The rest of our vacation flew by quickly. We finished off in Sydney with a trip to the Taronga Zoo. The kids enjoyed getting really close to the animals although this one WAS luckily behind a thick glass window. 

Then we flew to Adelaide to visit friends we had last seen in our wedding ten years ago. Shane, Helen and their four kids took us to their beach house just west of Adelaide where we had a great picnic and a stroll by the ocean. The boys even played a game of cricket on the lawn.

Then it was off to the west coast. We rented a car from Perth and drove almost 500 miles west towards Kalgoorlie. The earth changed into a deep orange color and the gum trees seemed to reach the sky. 

Next we turned the wheels towards south and drove another five hours to Esperance we were more than ready to hit the best beaches in Australia. We were not disappointed.
We also visited many places from David's childhood in Esperance including the house where he lived for eight years. We met his classmate Conrad and his family over a picnic in the park. David also walked down the memory lane at the hospital corridoors as he took Raili into the ER in middle of the night for an ear ache. Turns out both of her ear drums had perforated and caused her to squirm in pain.

Bay of Esperance with a heart shaped coast line.

We did as many "Esperance things" as David could think of, including burgers at Beryl's Eats ("Lotsa Burger" has everything you can think of including a slice of beet root in the middle and Cheeseburger is actually two buns with a slice of cheese in the middle. If you want a "real" cheeseburger, you need to order a "Hamburger with cheese". Ok, then), watching the seals off the Jetty, swimming at Twilight Cove, driving to Cape Le Grand and strolling the main street for Fish and Chips spots. 

Our final stretch took us back to Perth via Hyden (which had an air temperature of 44C and about bizillion black flies when we stopped at Wave Rock). We ran through the lower part of the rock formation, past a dazzeled group of Japanese tourists who were about to start a climb to the top in the sauna-like heat. All travel guides recommended spending half a day at Wave Rock but I assure you, if you stay any longer than fifteen minutes and the heat doesn't get you, the flies will.  

Perth from the Swan River

The last two days we spent exploring Perth and Freemantle before heading back to Shanghai. We stayed at the same hotel David had spent time with his parents and sister on their vacations. Kai and Raili enjoyed the swimming pool late into the night as the temperature hovered around 30C even at 9pm.

While the vacation is now officially over, we have hundreds of photos to keep us going through the next couple of dreary Shanghai Winter months. We are also looking forward to returning the favor as Shane, Helen + their kids are planning a trip next Fall to Shanghai. I think we already know the dumpling restaurant we can take them to for a Jiaozi eating contest...