Family trip in Western Australia

It’s been quite a while since our last blog entry but we wanted to write the last posts so that we can also finish our trip here on our blog.

On March 25 we left the Australian Outback and flew to Perth where we were welcomed by Mark, the dad of my brother-in-law Will. Only a few minutes later my sister Fabienne and Will also arrived with their plane from Europe, but on the international terminal. We rushed into the car and while we drove from the domestic to the international terminal on the highway, Fabienne and Will’s plan flew directly over our heads. Welcoming them and also seeing Will’s mum Didi again was fantastic and very special to us since we have spent almost half a year without seeing the family.

Family reunion

We went to Didi’s and Mark’s home, where we stayed for a while. There, we also got to know Harry, the fantastic dog of the family. On the next day Will showed us his hometown and we drove around in the huge city of Perth. We heard it takes around two hours to cross the city, it is so large. In Switzerland you can cross almost half of the country in that time. We went to see the botanical gardens and saw the skyline of downtown Perth. In the evening we went to eat Chinese in a trendy neighborhood, took an icecream afterwards and went to a bar – it was divine.

The skyline of Perth from the botanical gardens.

This is Harry, also a very important member of the Caddy family. Christine liked him very much!

The best thing about being in Western Australia was to get to know Will’s extended family, including his grandma, aunts and uncles and cousins. Everyone was very kind to us and spent time with us. We got to know a lot of family stories, which was great.

On the second day we went to visit Will’s sister and her boyfriend Allan, who live in trendy Fremantle. Fabienne and Will like this city very much, and we quickly understood why. It has an interesting harbour with museums and restaurants and the central streets are full of shops and bars.

The city of Fremantle with the art installation “Arcs D’Éllipses” by Swiss artist Felice Varini.

Fremantle with its beautiful bildings and hip shops.

After spending time in Perth and the sourroundings Fabienne, Will, Christine and myself went further South to Yellingup, where Will’s parents have a holiday home. The village is directly at the beach and we enjoyed a typical Australian beach holiday. On the first day we went to Dunsborough where we rented bikes and rode to Busselton close to the beaches. At the Busselton Jetty, we stopped, ate our picknick, and went back. The evening ended with some BBQ, the typical kind of dinner in Australia. And yes, they perfectionized it!

BBQ

On our bike trip to Busselton

The seashore close to Yellingup

For Easter Will’s parents and his sister Mathilda joined us in Yellingup. We went fishing on Good Friday and grilled the catch – we were very successful and the fishes came right after another. It was also around Yellingup where Christine and I saw Kangooroos for the first time. They were grazing a little bit further away from the beach in the backlands close to houses.

Fabienne got a fish!

The kangaroos

After Easter we went further South – shortly stopping at the hip Margaret River – until we arrived in Nannup. We had a bed and breakfast place a little bit outside the village and went for a drink in the bar. The sound was interesting, so was the local audience. On our way back we saw a large black snake crossing our path just shortly before Christine was there. For another time, we could confirm that it was totally wrong that „There might be snakes, but they are gone long before you will see them“. 🤨

On the way from the B&B to the bar in Nannup

On the next day we went to Denmark and on the way we stopped at the Valley of the Giants Tree Top Walks, where we climbed up 40 metres above the ground to be fascinated by the spectacular heights of the trees. In the evening we attended a rock/blues session in Denmark by a band, where some of Will’s friends were playing.

Looking up

Looking down

The tree top walk

We stand in front of a large tree. The size was enormous.

The next day we left for Albany, which is at the bottom left corner of Australia. In Albany we had a nice apartment close to the sea, and Fabienne and I usually went for a morning swim. Will’s uncle lives in Albany and on the first day he and his friends from the Harley club took us for a two-hour tour around the village and its sourroundings. It was our first time on a Harley and it was very fast. Some Harleys even had strong music boxes in the back and we listened to AC/DC while we were thundering down the street.

Our bikes and riders 🤘🏻

On our second day we went for a hike at Isthmus Hill and Bald Head, which is close to where they originally had a large whale meat processing facility, which of course is not used anymore. On path was again a snake, this time a tiger snake (also quite poisenous 😒). However, Will managed to bring her out of danger. She was cold so she did not want to move from the sunny path. The hike was great as was the weather, and we enjoyed our last day in the South.

There were several beaches along our hiking path.

This young tiger snake did not want to move.

On our way to the peninsula

The next day we went back to Perth where Fabienne and Will were hosting their wedding party for the family and friends in Australia. We all were involved in setting everything up and once the guests arrived, I took over as the photographer of the event, where I got to know many of Fabienne’s and Will’s Australian friends.

Preparations for the party.

Never seen a more beautiful cheese selection (credits go to Tilly)!

Of course, there was enough champagne and white wine.

Also, while we were back in Perth, I got the chance to visit the most popular Australian sport: Footy or Australian Football. Will’s family has three tickets and I went there with Will’s mum and uncle and they were so kind to explain the rules to me. It is a fascinating game with a lot of action and it took me a while to understand the most important rules. Luckily the Eagles won their home game (and even the whole League some months later).

We had great seats in the new Optus Stadium, the home of the West Coast Eagles.

Christine and I also went to the maritime museum in Fremantle, which was interesting as Australia has a long history of sailing. We also saw the famous sailboat “Australia II”, which was the first ship in 132 years to beat the American ships in the 25th America’s Cup in 1983. Christine and I really enjoyed having so much time with family and we were sad once we had to leave for Hong Kong.