We have reached that point again. Today is (was) Dani’s last day of school for this school year (4). His third school year in Australia. By the end of next January he will be in year 5. How time flies.

But before that we have some summer holidays to enjoy. This summer we will be heading to Jervis Bay – yet again! – for a week. In fact we waste no time and head off tomorrow. And I make no apologies for it. Jervis Bay is almost certainly my favourite spot. I know. That’s a very hard thing to judge and quantify, but I simply love it. For me – and I appreciate it must be largely an age thing – it is perfect. Busy (relatively) at this time of year but never over-crowded. You can always find a quiet spot on the many beaches in that area. Beaches galore in fact. There is also enough in the way of shops, restaurants and bars to keep all ages happy – yet amazingly still as far from being a “built up” area as you could imagine. And it’s not just the place itself either. The location is perfect as it is only a few hours drive away. Ideal.

Western Australia

Then after Christmas we head off to Perth in Western Australia for a bit of a tour of the bottom left corner of Australia. A road trip around part of the most sparsely populated state in the country.

The plan is to see one of the most remote big cities in the world (Perth) then head inland, into the outback, for the frontier town and gold mining capital of Kalgoorlie. From there we should be heading south to Esperance where the beaches are (supposedly) even more perfect than those in and around Jervis Bay. Then west to Albany for a few days at the very southwestern tip of Australia, before heading back to Perth via Margaret River and the southern west coast.

It’s a huge road trip for a 9 year old covering over 2000 km. The map below shows the the planned route(s).

We – like many others – have waited some time to be allowed to travel into Western Australia. The state was the last to unlock its doors (so to speak). It promises to be every bit as exciting as our New South Wales outback adventure. That one was two years ago!!!

So, expect more fantastic beach photos in the next few weeks. Also some more outback adventures which will undoubtedly include the quirky and bizarre as well as the scenic…