Hopetoun
Leaving Esperance and having made up my mind to avoid major tourist towns for fear of not finding a place to stay. I looked for a small out of the way town still on the coast, my main reason for exploring this part of Western Australia.
I found Hopetoun (Named after Lord Hopetoun) fitting the bill, I knew nothing about the town other than it was near the Fitzgerald River National Park, close enough to be able to leave Mon Chéri comfortably in the caravan for the time it took me to visit the park.
Crossing my fingers I made my way to Hopetoun hoping to find a spot in the freecamp in town, no such luck, I did not qualify, as I do not have a grey water tank which was a requirement, (Mind you where it was the grass would have benefited from a good drink as it was so dry) plus it was extremely crowded and NEEDED TO BE BOOKED.
A little down I looked for a Caravan Park, I was in luck they had plenty of room and I could stay a few nights (as opposed to 48h in the rest stop that needed to be booked). The park itself was not very caravan friendly that is not to say it was an unfriendly park just that the layout was strange with copious trees making it difficult to navigate which I found out later.
I was given a spot not too crowded but in between trees and was told what the office was the best way to back the van in. (the office had obviously never tried to back a van my size into that spot).
After a half attempt it was obvious to me that coming in the other way was better less obstructions, so I decided to drive passed and turn around so I could come from the other way, bad move as while doing this, trying to avoid some children I did not notice that one tree leant over the road, ouch! I wiped out my awning, (Looking at that tree I was not the only van to do that as it had many scars at about the same height) by now I was just a little upset ( a little? Well maybe a lot!!!).
I was right though coming from this side made it quite a bit easier, but still not easy doing it solo. That night I needed a good stiff Scotch to calm down, and secure the awning so that it did no further damage, and think about arranging a replacement, OUCH!! Thank goodness for insurance.
That was my introduction to what I thought was a sleepy little town, built around fishing or so I thought. Fishing might have been its past but now it was becoming a mining town (what do they mine did I hear you ask? Something that is becoming more in demand then gold LITHIUM).
In the morning I decided to explore what I could outside of the national park, to see what I could see as I was not going to let that mishap spoil my trip, the awning could wait till I was in the mood to deal with it. The area did not disappoint I may be back at a later date (will I have a chainsaw with me for revenge? Maybe p-).)
Fitzgerald River National Park I found out is part of the Hakea and Banksia track though because of Dieback (for more information see DIEBACK) in the area, parts of the park are closed, and only the tar roads are open with limited walking tracks to explore. This trip was well worth leaving MM in the van for the day even if I found sand all over my bed when I returned.
In Hopetoun there was more confirmation that I needed to rethink the coastal towns as places to stay. I was informed that everything from Bremmer Bay on, in my plans needed to be booked weeks ago.
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