Sunset was approaching so we looked for a spot to camp. We bought some mobile data for this trip in case of emergencies but it ended up completely stopping working today so we stopped at the tiny village of Varley, home to just 10 people but hundreds of parrots. As we pulled into the village there was a massive group of the beautiful pink and grey cockatoos. We pulled into the community rest area where you’re allowed to camp with a donation. We weren’t sure if we were going to continue driving a little further but thought we should try and fix my iPhone and while the village store was closed there were a couple of people at the rest area who were very helpful and let me use their phone. It ended up taking longer than we expected and they suggested we just stay the night. The lady had recently retired, bought a van to live in and was now exploring Australia with her little pooch. The guy was a local who clearly loved chatting to people and meeting everyone who passed through the little village. They were really lovely people and it was nice to chat and have banter after two months in China where we barely spoke to anyone. We asked them what the pink and grey cockatoos were called and the guy replied “ah they’re called pink and greys” and that was that. It was another cool night but our friends lit a fire which kept us nice and toasty. Earlier today we bought some hot water bottles in a village we drove by as we desperately needed something to keep us warmer tonight so fingers crossed they’ll help.

We were camping a few meters from the fire so it was a little disconcerting when I saw flames flickering outside our tent at about 4am. Turns out the local guy woke up at crazy o’clock and added some logs to the fire as he wanted to do something with the hot ashes. At about 5am it began raining and we’d risked not using the tarp so we frantically had to dash out and move the tent into the cooking shelter a couple of meters behind us. We managed to get another hour sleep before getting up and making breakfast. Our friends from last night joined us and offered to make damper. We didn’t know what it was but they described it as a sort of bread-scone, made from flour, water and salt and placed in the ashes of the fire. It was actually very nice slathered in salty butter.

It was a very drizzly start to the day so we weren’t in a rush to leave but eventually we hit the road, passing lots of beautiful parrots on the way but they were so reckless, flying in groups across the road and then I saw the yellow belly of one slam into our windscreen. Today we were driving to Fitzgerald River National Park, our first stop along the coastline on this roadtrip. We enjoyed lunch in the rental car parked up by the clear sea and then we set off into the national park. I saw there was a hike up East Mount Barren so we decided to give it a go as it was just a couple of kilometres. It turned out to be a tough couple of clicks rather uphill along very rocky terrain so it was hard to appreciate the views as we were constantly having to look down. I wasn’t a fan of the hike to be honest, the end didn’t really offer a view any different to what we saw from the road which was endless wilderness, curved beaches and lush blue water.

We headed to the end of the road to make some dinner at the picnic shelter while it drizzled with rain and once the bad weather passed we headed to a campground nearby. The stars were even better tonight, the sky was so black and we could see the Milky Way lighting up the centre.

We ended up packing the tent away super early so we could drive to a parking area facing east and catch the sunrise. It was a cold and blustery morning but after some breakfast we set off on a stroll along the beach and what a great way it was to start the day. There was a big swell creating huge waves that barrelled towards the shoreline and they were mesmerising to watch with rainbows briefly appearing in the spray.

There wasn’t much more to explore in the national park so we set off towards Esperance and made a rookie mistake when we chose to not get any fuel in Hopetoun and wait until the little village of Muglinup where we discovered their pumps were out of fuel. Oh shit, that wasn’t part of the plan. We still had 100km to drive to the next town and only 60km left in our tank but we didn’t know how big the rental cars reserve tank was, it might just be enough to get us to Esperance but it would be a big risk. Luckily the shop worker took pity on us and spoke to a friend who agreed to sell us a 20 litre jerry can of fuel which was more than enough. The seal was terrible on the canister so it was spilling down the side of the brand new rental car and we were frantically trying to clean it off. The worker was very helpful though, giving us buckets of fresh water and laundry powder to clean our hands as she said it was the best product to clean petrol off.

Once we were fuelled up we continued onto Esperance and spent the afternoon driving the Great Ocean Drive, a scenic route passing around 10 different beaches, some of which were straight and miles long while others were small, curved bays. The sea was really rough with huge waves rolling and crashing. Blue Haven was much calmer and we climbed up a big boulder to get a better view from above of the blue water.

Twilight bay is said to be one of the best beaches in the area but I think the time we visited wasn’t great as those dreamy blue colours weren’t popping. Instead we traversed the rocks around the coastline and got some great views of the waves crashing into the boulders. Before we knew it the sun was getting close to setting, the days go by so fast in winter so we headed to 11 mile beach to get a glimpse of the sun heading behind the coastal hills. It seemed like a popular stretch of beach for 4x4s and the sandy track leading down to it was crazy with 2ft drops down the deep tracks.

Just before it was dark we made it to a rather disappointing campsite for $30 a night. It was the cheapest place to stay in Esperance though so it had to do for the night and on the plus side it had hot showers which was amazing after 4 days without one. Although the water was kind of funky, a sign said it was rain water but it was slightly salty and even though it said safe for drinking when we poured it into our cup of coffee and milk powder all curdled and foamed up, gross!