Australia, Ten Years Later

finally we're off!!

Here we are, finally the time has come to leave.. lunch at home and then we go to the station to take the direct train to Milan, the 12.53 intercity (€ 36.00 including the Milan Central Malpensa section). One last espresso at the bar before taking the little train to Malpensa and then off we go... the adventure begins!! First of all we go to wrap the suitcases € 9.00 each then we get in line (very long!!!) for check-in. The scheduled takeoff for 21.10 happens a little late at 21.45 but at least the plane is fairly new and there are loads of new films to watch.. The only meal served on this leg is dinner right after takeoff... chicken with coconut and chili sauce + rice and spinach with pine nuts.. quite good.

still traveling...

6.05 a.m. landing in Dubai, having already been there I knew the airport well, which is very lavish and rather spread out. Stop at a bar for an almond croissant, really delicious, and a coffee (22 local currency) and then also a stop in one of the only two, very crowded smoking rooms located in front of gates 120-121.....after a few hours in Dubai we set off again bound for PERTH at 10.45!!!

finally back in Australia!!!

At 01.25 we finally land in Perth and after getting through all the checks (very thorough regarding food, which you absolutely cannot bring in) we go out and take a taxi to get to the nearby Formula 1 hotel booked and paid for from Italy (90 AUD). We were a bit worried about having to do the automatic check-in, but then I realized they had left the key for us in an envelope with my name in a box above the check-in machine. The room is a bit small with a double bed and the third bed, mine, placed crosswise above the other bed... strange but comfortable.. in the end we'll only be there briefly because once we've settled in we realize it's already past 3! At 7 we were already up and ready to leave.. we had a coffee from the vending machine and then we walked to the camper rental place, which was just a few steps from the hotel.

Our campervan was already ready and parked near the road, so after signing everything and paying we left right away, and after loading our bags at the hotel we headed to the nearest shopping center to buy groceries (66.00 aud) and to use the ATM (600 AUD). Loaded up like never before, finally around noon we leave Perth to head east... first destination of the trip WAVE ROCK. Along the road just outside Perth we notice something very strange: every now and then there are one or two chairs placed at the edge of the road with a name written on them... we don't know what they mean but the only thing that comes to mind is that they're a bit like the crosses we put along our roads when someone dies in a road accident... who knows, maybe it's something completely different!! After covering some distance we stop at a rest area in the middle of greenery for lunch..

a pizza with spicy salami bought at the supermarket for 9.50 $.. not very Australian as a first lunch but today we're not organized yet and it was the most convenient and quickest thing to bring along... besides, it was also very good!! The temperature is pleasant but not too hot, also because a rather strong and somewhat annoying wind is blowing... also for driving because I can't loosen my grip on the steering wheel even for a second or it immediately makes you swerve. At a certain point we cross a area recently devastated by fires and we find the road closed for roadworks.. we stop for a second to look at the map and find an alternative road but we don't even have time to open it when a jeep with a couple of young people stops and tells us to follow them, that they'll show us how to get past the detour and rejoin the road we were traveling on further ahead.

Pleasantly surprised by this kindness (in Italy even if you're lying in the middle of the road there's no one who helps you!!) we set off again and realize that it was closed because a bridge had collapsed. The landscape is beautiful and flows swiftly before our eyes... shortly before arriving at Wave Rock we stop to fill up ($ 66.00) and reach the Wave Rock campground around 18.00. We pay for a site with electricity and settle in (42.00 $) there aren't many campers and we can choose where we want. The famous Wave Rock is just a few steps away so we go see it right away before it gets dark... shame about the light, which is very poor, so the photos aren't great but it's beautiful all the same, even if less imposing than it seemed in photographs. The wind is still blowing quite strongly and it's also cold.

There's a phone booth and I take the opportunity to call home, the cell has signal but I spend less by calling through Italy Direct's service!!! We take a walk around the area but we realize everything is closed and there isn't even the shadow of a restaurant so we give up and shut ourselves in our van to make a risotto, then since there's nothing to do we go to sleep early... and so the first day on Australian soil has passed!!

heading back to the coast

Up very early before 5.30.. very cold night... luckily underneath I had put my sleeping bag so I wrapped myself in it a bit!! after a nice hot coffee and a good breakfast we take a walk around the area then we decide to reach the Hippo in the van because it's rather far... we take a few photos but it's nothing special so we set off again heading northwest... the intention in fact is to reach Yanchep park for lunch and then continue to Cervantes. After a few hours on the road we stop in the picturesque town of York to get gas ($ 50.00), have a coffee and take a walk, then we continue. Once we reach the outskirts of Perth the traffic is heavy and we proceed very slowly.. in the end though we manage to reach Yanchep and we take our packed lunch inside the park then we go to see the Koalas.

Unfortunately they're almost all at the tops of the trees so quite far away and the photos aren't great... never mind.. at least we saw them!! after lunch we continue north along the new coastal road Indian Ocean Drive to Nambung National Park, whose splendid snow-white sand dunes we already see along the road, and to Cervantes. Along the road one thing that strikes us a lot are the numerous dead kangaroos we see... poor things!! We find the campground right away, pay for a site with electricity ($ 37.00), refuel ($ 50.00) and then since it's still early we go back to see the famous Pinnacles desert... beautiful... the golden-yellow landscape has stunning nuances.. truly magical!!! Back in Cervantes we look for a restaurant for dinner and since they all close at 20.00 we decide to stop right away and return to the campground only after dinner.

How different life is here compared to Italy... back home by 20.00 the restaurants have just started filling up and here instead everything closes. Anyway we enjoy a very good steak with potatoes ($ 32.00) and then head back.. we realize that the restaurant menus are very limited and almost all similar, and on top of that the prices are rather high too... I think we'll be eating often at the campground!!! Leaving the restaurant 2-3 kangaroos cross the road right in the middle of town... we didn't think they came into town too!! When we arrive at the campground we find our site occupied... here campgrounds don't have gates and anyone can enter at any time and settle wherever they want... some people notice our problem and call the owner then they tell us to go settle in another free spot... well..

if we had wanted to be sneaky I think we could have saved a lot of money and spent nights in campgrounds always without paying!! obviously though we didn't do that...