Leaving
Albany today we dropped into the dive
shop to collect a Dive Log Australasia (a free publication that often publishes articles and letters we submit). The owner seemed a good guy and took time to explain the various dive sites we could do around the area. The main dive in the area is the wreck of the Cheynes 11, a whaling ship that was purpose sank in 1982 for diving in 30m. We had read all about it yesterday at Whaleworld and it was a shame that to miss the dive. The weather is not always kind in
Albany and we couldn't wait around for a good day.
We had planned to drive as far as
Bremer Bay but once we started driving we realised it wasn't really far enough. It was 50km off the main road too so we didn't even bother to take a look. I spent most of the trip with my head in the maps and brochures and picked our next spot to be
Stokes Inlet in the
Stokes National Park just out of
Esperance. I know we missed some great coastline and beaches at
Hopetoun and
Bremer Bay but we've seen lots of this coatline already.
We drove until quite late for us and didn't set up
camp until around 5pm. There wasn't much to "set up" just a matter of popping the roof and setting up the gas cooker. We weren't quite the only campers but it was a quiet night. The
ranger came to chat for a while and helped us plan our visit to
Cape Le Grand and Cape Arid National Parks just east of
Esperance. Unfortunately, this is one of those stupid National Parks where it is not allowed to make a
camp fire - gas bbqs are provided. I can't
cook a roast on a gas bbq! Luckily I'm getting used to being prepared with back up dinners and cooked a spaghetti bolognaise with fresh mushrooms and fresh rosemary herbs and a salad with the last of our Margaret River feta cheese.