Thursday 27th December

Today was more like Xmas, for me at least. This was the day that I'd been looking forward to as much as I looked forward to Xmas as a kid. We've had our van for 4 days now & we're itching to get it out on a proper run.

We packed all our things into the van & gave our section of the house a good clean before heading off towards Pemberton, our first nights 'accommodation'. We stocked up on ciders, fuel, water & food, in that order & drove to Bridgetown for lunch. Nick knows of a bakery on the high street there so we had a pie each to keep us going. They were pie perfection & at a reasonable price!

We continued on through Manjimup, taking in the ridiculously good scenery around each bend on either side of the road before arriving Pemberton - Big Brook Dam.

Luckily we got the last 2 overflow spaces! We settled quickly, so Carly & I did the 6km hike around the dam. It was gorgeous - there is a man made beach on the lake & the water was crystal clear so we stopped for a quick dip. Being high season, there were a few people here but still not enough to call it 'busy'. On the way back from the dam we saw a King Brown snake - Google this if you are unsure what it is & you'll understand why we wished that teleporting was possible. We picked up the pace, walked in single file in the middle of the path & scanned one side of the path each for any other critters that might fancy killing us! Nothing more, I'm glad to say, we made it back in one piece.

We cooked our spicy pepperoni pasta, a favourite of ours from previous Oz & NZ travels & chatted with Nick & Helen before calling it a day.

Denmark, Australia

Friday 28th December

A quick breakfast & tidy up, another swim in the lake for good measure & hygiene purposes before setting off again, South, on Highway 1. We passed through Walpole - home to 'Valley of the Giants' tree top walk, the furthest east we managed last time we were in WA. It brought back a few memories, all good of course!

We continued along the coast to Denmark, I made a joke that we should pop into Sweden while we're here but Carly didn't laugh. It wasn't supposed to get a laugh though I promise. Our first choice camp spot was rammed so we carried on to Parson's Beach - fines charged for camping but we had no choice. It was gorgeous, we spent 3 hours sat on the beach, waiting for sunset & then Helen cooked a chicken jalfrezi for all of us, it was epic. Only one other camper risked stopping here the night so it was very quiet & the full moon was particularly bright. Loved it!!!

Albany, Australia

Saturday 29th December

Early rise this morning to avoid being caught by the park ranger! We went for a morning swim in the sea & then drove on to Albany. It was only a 40km drive so we had the whole day to explore the town & see the sights properly as Helen had already booked us a proper campsite for the night.

We checked out 'The Gap' which was basically a 25m sheer drop into the sea, carved out by waves over more years than I can imagine, then to 'Natural Bridge', where a hole had been carved in the rock by the sea to create a natural bridge, hence the name.

Then we went to blowholes, which on this occasion could have been mistaken for just holes as the tide was out & the sea was calm! Luckily it was only 2km up & down hills with thousands of flies in your face constantly & 35 degree heat beaming down on us. Tip - if you visit here, make sure the tide is high & the sea is rough!

From here we checked out Goode Beach, thank the mother of Jesus that we did.....we found one of our favourite ever beaches! Powdery white sands, perfectly clear ocean, almost unpopulated & of course, a decent surf to piss about in. We spent as long as we could here before burning up & headed to the lookout at Mount Clarent. We had awesome views from here so took a few pics & headed back into town for lunch. HUNGRY JACKS! - or BURGER KING! for everyone outside Oz, much needed burger times! A quick shop for a few bits & bobs then to our campsite for a proper shower & a chill out over a glass of goon (5L box of wine that generally varies in cost from $9 to $15) & a carbonara for 2. If anyone reading this doesn't feel evenly slightly inspired to b***** off & do something similar then either I'm a s*** writer or you've got issues!!! The campervan experience is a must in my opinion, luxury or basic, everyone should do it at least once.

Betty's Beach, Australia

Sunday 30th December

We woke early this morning as the van was getting warm the moment the sun came up. By 9am we were back in the town centre ready to buy our supplies & head onto our next camp spot. The only problem was that it was Sunday, shops don't open until 11! So we had a wander round, drooling over some of the breakfasts the cafes were churning out for their customers & generally loitering, unaware that one of the supermarkets at the other end of town was already open. We eventually got our supplies & a body board each for a giggle. We drove to our next free camping spot, Betty's Beach. It was a perfect postcard beach & we were parked up with a view of the whole bay, just feet from the squeakiest sand I've ever known. Something to do with the silica content or something, it squeaks underfoot, very strange.

All day we were in & out of the sea to keep cool & make use of our 'Age 5+' body boards, it was great. The stars were good tonight so we spent an hour getting bad necks.

Munglinup Beach, Australia

Monday 31st December

Almost 400km further east of Betty's Beach was our next camping spot. We were aiming to spend 3 nights at Munglinup Beach, a nature reserve with water, toilets & showers for just $10 a night. We already had our supplies from Albany a couple days previous, so today was all about driving. It took us around 6 hours to get here with a couple stops to refuel, grab a bottle of celebratory bubbly & stretch our legs.

We bagged a couple of decent parking spots either side of a shaded table area & set up camp. We were straight in the sea after a tiring day on the road. The beach here has a reef around 50m out, which makes the swimming area very calm & clear, the other side of the reef gets hammered by the biggest waves we've seen yet!

On the evening we all ate dinner & Nick set up the TV! We watched a Peter Kay documentary & then chatted until the year had passed & just like that the next one started. We all crashed soon after.

Tuesday 1st January

A chill out day today, Kindle reading, blog writing, cooking, fishing, swimming & a film on the TV before bed. It was our first chance to stay put for the day & not worry about getting to our next destination which was so nice. I successfully avoided all fish with my squid bait. Nick caught several different fish, plus the same sea bream twice!

Wednesday 2nd January

Happy Birthday Mother! We hope you had a great day. Today was much of the same as yesterday with a little bit more eating & again no fish catching!

Esperance, Australia

Thursday 3rd January

We left Nick & Helen this morning to continue our journey East, while they head back to the real world in the West. An enormous thank you to both you guys for housing us, feeding us, entertaining us, sharing your annual holiday with us & of course finding 'Terry'.

A short 100km drive to Esperance & a visit to the Tourist Information Centre for a map & a cheeky number 2, before heading onto the 'Great Ocean Drive'.

This leads us past all the beaches around Esperance & I tell you now that these are some of the best in the World. Twilight Beach was recognised as Australia's finest beach in 2006 & deservedly so. The only let down was that title - it was obviously well publicised here & now every man & his dog are hogging the sand. We passed some incredible houses along the drive, a pink lake (high levels of keratin) & a dozen beaches at least. Seriously breathtaking.

This led us nicely into lunch time & being by the sea puts you in the mood for fish & chips of course. $22 seemed steep but when it came, we could have shared one portion! We didn't waste any though J. We drove 40km to Cape LeGrand National Park to camp but when we arrived it was full. So we drove all the way back & checked out an olive farm on the way.

The guy was clearly short on visitors. We only dropped in to buy a jar of olives for the trip ahead but ended up with a guided tour of the factory, instructions on how they pick & crush the olives, a taste test of olive oils, a lesson on World politics & eventually.....our olives. They are yum though so he obviously knows what he's doing!

From here we did a big shop & decided to head for Norseman, a small town that acts as a gateway to 'The Nullarbor'. We made it almost all the way there, stopping at a free rest spot for the night & cooking up scotch fillet steak & potato salad. For travellers we don't half eat well!