As we made our way south from Perth we drove along the coast as much as we could. Dave suggested we turn off in a town called Busselton which turned out to be awesome. We’d both forgotten that we’d seen it in the airline travel magazine on the plane, but it was a place recommended to go snorkeling because they have the longest pier in the world. They call it a jetty, but it’s a pier nearly 2 k long. We grabbed our snorkeling gear and made the long walk to the end. We jumped in the brisk water and saw some of the most beautiful and unusual coral around the old jetty/pier posts. There were lots of fish too, but they were deeper down so we couldn’t see them as well. We stayed in for about 30 or so minutes then got some ice cream. There was a huge netted off area on the beach and a sign that read it was to keep “large marine life” (aka sharks) out. Thankfully we did not see any while snorkeling!
We headed down to the wine region of margaret River which was very much like Napa Valley. I visited two wineries then we went to a Chocolate Factory- very wisely placed in the middle of a wine region if you ask me. We saw chocolates being made, had an incredible hot chocolate and sampled some other chocolates while there. I met the nicest lady about my age at the first winery and since I was the only one there we chatted for a while. She showed me a map of the area and suggested must see places on the route which I was super thankful for. She told me about a beach where the sting rays come right up to the shore. 
We explored one of the local caves. There were several but we decided to just tour one of them.
We stopped in Albany which was uneventful. We did check out a WWI and WWII memorial which was pretty amazing. We also attended a church there which was the most different church either of us had ever attended. Very structured and strong message on the providence of God. We met some very nice folks there. We also did our laundry while in Albany before heading on.
We stopped at several beautiful beaches. One was Hamelin Bay where the rays were and we saw a shark circling the area. Very cool. Dave believes he saw the pro golfer Stuart Appleby walk by us and then heard someone with him call him Stuart so we’re pretty sure it was him.
We drove up to a mountain called Castle Rock and hiked a few miles. It was hard, but worth it. Along the way we saw elderly folks, pregnant women and young children hiking so we figured we need to suck it up and keep moving! Ha! At the top is a steel walkway bolted into a giant boulder. You have to crawl around then use handles bolted into another rock to climb up a ways, then climb up a ladder before you get up to the walkway. The walkway itself has a grated bottom so you can see straight down below your feet; a bit unnerving for someone a bit afraid of heights like myself. It was really windy too. We snapped some photos before heading back down the mountain. We also went to a national forest with giant trees and did the treetop sky walk thing. Pretty cool. If you know us at all, you know we have a thing for big trees.
We stopped at a very small out of the way beach town called Bremer Bay. Again, very gorgeous beaches. Crystal clear water and very white powdery sand beaches. Unfortunately it was chilly the day we went there so we didn’t swim.
On our way to Esperance we camped near a beach and snorkeled there in the morning. When we arrived in Esperance we drove the loop around the area and checked out the many beaches there. One beach ran along a high cliff and we saw two people hang gliding. It looked so awesome. They also have a pink lake there, but it was barely even pink and did not compare to the one we saw the week earlier. We stopped by a glass artist gallery too.
What happened that night was the most interesting part and one I won’t ever forget. We thought we’d found a camping spot out in “the bush” or backwoods middle of nowhere. Well, we no sooner got settled into our tent for the night than we saw flashlights and heard voices. Tuns out we were on someone’s land and they had been robbed recently. They said we’re lucky they didn’t shoot us! (which we thought was kind of odd since you can’t have guns in AU, but we found out you can have certain types if you live on a farm). Anyway, there were two guys and one of them offered to let us camp on his land so we agreed. I know, I know, sounds crazy since we literally just met, but it was dark and we didn’t know where else to go especially after that scare. We had peace about it.
He turned out to be the nicest guy and we ended up hanging out with him for half the next day! There is so much more I could say about the event, but rather not on here. Just know that it turned out to be a blessing in so many ways.
We decided we would head back to Perth for Australia Day which is kind of like their Independence Day so we drove the direct route back which saved many hours. It was nice to see the outback and turned out it was a lot hotter than the coast. There were lots of grain fields as far as you could see dotted with a few trees here and there. We ended up driving not far off the road and camped. It was like camping in the desert. The stars were so bright! And it was such a quiet peaceful night.
The next morning we checked out this giant granite rock called The Wave because of it’s shape. Not really much to see, but we hiked around a bit then continued on to Perth. Once we got there we went to the beach because it was over 100*F and we snorkeled. It was perfect. We were going to camp our last night there, but since it was so warm we decided to get a room. Also, we needed to get our things organized and packed for the flight the next morning. We stayed in a hostel not far from the riverside park where there was going to be a huge fireworks display. Unfortunately a couple flying a small plane as part of the pre fireworks show lost control and crashed into the river that afternoon. Understandably they cancelled the fireworks display.
Overall I absolutely loved Perth and the surrounding area and would definitely go back there if the opportunity ever presents itself. Gorgeous city and beaches and friendly people. There are also national parks close to the city that we didn’t get to explore. If you get the chance, go to Perth!