Cathy in Esperance

I left Maryborough, on the morning of the 18th of April while Eric was painting “Erica” and when I got to Hervey Bay Airport it was pouring with rain. The wet season in QLD had certainly been that. In 16 weeks he had had rain at some stage of the day for 14 of the 16 wks.
I had a few hours to fill in before my flight to Sydney, then there was a delay due to bad weather. I spent a couple of hours in Sydney before boarding the plane to Perth arriving at 2355hrs to the smiling faces of Kellie, Rohan and Bruce. Rather than stay at the hotel my agency had booked me into, I stayed at Bruce’s lovely apartment with this view over the river to the city.
My flight to Esperance was delayed by 4 hrs so we enjoyed a nice breakfast cooked by the girls, then a stroll and sightsee in the neighbourhoodThe 720kms to Esperance was mostly above the clouds until we dropped under them to land. The landscape was pretty dry and barren. The farmers were waiting for rain to start seeding wheat, corn and sorghum

The temperature on landing at 1330hrs was 12C. A bit different to the upper 20s in Queensland. I was met by Mathew, who is a patient care assistant at the hospital and taken for a quick tour, basics stocked up from the hospital kitchen and taken to my accommodation

The units are set beside a plantation of trees and in the morning I was woken to bird song. My neighbour and colleague Ann invited me to walk the Esplanade with her where we enjoyed coffee as the sun came up. This trailer “Coffee Cats” is here everday and does a very good trade. The chairs look out to the bay of islands and the jetty wharf. There is a resident seal called Sammy who loves to perform for the tourists.

My first week on the ward involved 2 orientation days with 3 other nurses which was very pleasant then 3 days buddied with a colleague. I am working predominantly as a midwife but if its quiet I work as a nurse. The staff are very welcoming and very happy to have their staffing quota full

After work each day I walked the 5mins to the beach and town to explore. Here are some photos of the immediate area.

There are lots of parks and BBQ areas along the foreshore