Recently I went on another road trip with a group of overseas friends. I love getting out of the Perth for a long weekend, and this one was not exception. We jammed in as many places and experiences in as possible and returned rejuvenated, satisfied and I felt personally proud of our magical south west region.

Setting off early Saturday morning we jetted on out of Perth as quick as possible, not such an easy task with four people. I like to stop along the way and enjoy the journey and  this is what we did as much as possible.

One of the highlight spots for me was stopping in Kojonup. Here you will find a beautiful old rose garden and a strip of interesting shops, most worthy to me was the art gallery on the corner at the top of the street called Gallery Aura. I love this gallery for the diversity of local artists from all over WA, its wonderful lay out, and great collection of interesting and appealing art. Well worth a stop and smell of the lovely candles and a purchase of a few things. The rose garden was also incredible. It had so many old types of roses, varieties I had not seen before. We wandered around the maze like pathway, wilting in the heat bearing down on us at 37 degrees, we only had tolerance for a quick wander and a few snaps.

Temperatures dropped pretty quickly as we hit the coast, foregoing our planned walk in the Porongarups due to the heat and some fatigue of the long drive down, we decided instead to hit up Emu Point in Albany, and enjoy a relaxing few hours on the beach. What a treat! We frolicked around in the water, played some games on the beach, a few of my friends had a nap, and another friend and I took a walk right around the peninsula, looking at birds, the scenery, and generally enjoying ourselves. So nice!

Early the next morning we made our way out to Frenchman’s Peninsula heading to ‘The Bridge’ and ‘The Gap’, and then took a beautiful walk down to the Blow holes. This peninsula in Tordinup National park is just spectacular. The diversity of flora is incredible and looks different every time I go there. I really enjoyed the scenic walks and took many photos aiming to remember the moment. This region is also known to be a biodiversity hotspot, and that is certainly true by all the amazing flowers we saw.

We finished the Peninsula visit off by swimming in the aqua blue water at Goode beach. I have heard Misery beach is also amazing, but this time again I stuck to my favourite location. I always feel like I am in Thailand when I look out across the bay from the beach. Scenic mounds and hills in the background, long stretches of white sand, soft like talcum powder, it is always a treat to visit here.

Next we drove out to Walpole to walk the Tree Top Walk. A super high bridge is suspended in the air, and you can literally walk amongst the trees, it is beautiful. I have done it countless times, but I always enjoy it every time, bringing new friends from overseas. We have so many diverse landscapes and environments to enjoy in WA, it is always a pleasure to show off our beautiful state.

To finish off our epic day of adventure, we finished it off with a visit to a Cidery, to sample some interesting ciders. Strawberry and apple, ginger and apple, toffee apple, and chilli cider all come to memory. They were certainly interesting, and for me the fave was toffee apple, not as sweet as it sounds! The saddest part is they used to have a pet pig roaming the grounds, and sadly he had been bitten by a snake and had died in recent months. Ohh, sad face. Apparently everyone asks after him who had been there before. Everyone loves a pig, and most of those people love bacon too, ironically.

Our last stop of the day was one of my favourite, a Honey place! We sampled delicious Honey mead wine, lots of different types of honey, and then ate some yummy honey ice-cream! So good! Very friendly staff also made the experience more enjoyable. I highly recommend a stop there!

We relaxed in the evening, playing some board games, pretty exhausted after our big day. It was early to bed and early to rise, to make the most of our final morning; a hike up Bluff Knoll.

Bluff Knoll is one of the biggest mountains to hike up about 40 mins out of Albany. It has an elevation of 1099m, and is located in the Stirling ranges, and also represents one of the biodiversity hotspots of WA. I was so impressed with the variety of flora and fauna, we saw a big skink lizard and a few birds, and luckily no snakes. I was most impressed by the flowers, of which many were bright yellow, blue and pink. Right at the very top, it was very cold, misty and very windy. Our visibility was quite poor, but this is where the most beautiful flowers are! I loved it and will for sure do it again, even if it was a lot of huffing and puffing to get up there! It was super fast to get back down that’s for sure.

And then it was the long drive home. We decided to go the back street version, parallel to Albany highway, passing through the smaller country towns, a far more enjoyable drive off the main highway. I love road trips of all kinds and this one was another memorable experience.

Hope you enjoy all my photos!

When was the last time you went on a road trip? So much fun!

Anita xx