Take a ten-kilometre drive out of town to the beautiful bushlands, lakes and coastal landscapes of Monjingup Lake Reserve. Enjoy a breakfast picnic and walk the trails searching for red kangaroo paw, showy banksia, four-winged and blue mallee, pincushion hakeas and flowering Christmas trees. Leave Esperance, heading west on the South Coast Highway to Stokes Inlet Road and Stokes National Park. Here, you can view one of the most picturesque estuaries along Western Australia’s southern coast from the shade of the paperbark trees and spot the unusual bell-fruited mallee. Those travelling by 4WD can choose to venture a little deeper into the park. Just over an hour to the west lies Ravensthorpe – your gateway to more south-coast wildflower wonders, including the Ravensthorpe Range. Make your first stop at the visitor centre for information on local scenic drives and walk trails to view the region's wildflowers, including Ravensthorpe bottlebrush, nodding banksia, beaufortia, blue scaveola, leschenaultia, one-sided bottlebrush, verticordia grandiflora, claw featherflower, everlastings, qualup bells, dryandra and poached dampiera. Follow the Archer or Ethel Daw scenic drives to the lookout or, if you stay an extra day, follow the Mount Short drive to tackle the summit trail. Overnight in Ravensthorpe.