Tuesday, August 23, 2005

From East to West

Michael driving across Australia Who would have though that driving 4000kms across Australia could be so much fun. Certainly not me. I think my count of road crossings East and West now stands at 13. Yep that's right 13! And that's not even including the times I have flown across, which more than doubles that amount. This time I was fortunate to have one of my friend's Eric Tsoi join me. It was his first road trip across Australia so it was one big adventure for him. On Day 1 we drove from Melbourne to Port Augusta via Adelaide. While we were there we stopped off for a mandatory icecream from Cold Rock. That's where the whales are!If you have never tried a Cold Rock icecream you are definitely missing out. On Day 2 we continued our treck and drove across the Nullabor to Eucla which is just inside the WA border. On the way we got to see about a dozen whales frolicking of the coast (including a little calf with its mum!) and explore the sand dunes at Eucla (including the customary roll down the biggest dune we could find). Day 3 Eric enjoyed driving the longest straight stretch of road in Australia (90 miles) and then we had the best meal of our lives at the Loose Goose in Esperance on the South Coast of WA. I had herb bread, Salmon with Beetroot Risotto and Strawberries... Mmmm... Michael surfing Wave RockMy mouth is watering just thinking about it. Day 4 took us through to Perth via Wave Rock and Hippo's Yawn on the Brookton Highway. While I was in Perth I managed to catch up with some of my family including my Grandparents, most of my Uncles and Aunties and a few of my cousins. Now I'm in Kalgoorlie (about 600kms inland from Perth) spending some time with my parents. We drive back to Perth tomorrow. From there I go back to Melbourne before making my way to Sydney in order to fly out to the Manila on September 8th.