Kalgoorlie to Esperance, WA

 We were back on the Kalgoorlie – Esperance Highway within a few days, eager to escape the red dirt and see the turquoise waters and white sands of Lucky Bay. The trip is approximately 390kms, passing back through Norseman and the end of the ‘Nullarbor’ heading south to the west Australian coast. Past the salt flats and into the wheatbelt region of Western Australia, this stretch of highway had us stopping at the small township of Salmon Gums. The salmon gum or salmonophloia is a eucalypt tree that grows up to 30mtrs and is used in farm forestry. This area because of the trees is known as the ‘Salmon Gums Belt’ and the township now with less than 200 residents was gazetted in 1925. We walked around the town whilst consuming our homemade caravan sandwiches and admired the Salmon Gum Hotel, a gorgeous thickset building with a stone façade. It was closed when we travelled through with an ominous or tantalising, dependent on your vision, For Sale sign collecting dust out front. I daydreamed of the pub’s potential - with the right renovation and marketing this place could be buzzing - at only about 100kms one way it could be a day trip perhaps for people holidaying in Esperance looking for a contemporary and gastronomic alternative to fish and chips and standard pub grub. Whilst I fantasised Shovel nodded dutifully… arh the potential I thought...