Here we go for a few days of volunteering with Georgina, Jürg and their teenager Gian-Luca. What's the matter with us ? A new volunteering when traveling just started again ? The only bitumen road that crosses southern Australia from West to East is closed due to the smoke from fires around the area. Esperance, the last big town before the Nullarbor desert, is packed with stranded travelers. To avoid the rush, we volunteer ... :)

Esperance
Esperance
Esperance coast
Esperance coast

On the menu of this new workaway, protect the fruit trees from opportunists: the grass which, here, does not hesitate to climb the trunk as well as the chickens which scrape the surface roots. So our job is to set cages around the apple trees.

Still in the "landscaping" business, we have to get rid of loads of freshly cut conifer branches. It's a bit like building Carlsbourg's great fire (at the end of winter) except that the trailer is quite small. No hole shall remain : the pile is compacted in order to fill the trailer to its maximum capacity. It's raining a bit but last time we checked, we're not made of sugar. We are so efficient that a lovely couple of elderly people even stop to ask us if we have a business card to come and maintain their own garden.

At Jürg & Georgina. Snoopy, the black dog with white at the end of her tail. Mr Cuddles, the cat
At Jürg & Georgina. Snoopy, the black dog with white at the end of her tail. Mr Cuddles, the cat
At Jürg & Georgina. Iynx, the goat
At Jürg & Georgina. Iynx, the goat

It's very important for Jürg and Georgina that we don't work too hard and enjoy the incredible region! Therefore we have a particularly sunny day off to visit Cape Legrand and its sublime beaches (we are starting to run out of adjectives to describe the landscape ;) ). Crystal clear water, white sand, turquoise lagoon, it's a pretty standard beach for us now. But the local fauna decides to join the fun that day : kangaroos on the beach and dolphins surfing in the waves!

Cape Legrand National Park
Cape Legrand National Park

Side story: there are a lot of sharks in the area (maybe they also appreciate the good visibility in the water) ... While we are gleefully playing in the waves, suddenly a man on the beach waves to get us out of the water quickly, we kind of freak out at the sight of grey fins in the waves ... Luckily the fins belong to a lovely school of dolphins! :)

Short but intense and terribly pleasant stay, we don't lose sight of our next objective: welcoming Katy / Rossana's mom who arrives in Adelaide in a few days. The target is still 2500km from us ...