I recognize and respect the Traditional custodians and owners of the lands that I travelled through and their connection to the lands, waters and skies. I honor and respect the community elders and their ancestors who survived and cared for their countries.

On the 27th, my brother, sister-in-law, her mother, and my nephew flew home. We have one more day in the Perth area before we head south to Esperance. Which meant that most of the 27th was spent packing up. My parents did go to meet up with some old friends at my aunt and uncle’s house for lunch. That evening we went and had dinner at an authentic Greek restaurant before going back to our apartment to finish packing.

The 28th found us checking out of our apartment in Subiaco, stopping by my aunt and uncle’s house to drop off large suitcases which we are not taking down to Esperance and then starting the long eight hour drive to Esperance where we are meeting a different aunt and uncle. Emily drove. We made several stops. The first one was at Williams where we stopped for petrol and to get some lunch and to stretch our legs. Our next stop was at Lake Grace where we stopped for a cool drink and to book accommodations for our return trip. Two hours later, we made a quick stop in Ravensthorpe for more petrol and to get some sandwiches and chips for dinner. We drove for two more hours before finally getting to Esperance shortly after 8 p.m. We talked to my aunt and uncle before going to bed.

Esperance is a beautiful seaside town. It gets quite a few visitors from Kalgoorlie and Perth. It is known across the globe for its pristine beaches. On the 29th, we awoke after a good night’s sleep and made our way downtown. There was a market next to the visitor center that we looked at before going and finding coffee and tea at a little cafe. We wandered down the Esplanade back to the visitor center before going and meeting with my uncle and aunt at The Quarters for lunch. Over lunch, we actually made decisions about what we wanted to do and we booked four tickets to Woody Island for the next day. We returned to the house and got changed before heading to Twilight Beach. The water was beautiful. It was a bit chilly initially (the water comes from the Southern Ocean), but once you got in you got used to it fairly quickly. After swimming we headed to the observatory lookout and then back to the house where we showered and ordered pizza for dinner.

On the 30th, Mum, Emily, Ainsley, and I had to get up earlyish to catch our boat out to Woody Island. But first we made a quick stop to get some tea and coffee. Our boat left the Taylor Street Jetty at 9 a.m. The ride to the island was a little choppy which is pretty typical of the waters in the Recherché Archipelago which stretches for 140 miles on the southern coast of West Australia. The Archipelago contains 105 islands and over 1,200 “obstacles to shipping.” The only island that contains enough topsoil to support tall trees is Woody Island. The topsoil also allows enough stability to permit tourists. The boat trip over to Woody Island took about an hour with a couple stops on the way at other islands to see seals, sea lions, and sea eagles. Once we were on the island, we had some complimentary morning tea before joining a group of others for a guided walk. The walk turned into a hike and the guide set a good pace. It was a good hike and at one point we got to feed carrot shavings to some skinks. On the hike we also learned about a massive oil spill that happened in 1991 that turned the pristine white beaches to black. It took a lot of time and effort by the Esperance community, surrounding areas, and the state to clean it up and restore the beautiful beaches to their previous condition. After the hike, we returned to the cafe and had sandwiches and chips for lunch before heading down to the water. Emily and Ainsley went into the water. Mum and I stayed back. Just after one in the afternoon, we headed down to the dock and got ready for our boat ride back to the Mainland. It was less crowded on the way back and took a lot less time, only a half hour. We returned to the house before the others returned as well. We ordered Chinese for dinner before talking and going to bed.

New Years Eve wasn’t a big event for us. We started the day by walking to the nearest beach and taking a stroll with my aunt, uncle, and their nine-month-old border collie. We returned to the house, did some chores and then had leftover Chinese for lunch. After lunch we headed down to Castletown beach where it was very windy. We didn’t spend much time in the water, but we did rest on the beach in the sun for a bit. We headed back and showered. Several of our group headed out to pick up fish and chips for dinner. Then we decided to stay in and watch a movie on TV while waiting for the New Year to hit Sydney. We watched the fireworks show in Sydney before going to bed. New Years hit us in Esperance 14 hours ahead of Wisconsin.

New Years Day found my aunt and uncle packing up their caravan for their trip across the Nullabor to go to the Tamworth Country Music Festival. Emily and Mum went to get coffee. Once we were ready to go, our first stop was Esperance Stonehenge. It is a full scale replica of the English one, even to the point where it lines up with the June and December solstices and is made from locally sourced Esperance Granite. After our stop there, we headed to Lucky Bay. It is one of Esperance’s most famous beaches. The sand there, rather than being formed by crushed seashells, is formed from quartz. That means that when walking on the fine sand, it squeaked. The water was choppy and the beach was very touristy, so we didn’t stay long. Our next stop was Condingup Tavern for a late lunch. Dad had read about and wanted to go to Wharton Beach, so we headed there. It was a magnificent beach. Beautiful white sand, clear blue water, amazing waves. There were a couple dozen surfers. We returned home and got things for a dinner salad since all of us were feeling like we needed our vegetables.

To be continued....