Motorhome adventure by 4x4 in Western Australia - the magic of Australia

A few days before departure I had a quick cup of tea with my mother, who is now 82 years old and asks where the trip is going. We are going to Australia mom! Oh really? You've been there so many times why are you going there again, and for 5 weeks? I was silent for a moment because it's a good question. Why does someone who has been to Australia 20 times still go back.

What makes this country so special - ?

The myth of Terra Australis Incognita, the Unknown Southland, was ended by maritime explorer and cartographer Captain James Cook. He charted the continent of Australia and the state of New South Wales came under the English flag. Much has happened since 1768, and despite all the technological advances, Australia still remains that faraway land in the southern hemisphere.

Since the times of James Cook, travel time has shortened considerably, but we still spend 18-22 hours on a plane. When you get off you find a rich, modern and Western country with a friendly and "easy going" culture and impressive nature. The country is 185 times bigger than the Netherlands and only 24 million people live there - most of them the 8 largest cities and on the coast, the rest of the country is therefore very sparsely populated and that gives space, lots of space.

The hippest bars in cities like Sydney, Melbourne and Perth are not hard to find. As are the excellent restaurants that use the freshest homegrown produce and wines. But what could be better than heading out into that beautiful countryside and taking a break from contemporary hectic life? Of course with a full cooler, with all those goodies.

No sooner said than done, on December 4, after a few days in the city, we picked up our Trailfinder camper van, a Toyota Landcruiser 4WD, at the Apollo Motorhomes office in Perth. We had a wonderful 23 days to choose our own path and go wherever we wanted. The biggest vacation rush in Australia takes place from December 26 to the end of January, so we didn't foresee any problems in terms of freedom.

First we bought a compressor to inflate the tires (you'd better get stuck in all that sand) and off we went. On the first evening we caught a beautiful sunset at Cervantes in the Pinnacle Desert. The next day a quick look at Lake Thetis at the extraordinary stromatolites and then swimming and hanging out in the azure Indian Ocean at Hangover Bay. And we shouted, there's no one here at all. Which wasn't quite true, a little further on a kitesurfer was out to sea.

We certainly won't soon forget lunch at the Lobster Shack in Cervantes, fresh lobster, although there were a few more people in the sea-view restaurant.

Western Australia is grand and immersive; we enjoyed many more days there. In the West it borders the azure Indian Ocean with beautiful sunsets every night. To the south is the Southern Ocean, which eventually ends at Antarctica. The wonderful thing about this area is that there are still places where you can camp on the beach or drive your 4x4 car. Near Kalbarri, you can do this at Lucky Bay Campground. Not to be confused with Lucky Bay in the Cape Le Grand NP near Esperance. The latter location is best known because kangaroos hop across the beach daily and often lie there relaxed. This campsite in the Cape Le Grand NP is always full and you need to make reservations far in advance. Unfortunately we didn't manage to do this, however, we found an even nicer campground with facilities a little further away - at the Duke of Orleans Bay - without much trouble.

Tip from Margret:

In the area near Wharton Beach, it was really wonderful to drive for miles along the beach and then just park on the beach for a picnic lunch and swim.

The trip was a succession of Oaaa and Aaaaa moments and lovely weather, sometimes even a little too warm.
Everywhere Down Under, but especially in Western Australia, nature is grand and impressive!

In conclusion I would like to share with you a well-known verse from an Australian poem, written somewhere in 1904 by a homesick young Australian woman of 19. It gives a nice picture of what makes Australia so special.

My Country - Dorothea Mackellar

I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror -
The wide brown land for me