Esperance and Bremer Bay – The jewels of the WA crown

Peter ‘Spida’ Everitt and his wife Sheree (who you might know from The Great Australian Doorstep TV show) run fully escorted motorhome convoy tours in Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada and Alaska. Here, Spida takes us to Esperance and Bremer Bay in Western Australia.

For a lot of travellers, Esperance is just that bit too far away. If you’ve never been there, you don’t know what you’re missing out on! It really is a remarkable place.

Situated on the south coast of Western Australia, the only way to get there for anyone coming from the east is along the Nullarbor. If you’re coming from the north you can go via the southern coast of WA or through Kalgoorlie and the Goldfields-Esperance region. 

Our trip saw us go across the Nullarbor into Norseman, and then down to Esperance and along to Bremer Bay, ending up in Albany. You know how you often read magazines or look in brochures and the pictures look wonderful, but when you get there the place is nothing like the glossy photos? There are no photos that can possibly do Esperance and Bremer Bay justice. They are absolutely out of this world. We have travelled the world extensively and nowhere have we ever seen sand so white, ocean so blue and landscape so diverse, dotted with brightly coloured wildflowers at certain times of the year. Even with the wildest artist’s imagination, you couldn’t paint a picture better than the real life surrounds of Esperance or Bremer Bay. This area is definitely a jewel in Australia’s crown.

With our caravan park right on the beachfront in Esperance, we very quickly eased into the cruisey local lifestyle. It’s a happening seaside town and it didn’t take us long to get into the swing of things. First up was a beach drive in our 4WD. Anyone can drive the beaches here. The only rule? Just be safe!

The next bit of action that Esperance was to throw our way was a drive out to Cape Le Grand National Park. And boy isn’t it Grand! The best spot was Hellfire Bay. Again, I just cannot begin to describe it, nor do our pictures do it justice. It’s just one of those places you must visit in person to get the real idea. We played on the beach for nearly four hours. It is remote, so untouched and yet so welcoming. We had a little BBQ for lunch and just whiled the time away staring at the amazing Hellfire Bay, pinching ourselves occasionally to make sure we weren’t dreaming. Cape Le Grand is an easy one-hour drive out of Esperance – make sure you take a picnic because you will not want to leave. As well as Hellfire Bay there any many secluded beaches dotted throughout Cape LeGrand National Park, including Lucky Bay and Rossiter Bay, as well as the Frenchman Peak lookout.

I would advise staying at least four days in Esperance – there’s a lot to see and do, as well as it being a great place to relax. Esperance is definitely the pot of gold at the end of the Nullarbor rainbow!

After a full week in Esperance enjoying every second, we packed up and headed off for Bremer Bay, a four-hour drive away. Situated on the south coast of Western Australia in the Great Southern region, it sits at the mouth of the Bremer River, between Albany and Esperance (180km and 395km away, respectively).

Bremer Bay is a quaint beachside village with just 250 permanent residents and a great holiday park. It’s home to some of the world’s most beautiful beaches, as well as the Wellstead Heritage Museum, which was actually the original town name of Bremer Bay.

John Wellstead settled in Bremer Bay in the early 1850s, turning over the land to sheep and cattle grazing. Four generations on, the original Wellstead homestead (and now heritage museum) stands, bearing historic witness to this early pioneering family. It houses more than 3,000 exhibits which give life to the ways of early colonial life – one of the most extensive collections we have ever seen. Within the Peppermint Grove homestead, the original, self-contained stone cottages provide clean and modern accommodation within historic (and renovated) walls. 

Bremer Bay’s beaches are remote yet welcoming. They are home to some of the world’s whitest sand and bluest waters. This part of Australia is another brilliant example of just how diverse and unique Australia really is.

Travel tips

• Prepare to stay longer than you plan (blame it on the area’s raw, compelling beauty!)

• Take your water sports gear with you, as you’ll spend hours on the picturesque beaches

Fast facts

• Esperance’s major industries are tourism, agriculture and fishing
• Bremer Bay was originally named Wellstead
• Whales are often less than 50metres from the shore in Bremer Bay

Watch The Great Australian Doorstep TV show on Saturdays at 2pm on Channel 7Twos, or tune in to the radio show every weekend across the TripleM and FlowFM networks – 68 stations, Australia-wide.