Finally a change of scenery! This is my first blog entry in a while as we've just been working in Albany for the past few months, but our time here is coming to an end and thus we've been trying to see all that the South West has to offer in our remaining last few weeks here. The weather has been getting better, if still a bit windy/cloudy, but the temperature has been nice enough to be able to do some of the outdoor activities around Albany. First, we took a trip to the Valley of the Giants walk in Walpole, around 1.5 hours away, in our little car along with our friends the Silvias and Mallu. A beautiful drive that took us through Denmark (not the European country!), the same way we used to drive to pruning all the way back in May, with nearly the same company! It was surreal walking amongst the gigantic trees, around 40m or so from the ground (on a stable bridge that somehow moved in the wind!)

On the way back, we got to visit ' Australia's best bakery' in Denmark and stocked up on some sweet treats! Finally, to end the Sunday, we drove to Mt Melville in Albany to enjoy the sunset (so many amazing sunset watching locations in WA!)

After another week of work and saying goodbye to Mallu, we headed off with 3 English people, 2 Germans and a Brazilian (like the start of a a bad joke!) on a 5 hour weekend road trip to Esperance. Our trip had been cancelled about a month ago due to floods but luckily this weekend was very warm (if still very windy!) Our little car was to stay here though as we borrowed a 4x4 from our friend Chris at work, which David was very excited about! This made the trip more comfortable, a bit more reliable and meant we could do some beach driving if we wanted! (We did a bit!)

We set off very early on Saturday morning, with our convoy of 2 cars and lots of coffee, as we worked till 11pm the Friday night. Most of the journey was on highway 1 (the main picture for this blog), which is not like it's name at all! Not seeing any other cars for hours, at least an hour between teensy fuel stops and all the roads off the highway were red dirt roads! After a long and boring drive for 5 hours, we reached Esperance and after getting slightly lost, turned the corner to discover our hostel was overlooking the beautiful beach! We'd paid for a 24 bed room (!?!?!!) But this (luckily) was being refurbished and so we got a 4 bed room for 4 of us! Compared to ABP, Esperance YHA was the life of luxury, with sofas, netflix, an OVEN (a massive deal) and lots to do. Esperance regularly appears on the must visit lists for Australia, so we were ready to explore and see what it had to offer!

Accommodation: Esperance YHA, $25 a night and let us change our booking for free from the flooding mishap in September! Lovely owners, and free coffee! :)