Esperence - Day 8

Happy Easter everyone.  Who was up at 5.15am ?  The Power kids were!  I think the anticipation of whether the easter bunny would find us out on the sheep station just got too much for them.  And of course he found us, we had seen evidence of bunnies on the station so knew he had friends there, he was very generous to the kids and he also hid some little eggs around the van.  It was a fun morning but we decided to pack up and keep moving, there were so many walks, hikes & tours to do on the property but we wanted to make it through to Esperance to spend a few days.  Petrol at Norseman was back down to $1.66, making a huge difference to the bill today.  A pretty easy drive today - well easy on me being the passenger! - only 300kms.  The kids have settled into a good routine in the car and are barely asking" are we there yet" but the clock in the car set on melbourne time is causing no end of confusion for them so i think its time we changed it over.  We have started packing a little plastic basket each morning full of snacks for the drive, only stopping for toilet breaks and to make lunch, which is making a difference on our timing and cutting out the constant "I'm hungry mum"  With 4 caravan parks in Esperance we did a drive around only to find that most were bursting at the seams, we booked into Pink Lake caravan park, which has a jumping pillow so the kids are rapt.  It is $59 a night and busy so we are finding it hard to be camped so close to people after the last few nights of open spaces.  We went down to the esplanade which is really beautiful, lots of seaweed but such white sand and so many color blues out to the deep ocean.  The port is there too with 2 ships on its wharf & 3 more out at sea waiting.  Many waiting out there as they won't load the grain until it's paid for.  They load iron ore and grain out of Esperance, the grain being local and the iron ore most of which comes from mines further north.  We spoke to a local man who was fixing the miniture steam trains that run around the park on the esplanade.  All volunteers who work in the workshop & locals who donate their time & money to bulid on the already great family area there.  There is a stunning clock tower that chimes every quarter hour & on the hour it chimes and the bells play a tune- today was deck the halls, the kids were laughing because it wasnt christmas but it was so beautiful to listen to.  It starts at 7am and chimes through until 10 pm, no longer allowed to chime through the night as a local had complained of the noise :(  The iron work was done by 2 local men and was a work of art, the young guy was 76 years old and his mate is 83, what great craftsman.  We drove the great ocean drive and saw the most amazing beaches, once again our photos just dont do the rocks, the sand, the ocean or the size of the waves any justice.  The pink lake was a sight to be seen, it was a kind of light purple today but we are told it changes colors depending on the direction you look.  We did a shop for fruit & vegies today as we hadnt had anything fresh since our cleanout at the border.  So vegies in our beef goulash tonight and plenty of fruit for the next few days.  Majority of town was shut being easter sunday but IGA and bunnings were open.   Lots of photos to come, might try to use some of McDonalds wifi tomorrow to see if that works for me.