end. Having been to the park before, Matt was really excited to share the natural wonders and extreme granite formations with me (see post regarding Frenchmans Peak in Cape Le Grand entry and the joys of climbing a rock with a geologist!). However, upon arriving into the sleepy little coastal town of about 1800 people, we noticed a digital traffic condition sign that read Hammersly Road closed due to road works. Call 138 138 for more informaiton. So I rang up the Western Australia Road Department where I was kindly informed that the road had been closed 'for sometime' and there was no access to the National Park from the Hopetoun side.

Oh, Booooo! It was getting late in the afternoon so we headed off to find a hotel room. The local motel, which appeared completely empty was fully booked out by a group of 'government people' who were in town for some meeting. The clerk was sure they weren't going to need all the rooms, but she wasn't able to confirm and so referred us to the caravan park down the road. Off we trugged and booked into a 'self-contained' unit. A little one bedroom shack with a kitchenette and bathroom. The clerk there asked us how long we were staying and we indcated we were planning on staying longer, but having discovered that the park was inaccessible from this side we were going to move on and try from the other entrance.

The clerk told us that the road had been closed going on two years and there wasn't any word as to when it was going to re-open. They were resurfacing the road and moving some parts of the road around so the Department had just shut the whole thing off. They don't say much about how things are going and when it is all going to be reopened. I mentioned that must be hard on their business and she said everytime someone is booking in for more than one night they ask what their plan is. As soon as they mention the park and she informs them that they can't access it they change their booking from a 2 or 3 night stay to a single night and head straight back out of town the next morning.

Matt and I did as others before us and drove around to the other entrance. We then proceeded down a very dusty red/orange dirt road that turned into washboard central. To the point where at 5k's an hour the car felt like a bucking bronco and we decided to turn around. The park road was impassable. The one saving grace of the attempt was seeing some kind of lizard. After extensive internet searching I think it was a Monitor Lizard.

We have now set up camp in Albany with plans to explore Stirling Ranges N.P., the Porongurup N.P. and the old whaling town of Albany itself. We've had our fist batch of rain for the trip and the tent has so far proven to stay dry on the inside. It wasn't a very heavy rain so still waiting for a full rain test.