Where secret paths lead - mysterious, wild, and stunning!

 
A happy cattle dog and jack russel in the back of the car
 

Have you ever read the book The Secret Garden? I fell in love with that book: the mystery and wildness of the garden, the secrets within such a grand old house and of course the unexplained cries in the middle of the night.

I always feel like I'm heading somewhere mysterious and wild when I head to this particular beach in Esperance. Obviously the dogs feel like this too, judging by their expressions here!

 
A beach walkway. A sand path leading to the ocean
 

See what I mean by 'Where secret paths lead'? You round a corner and BANG! There is this incredibly stunning beach. It's one of my favourites and certainly not a secret in Esperance!

 
A beach. Beautiful white sand, a blue ocean meeting a blue sky
 

You can walk for miles and see absolutely nobody. It's joked that a crowded beach in Esperance has two people on it. Hard to imagine when you see the photos of Bondi, Sydney. There never looks to be a spare piece of beach to sit on there!

 
A paw print and footprint in the sand next to each other
 

The dogs love it - the freedom, being able to run.

 
A cattle dog has his paws in the foamy waves. The photo is taken from a long way away
 

And, of course, the swimming. I have a love/hate relationship with the sea. Having grown up in the mid north of SA, nowhere near a beach, I tend to find the sea quite frightening. I'm happy to paddle - up to my knees only - or walk in the shallows or on the sand. But I do not, ever, go out past my waist! My kids rib me about it continually! They think I'm a wuss, but as I explain to them, they don't like swimming in dams, and it doesn't bother me; it's what you're used to.

So where would your favourite summer swimming place be? The beach, a dam, a tank, a pool? Or somewhere I haven't thought of?

Fleur McDonald

Bestselling crime author and one of Australia’s leading rural literature authors. Having sold over 1,00,000 copies of her books, she has solidified her position as one of the country’s favourite storytellers.

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