Sunday morning bushwalkers on the track between Pink Lake golf club and Twilight Beach. Photo: Tracy Lindsey
The inaugural Grounded: Esperance Hiking Festival concluded last Sunday.
The four-day festival, developed in partnership by regional tourism organisation Australia’s Golden Outback and The Hike Collective, included several “specially curated” hikes.
Walkers on Thursday had a 1.5 hour Murdidyinakabbi walking tour at Lake Monjinup, described as of the most flora and fauna rich conservation areas in Western Australia.
Friday and Saturday’s walk was at Taananeditj (Dempster Head) with a cultural history and nature experience and bush tucker tour.
We joined the Unity hike on Sunday from Pink Lake Golf Club to Twilight Beach, where three guides shepherded about 25 punters along a gentle bush trail, stopping frequently to identify local flora.
Many of the walkers had driven down from Perth for the weekend.
Within sight of Twilight Beach car park, guide Wayne Gill caught and showed the punters one of Australia’s most venomous snakes (“don’t try this at home kids”) in the form of a small dugite, before letting it go.
The festival is part of a larger strategy supported by the state and local government to attract more visitors to Esperance during the off-peak season.
