Dive in Esperance

Travel to Esperance

On the southern coast of Australia in the state of Western Australia, Esperance is coastal town located 720km from the state capital of Perth and home to some lovely beaches, spectacular scenery and great fishing. 

You can drive from Perth and it’ll take you around seven hours.  Alternatively you can fly into Albany and drive from there which is four and half hours away and you can stop at the Fitzgerald National Park along the way. 

There are many apartments, lodges, hotels, motels and parks around town.  You can find a double room for about $110 a night or an apartment works out cheaper if there are a few of you or stay in the camping and caravan park for a budget option.

Relax for the day on Twilight Beach or check out the museum in town.  Visit the Pink Lake which isn’t really pink or much of a lake but a salt pan.  Just out of town are the wind turbines that are cool to get up close too.  The Cape Le Grand National Park has some beautiful scenery and nice walks. 

There are around 140 islands off the coast of Esperance in the Recherché Archipelago and this makes for some great diving.  You’ll find a dive centre in town that does charters out to some of the islands.  With caves, large boulders and lots of swim throughs, exploring the water here is interesting and you’ll see a lot of cool stuff.

Sea life includes colourful coral and sponges, the protected Blue Grouper, snapper, cuttlefish, weedy and leafy sea dragons, seals, dolphins, huge crayfish and abalone that you can catch and have for dinner (if you have a licence to catch them).  There are many dive sites around the islands.  Advanced divers can enjoy the 174 metre Sanko Harvest Wreck, a huge bulk cargo ship that sank in 1991.  You can also dive around Lion Island, Remark Island and Long Island.  

Whether you like beach or nature, Esperance surely has something for you.  

(By Kelly Luckman)