- The Nullarbor
- Esperance
- The Great Southern
- Lovely Freo
- Rottnest Island and the Quokkas
- Holidays down under
- Perthday and Housesitting in Mandurah
- Mandurah to Yanchep National Park
- Lancelin & The Pinnacles
- Pink Lake & Kalbarri National Park
- Shark Bay
- Francois Peron National Park
- Quobba Blow Holes
- Coral Bay
- Exmouth & Cape Range National Park
- Working in Hyden
- Whale Sharks
- Karijini National Park
- Dampier Peninsula
- El Questro
- A Sun-Soaked Adventure: Unveiling the Best Beaches in Exmouth, Australia
The heat immediately hit us upon our arrival in Fremantle. What lovely weather! We decided to satisfy our rumbling stomachs, so we searched for a nice place to eat. The locals also refer to Fremantle as “Freo.” It’s a suburb of Perth, small but very charming. One downside is the paid parking, but that’s just how it is in cities. The Beach Bar caught our eye right away. Sun, sea, beach. What more could one ask for? After the rain comes… And hallelujah, these tropical temperatures felt amazing! Of course, we don’t want to complain, far from it! We’re well aware that there are different temperatures on the other side of the world. But with our mobile home, we live mostly outdoors, so the weather significantly impacts us. And yes, it affects my mood too 😉
We lingered longer than planned because we finally had that summery feeling we came here for! AMAZING! Later, we took a short walk through the town center to stretch our legs. We stumbled upon a very cozy hotel and (oh dear) treated ourselves to another night in a heavenly soft bed. It’s a bit decadent, but we’ve given up a lot to be able to come here, and after all, we’re here to enjoy ourselves. We were lucky because we were offered a delightful cheese and wine hour in the lobby. With two glasses of wine and our bellies nicely filled, we headed back into the town center. The “Little Creatures” brewery, known for its delicious Australian beer, is located here. We did a beer tasting there. We were each served ten small beers and a cider. Luckily, our hotel was within walking distance so that we could leave our car behind. We fell asleep in an instant!
The following day, we had a visit to the prison planned. It was built in the 19th century and closed its doors in 1991. The prison was a place of hangings, corporal punishment, dramatic escape attempts, and riots. Fremantle Prison is now one of the largest remaining cell blocks in the world. We had a guided tour of the prison, where we learned a lot of information and saw the evolution of the cells. We could look at the kitchen, bathrooms, and courtyard, among other areas. We also had the opportunity to see the spot where many prisoners were hanged. There were many intense stories told. It was truly a remarkable experience and worth visiting.
In the afternoon, we began searching for a campground, which was difficult. Once you’re near a city, there are no more free campsites. Furthermore, the prices tend to skyrocket. We found one reasonably priced, but we had to drive another half hour to get there. We quickly stopped at Coles along the way to stock up on some food supplies. Suddenly, I spotted a Honda garage. We decided to stop there and inquire if we could retrieve the “anti-theft code” for our radio. Luck was on our side! They could access the code through the chassis number in the system, and luckily, the previous owner never changed it. Woohoo, music is on the road again! 😀
During the night, a strong wind suddenly blew in. There were gusts of up to 65 km/h. While our tent can withstand it, the noise it creates is less pleasant. You can hear, see, and feel the tent (and sometimes even our car) moving significantly. I wasn’t at ease and couldn’t sleep a wink. On the other hand, Ely always falls asleep quickly and manages to get a few hours of rest. By five o’clock in the morning, it was already broad daylight here. That also means that on hot days, we start melting in our tent around six-thirty because the sun has been shining on it for quite some time. We enjoyed a calm day at the campground, writing blog posts, FaceTiming with family, gaming, and reading with the sun on our faces. Now and then, we truly enjoy these moments.
After our wonderful trip to Rottnest Island (which will be a separate blog post), we slept like babies. We savored our complimentary hostel breakfast. It’s not much: coffee/tea and white toast with jam or peanut butter. But every little bit counts… It was going to be a scorching day, reaching around 40 degrees. Since it was the weekend, the Fremantle Markets were open. They are located in a covered courtyard with various stalls. The atmosphere was pleasant, but it was very hot there as well. I had a brewed iced coffee from the tap. The heat, especially the burning sun, is completely different from what we’re used to in Europe. It’s due to the hole in the ozone layer. We quickly stopped at the beach and spent the rest of the day lounging in beach chairs. What more could one need?! We booked a different campground because the previous one had two consecutive nights of strong wind. It had to do with its location between mountains. There were also more permanent residents than holidaymakers, which isn’t unusual given the high rental prices in Perth and the surrounding area. Those people didn’t bother us, but we could feel that the atmosphere was different.
Our new campground was very cozy, with only 15 spots, so it was very peaceful. We woke up early again due to the heat. When we unzipped our tent, we saw a spider hanging. Of course, it wasn’t a big deal, but it didn’t stop at just one spider. Our entire tent, car, table, and chairs were covered in small and larger spiders. They were everywhere. They live in the trees right next to our spot. After asking our neighbor, a local, we were relieved to learn that they weren’t venomous. However, that doesn’t mean they can’t bite and leave a painful lump.
The holidays are approaching. Australians mainly celebrate Christmas Day and Boxing Day (the second day of Christmas here). Everything was closed then, so we wanted to ensure we had a place to stay. We extended our booking for a few days to cover the Christmas period. Luckily, we were assigned a different spot on the grass, far away from the trees and spiders. We decided to use the electricity available since we would be staying here for a few days.
Normally, we can rely on our second battery and solar panel to power our fridge, laptop, and phones for a while, but we wanted to be sure. We were very happy to have electricity. It’s funny how you take it for granted at home, but it’s no longer a given for us. 😀 We made sure we had enough food and went to the store for a quick run. The rest of the day, we enjoyed another quiet day. There were some light rain showers, but our sunshade kept us dry, and fortunately, it was still warm enough to sit outside.
X Inez & Ely
????en breng eens wat zon want hier vriest het de billen eraf
Padré
Wat een manier om de feestdagen door te brengen, in alle rust en met brandende zon… heerlijk!! x
Altijd leuk om jullie belevenissen te volgen ! Geniet met volke teugen en prettige feestdagen ????????????????
Groetjes Els