10th month: New adventure!

 January 7th: Back in Adelaide after 9 months!

Last night I finally arrived in Adelaide after a 2 hour delay and not sleeping 3 nights in total… I had to wait to check in at the hostel so I waited and then this idiot decided to go for a run.. I know. Who does that after not sleeping for 3 days…? Me? 7 km it was for today, cause then I accepted I was too tired to run further. I took a shower and felll asleep like a baby so fast. Apparently my roomies tend to be really quiet as they didn’t want to wake me up. So sweet! When I woke up my Dutch friend Dara (who I met in San Francisco) asked me if I wanted to go for a drink with a group other Dutchies. My body told me ‘no’ but my mind said ‘YAS’, so of cours I went. What a craziness… It was so much fun!  Even though the club wasn’t a big success, we made the best out of it all together! 

January 8th: Beach Please!

Sunday I started the morning again with a run and I ran 12 in this time. So beautiful the nature around here! Afterwards I took a shower and met with Dara. We walked to Rundle Mall (Main Street in Adelaide) and bought a few things and then we went to the beach. I had to be careful cause I completely burned the first day I arrived here already. The sun is crazy here! Later Sanne joined us. She’s also Dutch and she’s a good friend of Dara. I met her in Noosa and on Fraser Island. When she arrived we were in the sea so we couldn’t really tell if it was her, but when she put her stuff down next to ours we were sure it was her. So funny! Together we chilled for a bit and walked over the boulevard along Semaphore beach. Then we went back to the city and had dinner together with one other Dutch girl. Man, too many Dutchies here! Honestly it’s nice but I don’t like it that much. Not here to meet Dutch people! But sometimes it’s nice and good to meet people from your home country. 

January 9th: Another day in Adelaide

Monday I started the day with a run again. I took a shower and ate some breakfast and then I walked around with Sanne and Dara before they were going to a pink lake together. I had been to that one already. Late I treated myself on a delicious frozen yogurt and after that I went back to my hostel and laughed so much with the people there. One guy in the room has 4 bags of skittles and only eats this we think. We can’t stop making jokes about it…😂

January 10th: Half a marathon done!

Today was my last full day in Adelaide. I figured out Sanne was driving towards the WA border so I asked if she wanted a travel buddy and of course she wanted that. So we’re gonna travel together for a bit and then I’ll meet my French travel buddy Gaët on the way. I was supposed to do the west coast with him but due to the floodings we had to change our plans. I went for a run in the morning and after 5 km I didn’t feel like turning around yet. I ended up doing half a marathon and it felt great! Hadn’t done that in so long because it was just too hot! After that I took a shower and ate something and then I walked through the botanical gardens. Such a lovely place to be! After lunch I took the train to Glenelg Beach. Apparently I took the wrong bus so I ended up at the hospital and had to go all the way back, but ey, at least I saw everything in Adelaide now… Later a few others from the hostel joined and we had so much fun! A few of them were dancing batchata during sunset and that was beautiful. One of the boys was being so silly and annoying and at some point he threw sand at me so I had sand everywhere and it felt like sanding paper. Great! We watched the sunset all together and then we headed back to the hostel. Tomorrow I’ll leave towards Port Augusta with Sanne. I’m sad to say good bye to everyone here but I’m excited to move on!

January 11th: On the road again!

Today it was time to leave adelaide. I did a workout on my yogamat in the park and afterwards I took a quick shower and packed all my stuff. Then I waited for Sanne to pick me up from my hostel and we drove to an indoor bouldering place as my roomies invited us to join and I knew Sanne looveees bouldering. I had never done it before but I liked it. I just don’t have the power in my arms but it’s ok. It’s my first time. Later the others came and we stayed a bit longer and then it was time to hit the road. We drove towards Port Augusta which was 4,5 hours from Adelaide. On the way we stopped at a salt lake and of course I had to play with the salt. Later we did some groceries and drove to a view point closer to Flinders Ranges national park where we will go tomorrow. We made some pasta here and went for a walk along the train track during sunset. When we got back we thought about where to stay but as we didn’t see any signs here and no one seemed to be around, we just took the risk and stayed until it got dark. Unfortunately a ranger came to close up the road and told us we had to leave, but he helped us by telling us about the nearest caravan overnight stop which was free. We thanked him and left and when we got there we went to sleep.

January 12th: Day 2- Flinders Ranges National Park

I woke up very early as I didn’t sleep well last night. Sanne also couldn’t sleep so we were both pretty tired. We drove towards the national park and did a hike of 1,5 hours. And we saw cool aboriginal rock art. Afterwards we drove to the campground we wanted to stay tonight which was pretty close and then we did the laundry as we both quite had some and we chilled the rest of the afternoon at the pool. I couldn’t believe who I met at the campground! It was Wouter! One of my first friends in Australia! I met him in Sydney and we spend a day together in Bondi and Coogee beach. So funny to see him here so random! Could’ve chosen any campground but I chose this one… He told us about a nice sunset spot so Sanne and I drove to that one but stopped a little before as we really loved to see the mountains in the background. We sat here for about 1,5 hours and then we drove back and went to sleep. It was such a beautiful sunset!

January 13th:Day 3- Fitzgerald Bay

This morning we drove further through Flinders Ranger NP but the roads were pretty bad and Sanne didn’t have a 4 WD so we couldn’t really drive these roads. When we came back to the main road we got fuel and then switched as Sanne was a bit tired. I drove us to Fitzgerald Bay and I realized how underrated South Australia actually is. The beaches were stunning along the way and I couldn’t believe my eyes. I decided to go for a run while Sanne immediately ran in the ocean. I didn’t realize it was 39 degrees when I was running but I didn’t care as I enjoyed it anyways. Until… I got stuck in the mud with botje of my running shoes. Nooo are you kidding me? I finally got out 5 mins later and I rinsed them in a little swamp. I put them back on and yeah right, I just kept on going 4 more k and then ran back. So this silly girl still ran 9 k with muddy and watery shoes! Yeeks.. When I got back and jumped in the sea and we chilled on the beach for a bit. Then we drove a few minutes to get to a free campground and cooked dinner. Later my friend Gaët arrived all the way from Darwin and we had a fun night! Cant believe he drove so far in just a few days! 

January 14th:  Day 4- Happiest kid in the world?!😂

Today I woke up early cause I slept in my tent instead of Sanne’s car as she couldn’t sleep well which was important as she was driving most of the time as it was her car… I couldn’t sleep in the tent unfortunately and she didn’t sleep much better alone in the car. I was awake at 5 but pushed through till 6 and then watched the beautiful sunset on the beach. When Sanne and Gaët woke up as well we had some breakfast and then hit the road again. We figured out the cooling liquid lid of the car wasn’t doing its work and Gaët told us where to get a new one so we drove to the next town and bought it. We also did some groceries and met him along the way. We then drove to Port Lincoln. It was insanely windy! But so fun! I saw sand dunes and couldn’t resist running up and down 10 times. It felt amazing! I felt like the happiest kid in the world! Later we drove to a free camp where we wanted to stay overnight. Gaët joined later and we cooked together and watched the beautiful sunset. It was still very windy and chilly so Sanne and I went inside the car and played Uno for a while. Then it was time to go to sleep again. 

January 15th: Day 5- Coffin Bay!🌞

Today I went for a run in the morning. When I went to the toilet I got surprised by a tralantula. Nice!🤢 During my run I was trying to get better reception to be able to call my friends as they were at one of my friend’s party. But unfortunately that didn’t work out.. I got changed and got ready and then we had breakfast together and later we decided to drive to Port Lincoln National park to do a hike. We did a 6,5 km hike which was very nice! Along the way we got surprised by an Emu family. So cute those little emus! They look like ostriches but are a little smaller. We went to town to do some groceries and then Sanne and I drove to Coffin Bay to enjoy the day at the beach. We jumped in the ocean and realized there were quite a few jelly fishes so we didn’t stay in long. Later we jumped of a bridge on the other side but waited 15 mins to be sure there were no jelly fishes while others jumped in anyways..😂 Later Gaët joined us and talked to another French couple he kept meeting along the way. They told us about a nice camping spot for tonight they were going to as wel so we drove there and Sanne and I heated up some soup and had dinner. Then it became a little chilly again so we had some fun with the others and then went to bed.

January 16th: Day 6- Perlubie beach😍

This morning I walked a bit further than where we slept to get some reception and answer the messages. We had breakfast and got ready for the day and then we left to our first stop:  Talia Caves. These caves were stunning! We went swimming at Talia beach and no one was there for a little while. When we felt done there we drove to Murphy’s haystacks and these were just humongous rocks formed millions of years ago. Crazy how these massive things got here! But nothing really exciting to see so we left after a few minutes. We drove to Perlubie beach. Damn. What a gorgeous place was this! They had wooden roofs you could sit under and hide from the sun. The weather was great and the water was much warmer than at Talia Beach so we really enjoyed the ocean here. We figured out you could camp on the beach here so of course we had to check this out. I walked to the sign and tried to figure out the price and where to book it. Meanwhile there was a man walking towards me and he was very nice. He asked me if I wanted to stay for a night and how many people I was traveling with as he had a few spare spots because some of his family weren’t coming anymore last minute and everything else was ‘sold out’ by locals. He offered us the spots and that was so nice of him! So a free night for us again! Yay! Later Gaët and the other French couple arrived and we set up a nice camp. Had dinner during a beautiful sunset and then it was time to sleep.

January 17th: Day 7- Finally in WA! 🥳

This morning it was very windy. Gaët slept outside because of the beautiful sky but he had to go in his car at 4 AM cause it was sooooo windy. We quickly had to pick our little roof attached to the car cause it was blowing away. We quickly closed ally je windows cause we left them open last night to get fresh air in the car but Jees, that wind came literally out of nowhere! Crazy! We got ready to get on the road again. My last day together with Sanne! So sad!!! But I had such a great time! She has to go back to Canberra to drop her car at her hostfamily who will sell it for her. After this I’m gonna travel with Gaët and I’m super excited for that as well! I drove a bit today and we headed to Point st Claire lake which was supposed to be pink but wasn’t pink at all. And it smelled so dna  bad that we couldn’t stay too long. We told the rest it wasn’t really worth driving there but as soon as we texted they arrived already… oh well. We tried.. we had a lunch break and then it was time to say goodbye to Sanne! So thankful I could join her! Together with Gaët I smashed the last 4,5 hour drive to the WA border. We got checked at the border if we didn’t have any fresh fruit and veggies as that’s not allowed because if insects etc. Then we drove further. We passed Eucla and looked for the next fuel station, but…. nothing was still opened. So, we had to stay overnight. We ended up across the street from a campground which was a free camp

January 18th: Day 8- 1600 km in 1,5 day!

This morning we woke up very early because of the time difference and also we didn’t really know what time it was cause both our phones gave a different time. Apparently we were close to the border of a time zone so it was 45 mins difference. So weird. We drove to the campground across from the free camp to get fuel and get changed and ready to hit the road again. Today the goal was to reach Esperance. So excited! On our way we made a stop at a fuel station and I met Mira there (who I worked with at the farmhouse daycare) and her boyfriend. So funny! In the middle of Ik where! They were driving towards Adelaide where we just came from. After that we drove further and reached Esperance at about 4 PM. Damn! 1600 km in 1,5 days! Insane! Gaët smashed it! So proud of him! I was happy and decided to go for a run along the beach. So nice here! After that we drove to a free camp the French couple told us about and we met them there. So funny how we keep following each other!

January 19th: Day 9- Cape Le Grand National Park

Today I woke up very early again. At 4:30 already but I kept myself from going outside till 6 and then decided to go for a run. So pretty here! After this we packed the tent etc and had some breakie and then we left and went to cape le grand national park. We wanted to check Dunn rocks first as this was a nice free camp according to wikicamps and it was such a wonderful place. I saw many high dunes and of course I had to find a way to reach them. Once I got to the top I felt like a little kid again! Gaët did some meditation while I was being a sandwich and then we drove to the national park. We started with a nice hike called ‘Frenchman Peak’ and this was a steep huge rich you had to climb. The view was amazing! After this we drove to another beach and then to lucky bay. No wonder why it’s called ‘Lucky Bay’ it’s so lucky we got to see this beach! The water is INSANE! I think I’ve never seen this este color before. Of course water is blue at many places but this? This looks like a fake color! Gorgeous! After that we drove all the way back to Esperance over the beach. Crazy! So cool tho! Then we found a campground we had to pay $35 for but we really wanted a hot shower after all these cold showers and swimming in the sea. It was a great shower! We then cooked pasta and went to sleep.

January 20th: day 10- Chill day & Alysha is here!

Today I went for a run again and took a shower afterwards. Then I made oats with banana and peanut butter. My fav breakkie! Just missing some nuts. But ey, it’s the camping life. After that I had a chat with some guys who arrived as well last night. One of them was pretty handsome! Oefff! But they were going the other way towards Adelaide so I gave them some tips. Ended up getting his Instagram! YAY! Later we packed up everything and the rest of the day we had to wait for our friends. Gaët had two friends who were coming to Esperance around noon. Boukje was from the Netherlands as well and Georgia was from Melbourne. I was waiting for my friend Alysha who I worked with in 2021 at the Schatberg for a few months. So funny she’s near here as an Au pair since October! Haven’t seen her since I left the Schatberg in June 2021! I chilled at the beach for a bit till Gaëts friends arrived and we had a little picknick. We then drove to a beach a little further down the road and afterwards we grabbed dinner and a drink at Lucky Bay brewery! Wow,, such a nice brewery! Lovely life music and what a vibe! When Alysha arrived around 7 we picked her up and she joined us. Sooo nice to see her again. Later we decided to drive to the same campground we stayed at the night before so we sneaked in as no one was sitting there so we are just trying to stay for ‘free’ and leave early morning.  

January 21st: Day 11- Best camping everrrr!⛺️🏝

Today we woke up early and i decided not to go running today but I did take a shower. Boukje and Georgia slept on a parking lot across the street as they didn’t want to sneak in the campground to camp but they also took a shower. They left at 5 so no one would hopefully see them. We met them later and had breakfast and did some groceries for our camp for tonight. Gaët wanted to make a French meal. I forgot the name of it but it’s with vegetables, beef and rice. The camp as about an hour away and some bad dirt roads the last 20 mins. But we made it! We set up a very nice camp with fairy lights and then Alysha and I wanted to explore and find the beach. It took us a while be fore we realized the beach was closer to us than we thought. And wow! What a beauty! Soooo blue! We took some photos and then walked back and set up the tent. We danced with the others and then went to the beach all together. The ocean was very chilly so Alysha and I didn’t stay in too long and went back to the camp. Later we had some lunch together and had a little party and then Gaët started cooking. Dinner was very nice and the sunset was beautiful! Later when it was dark and the others had a few drinks, we went back to the beach and watched the stars. We saw some shooting stars which were so pretty! Gaët took his DJ det and played music while we danced around. Later it got colder and Alysha and I went back to the tent and went to sleep. The others got back very late around 2/3 am.

January 22nd: Day 12- Bye Esperance!🥲

Today I woke up at 5:30 and went to the beach after brushing my teeth. The sunrise was so gorgeous. It’s my favorite way of recharging my soul. I stayed over an hour just sitting on a rock and watching the sun come up over the ocean. Brand new day, brand new chance to make something beautiful happen. When the others woke up we had breakfast together and after that we went to the beach all together and danced on the music Gaët played for us. We also played a game which Boukje brought with numbers you had to throw to get points with. After that it was time to pack up for Gaët and me and drop Alysha at her hotel for tonight. So sad to say goodbye already but it was so fun to see her again after so long! She has to go back to Kalgoorlie tomorrow as she has to work the next day. We have to leave Esperance as we’ve been here for 4 days now and I really wanted to get on the road again. Gaët and I sneaked in the campground one last time to take a shower and then we did some groceries and hit the road. We stopped at a free camp 1 hour further but there were soo many bugs that we left and drove further to the next one which was just a 24 hour rest area along the high way but it was alright for one night. We set up the tent and went to sleep.

January 23rd: Day 13- Busy hiking day!🥾

Pfffff! What I busy day! Someone had to wake up at 5 again and of course later Gaët woke up because of me so we packed everything up and went to the nearest fuel station to get changed. After that we both decided we wanted to skip Fitzgerald National park as it didn’t look too attractive on the pictures and others had told us already other parks are nicer. I found Bluff knol in Stirling Ranges National park should be a cool hike so when Gaët agreed on a hiking day we drove there. It was still a few hours drive so we arrived around 10. Little late for a hot day to start a hike but we still had the courage to do it after eating something. It started pretty easy with a few steps but it ended in a big climb when we realized there were only big steps steep up the mountain all the way up. 3 km isn’t far but can be very far if its steep! When we made it I felt sooo damn alive! That’s what I love about hiking! The feeling when you reach the top! It’s amazing! After this hike we had a break and decided to go to the granit skywalk. This was pretty close by so worth checking out. We risked not paying the parking ticket as no one was here and did a 2 hour return hike in 40 mins I liked the climbing part with the hendels in the rocks but other than that it was nothing too exciting so we were done pretty fast. After this hike we were done for today and drove towards Albany. We found an overnight stop and guess who we saw here again? The French couple! So funny! We had dinner and set up the tent and then I was tired and went to sleep.

January 24th: Day 14- Exploring Albany!

Today I woke up early again and I really needed to use the restroom so I walked along the highway for about 15 mins and then walked back. We had breakfast and then Gaët said he had to work on the car again and he went to Bunnings. From there I decided to go for a run as I couldn’t really help him anyways. I ran to a look out point which was pretty nice and from there I ran back down towards Aldi. Here we met each other’s again to do some groceries and clean out the fridge. Finally some affordable groceries again! So of course we bought a lot! After that we drove to Middleton beach and he had to fix the compressor and had to go back to Bunnings. In the meantime I went for a walk in the national park which was lovely! There was a lighthouse ruïne which was pretty cool. After he was done with the car he sent me a message and I walked back. Unfortunately only cold showers near the beach again but better than nothing. After we showered we went to a campground a little further from Albany. The cozy corner it was called. Unfortunately that one was completely full. We drove 5 mins back and found another lovely campground and our $15 for it. We set up the camp and Gaët cooked an amazing Asian vegetable rice! Yum! After that we watched a comedy show and then went to sleep.

January 25th: Day 15-climbing a 75 m high tree!

Today I woke up early again and I decided to boil some eggs already while Gaët was still sleeping. Later we had breakfast together and packed everything up again. Today Denmark was on the planning. We drove to this town and to me it looked so damn boring! Nothing special! He had to make a phone call with a friend but I didn’t even feel like getting out of the car! Man! We left and went to Greens pool and Elephant rocks. Also a bit overrated in my opinion. Yes the rocks are cool but you don’t really see that clear that it’s an elephant or whatever and greens pool was way too crowded… so we left after walking around a bit. We made a stop at Bartholomews Meadery and this was even more exciting than the rest of our stops of today so far. We tried their home made honeycomb ice cream which was amazing! They had a bee imker inside as well where they collected fresh honey from! So cool! I’m normally not a huge fan of honey but this was delish! We then drove to the Giant tee top walk and we looked on the map how big it was. We heard an older lady saying it was a loop of only 600 m. So we checked it out before thhe entrance and thought it wasn’t really worth paying $25 for so we ended up doing the free visitor walk and that was nice as well! After that I told Gaët I really wanted to see the Dave Evans tree as I heard you could climb that one to the top without being secured. When we arrived I looked at it and I was like ‘Wow, pretty high tho!’ There was a lady who was taking care of everyone who wanted to give it a shot and I decided I didn’t want to leave without reaching the top. So I went up the pins sticked in the tree. After a while I got in a rhythm and it was easier. It was hard not to look down as I had to look where the next pin was. When I made it to the 2nd platform there were normal ladders which I hated as they are completely straight and they were a bit shaky. When I made it to the top I was proud of myself! Yay! It wasn’t the view that was exciting just watching some trees but it was the climb that was cool! Gaët is scared of heights but I’m proud he made it to the first platform! We drove to a Forrest and decided to take the risk to camp here. No one was here. I went for a run and when I came back Gaët was playing from hid DJ det again and he set up the tent already. I made a big salad for dinner and after that we went to sleep.

January 26th: Day 16-Patting stingrays!

This morning we woke up in the middle of the forest. Amazing! While Gaët took this for granted and played some of his DJ set, I decided to clean up a bit already. Later we drove to Pemberton to fill our water tank and then we drove to the next campground which was called ‘Mindful Earth Sanctuary’. Such a lovely place to be! Insane how this community created a place for people to feel warm, and stay overnight. There was a dome where they gave yoga lessons and there’s a big shed with a kitchen, lounge room and little stage. So lovely! We met some of Gaëts friends and together we went to Granny’s pool, the lighthouse there and later Hamelin Bay. Here we could pay stingrays who were really close to the shore. Insane how big these animals are. I was a little scared to touch them as I remember Steve Irwin dying because of this. But of course you shouldn’t touch the tail. They are so jelly! Like a jellyfish. In the evening we cooked all together after having a sound yoga class and after that I had some fun with some other people there and then I went back to the tent while Gaët still enjoyed the party!

January 27th: Day 17- Margaret River!

Today I woke up early again and decided to go running. It was drizzling a bit but I ignored it and it actually felt good and refreshing. When I got back Gaët packed everything up already cause we didn’t put the raincover over the tent (as it wasn’t supposed to rain) and it got wet a bit. We decided to drive in the direction of Busselton. We made a stop at the Giants cave but when we saw the prices we decided to skip it as we had both seen quite a lot of caves already and didn’t think these were much different comparing Google pictures. Once we got to Busselton we took a shower near the beach which was cold unfortunately, but again- better than nothing. After that we found an overnight stop near the road which was quite full already but there was a spot left for us. So we sat up the camp, I cooked dinner and then we went to sleep.

January 28th: Day 18- Finally Perth

Today the day started early again, I slept pretty bad and had a little stormach ache but I didn’t want to wake up Gaët. He literaat woke up 2 hours later which never happens normally! Jeeess… when hè woke up we went to the next fuel station to get changed and redres ourselves a bit. Then we drove to Bunbury. I went for a run here and hè did some things for the car and later we met again. We Finally Made it to Perth this afternoon! Can’t believe we Finally Made it! We met with some of his friends at the beach and later had a bbq on a Really Nice rooftop of one of his mate’s appartement buildings. So Nice! After that I went back to the shared house we are staying at for a few nights.

January 29th: Day 19- Freo & Reunited

Today I started the day again with a 10 k run and after that I took a shower and walked to the City. From there I rook the train to Fremantle. Here I would meet Mariela and Seb today who I worked with in Douglas-Daly. I couldnt wait to see them again! As soon as I got off the train I heard someone yelling my name. But maybe I Just imagine it. Untill someone tapped me on my shouldn’t. It was them! Unbelievable! We were on the same train without knoeit it! So fun to see them again! They went to their hostel to check in later and I walked to South Beach 30 mind Fuentes. What a beautiful Beach! I walked to the store to get some lunch and still looked around for accommodation and a job. I’ve been looking a bit since I left Adelaide already, not knowing that it would be so hard to get accommodation in Perth and that it would be so crossed here. Later Seb and Mariela joined with another couple they were traveling with. We had so much fun on the beach and after watching the Sunset it was time for me to head back to Perth.

January 30th: Day 20- Exploring Perth

Today I woke up early again. It was very fun last night but definitely too much for me to also go to the beach party. I also was so excited to Finally sleep in a normal bed again and have a hot shower as long as I wanted. So I chose this instead as I was so tired! I went for a run along the river today and then did a little workout. Then I Tooo a shower and decided to walk around the City. I went to Elizabeth Quay, then the Queens gardens, both very beautiful! I met another Dutch guy I met because of the Dutchies in Australia. It was very Nice! He heard hè got the room hè Really wanted so I was so happy for him! He can look for a job now! I am also still busy looking! Hope ill find something soon as well cause I’m still in the shared house which is not actually allowed..

January 31st: Day 21- Quokkas on Rottnest Island!😍

I decided that I wanted to go to Rottnest island today very last minute. I took the train to Fremantle and ran to the ferry just in time to get the one at 10 AM. I made it! I arrived to Rottnest Island about half an hour later. Jees, there was such a handsome guy who worked on this ferry. I wish I had the balls to walk up to him but nah, I’m leaving Australia anyways pretty soon.. As soon as I got on the island I walked around for a while. I thought about the fact I still had no accommodation or job and decided I could give it a shot asking around here at hotels and restaurants, but unfortunately without any result as it was getting closer to low season and they just hired enough people. So I enjoyed the rest of my day with the cute quokkas, the beautiful beaches and the sun. On my way back I was sitting across from a lovely lady and I started talking to her when I laughed so much about a guy who dropped his drinks because the ferry was flying over the waves. The lady sitting across from me was very kind and gave me so many tips about companies I should reach out to. So nice of her! Also that handsome guy was on the ferry again. I just said ‘hi’ to him but nothing more or less. But I noticed he looked at me a few times… Damn… Why am I too shy to say anything? But as soon as I start talking I can’t shut up?!😂🤷🏼‍♀️ Once I got back to Perth I was stressed a bit because I couldn’t really stay in the shared house anymore. I decided to go for a sunset run and to my surprise I was faster than ever. 4 mins 45 seconds per km.. for 8 km. Idk how… I took a shower, made dinner and went to sleep.

February 1st: Day 22- Random Picnic?!

Today I finally woke up a little later. My legs hurt a bit because I ran so much again the past weeks, so I needed a rest day. I did walk to the city cause I love being outside and walking. Looking for accommodation still but I am gonna give it a few more days otherwise I’m gonna leave Perth. I’m just not happy in this city atm even though it’s beautiful out here. There’s just too many people which weird enough makes me feel lonely. Later I met another Dutch guy and we went for a walk around the city and I showed him a few things and then we did a little picnic. After that I decided to walk back I still feel so bad I’m still in the shared house as I can’t pay anyone for it as the owner can’t know I am here and the girl I am using the room from left already so no one is in there still. I think I will buy some cleaning stuff tomorrow as they’re pretty low on that and then clean the house. It’s the least I can do. I really hope tomorrow I’ll finally hear something from the companies I reached out to!

February 2nd: GOT A JOB! & Bike stolen?!

Today I went for a run again in the morning, took a shower and borrowed Gaëts bike to get some cleaning stuff at the store. I got back and cleaned the house. Bought some other stuff like toilet paper, cloths, sponges and dish soap etc. Hope they’ll like that. Later I took the bike to the city and walked around a bit. I was so done with waiting for companies to call me back that I decided to call back myself. I called Palace hotel in southern cross. I reached out yesterday but the manager wasn’t available. Today she answered the phone. A very nice lady. Couldn’t really tell if she was OZ but I felt like she had a different English accent. Anyways, first she wasn’t sure if she could use someone and then a few seconds later she was like: Alright Lieke, you know what, I’ll pick you up on Monday as I’m in the city this weekend and we’ll just see how it goes!’ OH MY GOSH! I GOT A JOB! Free food, free accommodation. I’m the happiest kid in the world! God bless her! To celebrate this I took the train from there to Scarborough where the sunset markets will be tonight. I spent the day on Trigg Beach which is really beautiful. I watched all the surfers from a distance and just relaxed a bit. Later I saw they were setting up the markets so I had a look around and I got a message on a Facebook group if I wanted to join some other backpackers to the sunset markets. They arrived a little later than planned because it was so busy with parking but the people were lovely! One guy from Asia, a German girl and an English couple. And wow the Sunday was absolutely stunning! I also saw Gaët with one of his friends. Later I took the train back to go to the bike and…. BIKE IS GONE… NO WAY! Only once I borrowed his bike and now, I messed it up completely. I took the train back and damn I felt so bad. I paid Gaët some money and really hope he’ll find a new bike. So sad this… Can’t believe it. I locked it in front of the public library as that seemed like a safer spot than in the middle of the street and there were more bikes there earlier, but damn, I felt like this was gonna happen already in the morning.. ughhh… shouldn’t have taken the bike to the city..

February 3rd: Gluten-free is nothing for me…

Today I woke up a little later but had to wait till Gaët was awake as he had the keys of the car which I needed to put my stuff in the car as we do every morning so the owner can’t figure out I’m staying in the room. Man it feels so sneaky! Can’t wait to leave! Even though the others are very chill about it and they understand there’s no other option except very expensive hotels. I walked to the city to buy a present for Valérie, a Belgian girl I met in Tasmania who is in Perth and invited me to join her birthday Brunch party tomorrow. So kind of her! I didn’t know what to buy her so I just bought a card and candles in the number 30 and tomorrow I’ll buy a cake. As my stomach has been so upset the past months and I’m pretty sure it’s because I lest more bread on road trips etc, I wanted to test if I’m gluten intolerant so I made an appointment at the doctor in town. A little before the appointment I asked how it worked for insurance as I’m insured internationally but they told me I would have to pay $200 first and then claim the rest back with the insurance. So as it sounded a bit complicated, I could luckily still cancel it for free. Ugh. Why is it so complicated here? And so expensive just to talk to a doctor? I’m gonna try it myself and avoid gluten for a couple of days to see how I feel.. I walked all the way to Kings park and to the Blue boat house. And then all the way back to the city. I sat down on the grass and had my own little picnic and I tried gluten-free bread today and yaks, it doesn’t taste any good… I walked back to the house later and talked to the others for a bit and then went to bed. 

February 4th: Birthday Brunch Valérie

Today I woke up very early and decided to put my stuff in the car again and take the train to Fremantle right away as I would have the birthday brunch at 10 AM. I remembered Mariela and Seb were staying in Fremantle as well and they are leaving this morning with another couple they’re traveling with towards Derby where they found a job. I’m hoping I can say goodbye to them before they go. When I arrived it was only 7:30 so I grabbed an iced coffee and walked around a bit. I texted Mariela what time they were leaving but she said they were on their way to the train station already. I ran back to surprise them and say goodbye and they really loved that! I’m gonna miss them and I wish them the very best! God bless they finally found some accommodation and a job! And so did I! Later I walked 30 mins to South beach and met Valérie there. Sooo nice to see her again after such a long time. She’s really living her life as well in australia and is such a crazy happy girl! The other people invited were most of her friends she met while working in Broome and the couch surfing family where’s she is staying at the moment. What a lovely family! The food was also very good! Even though it was very windy, later we had a lovely sunshine lighting up the day. We swam in the ocean for a bit and later had a little dress up party when the rest was gonna and only me and another girl were still there with Valérie. Later an English guy started talking to us pretty randomly and we talked for a bit but then it started to annoy us as he didn’t shut up. So we left him and I went to the beach with Lindsay (Valérie’s friend) while Valerie went back home herself. Later I walked back to the train and went back tho the house.

February 5th: Another day in Freo!

Today I had a chill day. Woke up early as usually, went for a walk and called my friends back home who were at one of my friend’s party so I could see everyone for a bit. This was very nice. I miss them a lot! Later I got changed and decided to go to Freo as this was one of my last chances before I’m gonna leave Perth and be in the middle of nowhere. I walked to south beach again. Later Tycho, Dutch guy I met in Perth, joined me. We talked about the girl who died because of a shark attack yesterday as it really hit me. I knew there were heeps of sharks around Perth, but apparently bull sharks are one of the worst and they tent to be in the river where the girl jumped in the water as she saw dolphins. What a tragic story. Horrible! It’s the first deadly shark attack in Perth in a 100 years! Crazy! We still swam in the ocean but as long as the water is crystal clear, I feel ok to swim. Apparently it makes no difference how deep the water is as sharks can come very close to the shore. It’s not common for sharks to attack and it’s always an accident as they don’t hunt for humans, but I’m still scared and aware of them…

February 6th: Thanks for everything Gaët!🫶🏻

This morning it was finally a bit cooler and a perfect running day. So of course I had to go. Took a shower afterwards and packed all my stuff as I finally found an available hostel for tonight and it was only $25 and it was a good one as some of my friends told me about it. I had to book a hostel cause the hotel manager told me she needed one more day in Perth. And the room I used in the shared house is rented by someone new now. I decided to leave my camping stuff here in case someone wanted it, but Gaët later send me a message I should try to sell it and he send me pictures of it. I posted it in the WhatsApp group of Perth and immediately got a message from Wessel, the other Dutch guy I met a few days ago. He wanted everything so that was perfect! I only asked $30 for everything (Tent, sleeping bag and yogamat) which is very cheap. But I’m happy he wanted it! I went to my hostel to drop off my stuff. Last night I figured out my friend Sanne is here and is staying in this hostel as well! She send me her location and I met her in town. Together we walked around for a bit and went to a few stores. Later I met Gaët to have a last drink together before I leave! We went to one of his friend’s place for a drink and then it was time to say good bye. Damn. It feels so weird I’m gonna be on my own again. I would’ve never expected traveling with a guy would be so nice! I really thought it would be a bit awkward as we were not a couple at all, but it was so nice! Such a different vibe but I loved it! Thanks so much for everything Gaët! You’re an amazing person and I had a blast with you! You’re so inspiring and open minded which is all I needed for this trip! And thanks for all the driving!! Can’t believe you almost drove 6000 km in just 3 weeks.. crazy! Thanks bro!🫶🏻