The tourism slogan for Western Australia is “Walking on a Dream” and that is exactly how our adventure in SW Australia has been the last year. 

Busselton has been our new home town in SW Australia. It’s known for its long 1.8 km jetty that goes far out into the shallow Geographe bay. The beaches in Busselton are yellow/white sands and the water is clear and often smooth like glass. There is more surf and washed up seagrass in the winter but on summer mornings the still waters of the sea and the beach looks like heaven. 

From every part of Busselton, it's only a short walk to the beach or foreshore. Busselton is busy in the summer season and quiet in the winter, it reminds me of Richard Scarey’s Busytown. It has no night life, everyone seems to go to bed by 9pm. 

South Western Australia is stunning there are hundreds of pristine white sand beaches with clear water easily within a 30 minute drive if you prefer to go out of town. It is such an undiscovered area you can always find a perfect beach that is practically deserted. Most of the state is bush. 

It is far from how most people even from NZ imagine western Australia, they think of mines and dry sandy deserts.

The summer is not too hot, it's only 2 1/2 hours drive south from Perth but it doesn’t have the high temperatures of Perth and is about 29 degrees on average most summer days. Nearly every summer day is sunny and cloudless. It has four seasons. 

It has a mediteranian climate, unlike the sub-tropical humid climates of the eastern states. For 6 months of the year it is lush and green. It's a wine region with vineyard estates, truffle farms and there are chocolate factories here too!

The wild life is amazing, there are so many kinds of birds. Colourful parrots, cockatoos, pelicans, ravens …. Lizards, turtles, skinks, frogs and possums. Twice our dog has been checked out by dolphins as he swam in the water, he was really trying to look at the fin of one. We go every night to the beach and have seen dolphins close to the shore. You can drive into Bunbury a town a little further up, on summer mornings and go stand in the water on the foreshore. Dolphins swim within a few metres of the shore.  There are hundreds of kangaroos that live in the fields out the back of Busselton, although they bound away if you try to see them a little closer. 

You don’t need to go to a wild life park to see Australian animals here, just go for a walk or a drive. 

The only huge spider I’ve seen was when I accidently picked up one with the fire wood we were collecting from the bush. The only snake was a small one that my husband saw while mowing the lawn. We live next wetlands so snakes are around but not very visible.  

But it's not the end of the adventure, it’s just been an idyllic beginning. One year living at in a perfect Australian beach town. 

This year the adventure continues and we move further out into the country. Away from the beach but into a place of rolling hills and small country towns.