Cape Le Grand Beaches
Esperance, on the south east coast of Western Australia, boasts that it has Australia’s best beaches. Town beach is pretty, but the beaches that really stick in your mind are those in the Cape Le Grand National Park. Le Grand Le Grand is the first beach you come across in the park. Le Grand lives up to its name. The beach is a wide flat expanse of, often very windy, sand. The beach looks across the Recherche Archipelago, or Bay of Isles and on a clear day you can make out Esperance behind the islands. This is one of the two areas in the park offering camping facilities. Hellfire Bay…
Pioneering in Western Australia
Since gold was discovered in Kalgoorlie in 1893 pioneers came from far and wide leaving traces across WA and, unbeknownst to many, there are some abandoned homesteads not far from Esperance. There are two homesteads that are relatively easy to find. Deralinyup homestead The first is Deralinya which was built in 1890 and home to Mr Scott who lived there while he worked on the land. It lay in ruins for years until Roger Robertson came across it and decided to lavish love upon it and restore it. It now boasts a complete tin roof, whitewashed walls and a few bits of furniture. There is a dunny (outhouse) in a…
Where should you live in Australia?
Australia appeals to immigrants for many reasons not least of all the weather. Ahead of arriving though, it is easy to not really grasp the sheer size of Australia and make assumptions about what living in one place or another might be like. Read on for a quick guide. Australia is simply enormous and the distances between places are frequently underestimated. When Aussies say ‘it is just up the road’ it is common to discover it to be a several-hundred kilometre trip. Prepare yourself for some long drives if you are seriously contemplating moving to Australia, especially if you will live in rural Australia. Long drives aside though, one of…
Christmas in Australia
Across much of the world Christmas is a cold time of year. The opposite is true in Australia. Christmas and the first few months of each year bring the hottest summer weather to Australia. What is a ‘hot’ Christmas like? Read on! Let it snow…oh wait a minute Well, let’s start by not having to dig the car out of all the snow on the driveway and scrape the ice off the windscreen. That just doesn’t happen here. You’re unlikely to need your thermal undies either, although you may need more than a bikini if you’re celebrating in Tasmania. Turkey lurkey or toss another shrimp on the barbie? Is your…
How to buy a car in Australia
I’ve recently bought a used car in Australia, and my goodness, how much easier my life is going to be now. Beyond city centres, Australia is not an easy place to be without a car, especially when you find yourself living in a town with no public transport! Having discovered just how complicated the process of buying a car is though, I thought I would share some information on how to go about it. Find a car To find out what is for sale, check the classified section of the local papers and local social media groups. IGA Supermarkets often have community noticeboards outside, so check these too. Once you…
Australian Big Things
Australia is a massive country with a relatively small population, meaning there is lots of lovely space. So it is understandable that the Aussies go ‘big’ and have several large things around the country that have long attracted visitors. There are SO many big things around Australia. These are only the big things I have managed to see so far. What is the story behind Australia’s big things? Hello Mr Prawnie! This large prawn on the road from Learmonth airport to Exmouth is the symbol of a seafood factory, which processes various types of seafood, but a local favourite is prawns and when they are so fantastically fresh and priced…
The Secret Curfew
Living in regional Australia is a unique experience. We non-aussies forget just how vast Australia is. There are thousands of tiny towns strewn across the country. I live in one right now. My nearest city currently is Perth and it is 800km away. That takes 9 hours of constant driving. That’s a bloody long way. Living in such a remote location is challenging in several ways. Nightlife, activities, shopping and meeting people can all prove tricky. These are issues that most people can overcome eventually. I have noticed one significant concern in regional Australia though and it is something that is rarely spoken about. It is kangaroos. They are not…
The Aussie Way – Part 2
Earlier in the year I posted ‘The Aussie Way’ which you can read here. I highlighted a few of the differences between Australia and other places. Travellers are quick to assume that English-speaking countries don’t actually differ much. They do though and, especially if you live in another country as an expat, you will notice the subtle differences. There are Lots of Rules Australia seems to be the land of rules. Looking at this positively, the rules protect society and provide certainty, enabling everyone to expect things to be a certain way. Fines for littering for example, I can’t see many people arguing with. However, Australia’s many strict rules also…
Australia’s Wild Wild West
Do you love old Westerns? Or maybe you find the idea of having a go at gold-prospecting exciting? Either way, you will love a trip to Kalgoorlie, in Western Australia. During the Australian gold rush (sparked in 1893) Kalgoorlie developed rapidly and soon became Australia’s third largest town. Its status is nowadays diminished somewhat, but the wealth with which the town was built is still evident in the now aged but still grand buildings. The architecture is splendid and quite unique to the town. Walking along Hannan Street is like walking onto a Wild West movie set, if you can ignore the traffic and mobile phone shops that is. Here…
Come to Australia…and get Killed!
This afternoon I had my first unplanned encounter with one of the most notorious and widely feared Australian creatures: an Australian spider. I was hanging out the laundry: hang, peg, hang, peg, as you do, when out of the corner of my eye I spotted a glistening spider’s web at the end of the washing line. I froze and scanned my surrounding area. To my horror it’s proprietor was lurking at the end of the line, watching me, imagining my exotic tastie and about to bite me and kill me…maybe. This didn’t sound much fun to me, so although he didn’t actually look like one of the nasties, I hung…