Roadtrip to the South

'Lots of wilderness down there! You know what I mean?' - Those were the words of our neighbor Darren when I told him about our vacation plans to the South. His concerned expression made me laugh. Yes, sure, dangerous Australia with all its poisonous animals and the evil great white shark! But we all know that over a million people worldwide die in traffic accidents, while only 5 to 10 people die from a shark attack. All the other comments from friends about our destination Esperance were consistently enthusiastic: 'Esperance! Those colors! You will absolutely love it!'

Our first stop was Hyden, a place between the Wheatbelt and the Outback, known for its special over 100m long rock formation, Wave Rock. Fun climbing!

Finally Esperance, the city in the South that was recommended to us so many times. And yes, the colors are impressive! With so many beautiful beaches, one might run out of creativity when it comes to naming them: 9 Mile Beach, 10 Mile Lagoon, 11 Mile Beach - depending on how far the dream of crystal clear turquoise and radiant white is from the city center.

At the melodious Twilight Beach, we were finally called out of the water after a beautiful afternoon of surfing and bodyboarding. There was talk of a shark attack, but no further details. Shortly after, a concerned WhatsApp message from a choir friend in Perth asking if we had heard about the fatal shark attack in Esperance. A tragic diving accident had occurred on an island 6km off the coastline of Twilight Beach hours earlier. Heartbreaking.

Nevertheless, the next day we set out for Cape Le Grand National Park to spend a day at the famous Lucky Bay. We were surprised to find out that we could drive directly to the perfect white beach with our 4WD, as Lucky Bay is known to be one of the few beaches where kangaroos can be encountered. Cars parked next to each other, kangaroos making themselves comfortable in the shade of camping tents, and you have to drive a few minutes to find a secluded spot in paradise. The protected bay is perfect for the kids to surf, with crystal clear water - clearly the most beautiful beach in Western Australia for us!

The next day, we planned to drive from Esperance to Cape Le Grand National Park, but bushfires that broke out overnight prevented us from doing so. We were not affected by bushfires in Perth, and the devastating images on television were from areas that are almost 4000km away! Now, smoke columns were visible and blurred our bright blue holiday sky for at least one day. Wilderness...

And when all the beaches in Esperance were closed due to further sightings of a Great White Shark the next day, it was already time to move on to Bremer Bay, where an orca expedition was on the program.

Aurel is our whale lover and convinced us to go on this trip: to see orcas! It took some persuasion to convince a whale tour organization to let Aurel come along, as they usually don't allow children under 10 years old. The sea can get rough, and the operators simply don't want to deal with kids getting sick. However, I was able to convince them in our email correspondence, listing all the successfully completed boat and ferry trips in recent years. And it's true: Leon gets seasick even on the car ride to All Saints Day, but he never gets sick on the violently rocking boats, unlike the rest of us!

Long story short: the motion sickness medicine didn't work, and when Aurel had to throw up, the crew immediately asked how old he was... no 8-year-old is going on a whale watching trip that quickly anymore...

Anyway, Aurel was extremely excited when we found the orcas out in the sea. They swam under our boat at times, and we had many hours to observe the orca family. The marine biologist on our boat told us that last year they were worldwide for the first time when a group of orcas killed a blue whale. Since killer whales are matriarchal, the children and females always get to eat first, followed by the males. Allegedly, they even have good table manners and give each other priority when it comes to eating: You first! No, you!

On the way back, we encountered sea lions, or are they sea bears? They're all just seals, anyway!

Last stop: Treehouse somewhere in the forest between Albany and Denmark! From here, we want to explore the national parks in the area. But the treehouse itself is already a gem: with a view of the treetops and the sound of birdsong, one could sit in the rocking chair on the balcony for hours...

At Little Beach, we once again came into contact with the Australian 'wilderness', this time in the form of blue bottles. Countless washed-up Portuguese Man o' War jellyfish were lying on the beach, turning our walk into an obstacle course. Fortunately, we kept finding huge climbing rocks to lift the spirits in the group!

The Tree Top Walk in the Walpole-Nornalup National Park takes us 40m high, at eye level with giant Tingle and Karri trees.

Tingle and Karri trees belong to the Eucalyptus family and can reach a height of 70m. The microclimate here in Southwest Australia ensures that, similar to Austria, about 1000mm of rainfall per year and such forests have been able to develop.

On the last day of our vacation, we left the treehouse in the morning with 17 degrees and arrived in Perth in the afternoon at cozy 37 degrees. So off to the beach, Team Maiberg!

Blog finished! We look forward to seeing you back home!