It was quiet overnight and it was also cool so we had no trouble sleeping. I managed to ignore the sun coming through the window as it wasn't strong. We were in Esperance just after 9.00am and filled the bus with gas (39.8c/litre) and walked the shops. It was suggested by one of the girls in the tourist bureau that we camp at Lucky Bay in Cape Le Grand National Park, so that’s exactly what we did.

It’s about 65km east of Esperance and is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. The sand is so white and the turquoise water is crystal clear with large granite rocks in amazing formations.

The camp ground is sensational with individual camping bays, flush septic toilets, solar showers and gas BBQs. Although it was school holidays we didn’t feel jammed in and given the amount of families about it was quiet.

We were greeted by an adorable kangaroo who sucked me into giving him a carrot. I soon realised that I was just one of many and he wasn’t giving me any preferential treatment. I called him "Spot" and he became my favourite as he has a spot on his chest.

We decided we’d stay for Christmas and would climb Frenchman’s Peak on Christmas Day so we had a look to see what we were up against and we’ve decided we’re up for it.

On one of our walks around Lucky Bay we found a plaque commemorating Matthew Flinders landing here in 1802 while exploring the south coast he sailed a dangerous route through the Recherche Archipelago. He named Lucky Bay after his vessel HMS Investigator took shelter here from a summer storm.

We explored the park via the Le Grand Coastal Trail over several days and it was awesome. The bays and beaches have to be seen to be believed. My words cannot describe them well enough.

Kimbo had the opportunity to fish, sadly for him on of his expeditions he told me one of the large sea birds swooped on his bucket and took the largest of his two fish………..well that’s his story and he’s sticking to it. I found it hard to believe but he was quite devastated.   I chose to find a nice quiet spot in the sun to read which seemed a more productive way of of spending the days.

I had Spot visit me on a regular basis and I think it was all about the carrots not to spend quality time with me! There are so many roos about and I was so lucky to capture this shot.

We had a trip into Esperance to re-register the car, as it expired while we’re here and to do some washing and pick up our mail. I found a wonderful shop called “Lounge Lizard Clothing Co” that make really funky Australian grown cotton clothing, had to purchase a couple of items.   

There’s no phone coverage out here so a quiet Christmas it will be.

I was reminded what a small world we live in. A couple came over to the table and chairs near us to clean some squid and wearing a T-shirt that said “Trust Me I’m A Doctor” was Mike of the doctors I worked with at HBF in Perth. I had the opportunity to look away and left him to clean his squid.

Xmas Day was exciting, it was a very overcast and cool so perfect for our climb. We were up early and keen to climb the 262 metre Frenchman’s Peak. At times the walk was quite hard but the view from the top was awesome. Surprisingly it took us less than 30 minutes to make the climb.

It was incredibly windy up the top and sometimes I thought I might get blown over by some of the gusts, but there were parts of the cave that were quite sheltered so it was much nicer in there. Coming down was much easier of course!
When we got home Kimbo had a kip (a Xmas Day tradition for him but he usually waits until after lunch!) and I eventually got our Xmas lunch ready, which was a cooked chook we’d bought yesterday and I roasted some vegies. I even heated up a Xmas pudding – nothing’s too much trouble for me! We spent the afternoon walking along the beach and taking it easy.  In fact it was the quietest Xmas either one of us can remember and it was just perfect, apart from the wind which was to be honest, bloody annoying.

The tent area is packed and I’m so pleased we’re not there.

I was horrified watching a big buck roo have his way with a defenceless doe, she didn’t stand a chance. I wanted to somehow break it up but was reminded that this is nature and I’d never come out alive…..good point. She was so weak afterwards, little wonder really especially as she was already carrying a joey, so I gave her a carrot which she received gratefully and then took off for a rest.

By Boxing Day our peace and quiet was gone, by the time we came back from our walk all camp areas were full and there were generators humming away. We enjoyed people watching and doing as we always do while camping, listening to the radio. Haven’t missed not having any electricity.

It’s been a joy being here but tomorrow we’ll see if we can get in early to Orleans Bay.