After the long haul across the Nullabor, the drive to Esperance was nothing. We arrived mid afternoon, and as free camping was not an option, booked into an ocean view caravan park.

Our van attracted many looks from other campers, including a former Tvan owner who is interested in upgrading and watched our easy set up with envy. He spoke to Natasha for some time about the features.

We connected to the park’s water supply and thank heavens, as the ablution block was a little below par and we could use our own internal shower. Bliss.

After two days in Esperance, we went to Cape Le Grand National Park for three days of beach and coastal trail walking. What a beautiful place this is. The van again attracted attention, something we are getting used to.

On the second day the weather turned nasty, howling wind and overnight rain, affecting our solar input. The van’s tremendous storage capacity enabled us to carry a generator, which we were able to use in certain hours. No worries about our power supply at any stage.

Before heading to Albany, we stayed for two nights at the delightful coastal town of Hopetoun which we used as a base for visiting the Fitzgerald River National Park. This magnificent park is one of 17 internationally-listed biodiverse regions, and has excellent bush camping facilities.

Onwards to Albany in glorious weather which stayed with us for our entire visit of six days.

We set up camp at Emu Point and were thrilled that the mild and calm weather enabled us to use the awning for the entire time and cook outside every evening.

Some nearby campers noted the ease with which we set up and undertook other tasks. Two of the guys could not resist coming over to have a chat ‘to the girls’ about our rig and that the fact that we were managing very well ‘on our own’.

As always, Natasha took the time to explain how everything works; the guys were impressed.

Albany is certainly worth a number of days’ stay as there is so much to see and do. A must see is the National Anzac Centre, a tribute to the 1000s of Australians and New Zealanders who left from Albany to fight in the so-called Great War.

For the adventurous, try the Granite Sky Walk in Porongurup National Park. The last 65 metres involves a boulder scramble aided by hand and foot holds drilled into the rock followed by climbing a steel ladder to the viewing platform. Not for the faint hearted but well worth the effort.

Don’t forget to visit the whaling station, as whaling was integral to Albany’s development and prosperity for many decades. The whales that pass by on their way to the Antarctic are now shot by photographers, not harpoons.

Next stop on this journey of discovery is Denmark.