These holidays, I took the break as an opportunity to visit family and friends in Western Australia. One of my favourite places in Perth is the port city of Fremantle, which has now become another suburb in Perth's south. Here there are beautiful heritage buildings, as well as modern craft breweries and the opportunity to taste the best Italian food in Australia.
From Fremantle you can catch a short ferry to Rottnest Island, which has recently become famous as the home of the quokkas (pictured) and a really lovely place for a day-trip, as cars are not allowed on the island, and the roads between beaches are filled with bicycles and walkers. Even if you are stung by a jellyfish (as I was!) you will still have a brilliant day.
Then I went down to the famously beautiful South-West, where there are beaches, wineries, caves, lighthouses and many other delights. Pictured is the beautiful Meelup Beach located in the Meelup Regional Park, and some grapes growing at my favourite winery, Hay Shed Hill, in the Margaret River region.
Next I went further south and slightly east to the Southern Forests region of WA and saw the Valley of the Giants, an ancient tingle forest, where tingle trees such as the one pictured can grow up to 75 metres tall, and can develop a distinctive hollow base. People used to park their cars in the base, until it was discovered that to grow so tall, tingle trees develop very horizontal root systems buttressing the tree, and these shallow systems were damaged by tourists until a tree fell down. The scenery and beaches were also beautiful here, especially Greens Pool and Elephant Rocks, which are a must-do for anyone going to southern WA who loves to swim.
I would whole-heartedly recommend going to Western Australia if you have the opportunity - the food, nature, people and sights are fantastic. This relaxing holiday has rejuvenated me for 2020, and I'm glad I've been able to share some of it with you!