March 2024
Hello everyone,
Heading west!
To complete the already impressive list of Australian sites we've been lucky enough to visit (from 1978 to the present day!), on our return from New Zealand we made a stopover on the other side of this country-continent: Perth (which we hadn't been able to film a few years ago because of a heatwave (this year, the temperature has only risen to 42°!) with its tall Norfolk pines, palm trees and slender skyscrapers; in one of the latter, the bell tower, a carillon plays the music you want, even Frères Jacques and the Marseillaise !
Not far from Perth, on the shores of the Indian Ocean, Fremantle is one of the favorite haunts of young Australians and internationals alike. You can eat delicious scallops in the harbor, take part in all kinds of water sports and swim on the legendary Cottensloe beach at the foot of a spectacular building, under the watchful eye of lifeguards (or surf masters). Just as spectacular, in the centre of Fremantle, is the National Hotel, with its terrace bar, where I've set up my fan club!
Another reason we came to Perth was the fantastic 'Monet in Paris' attraction; much more fascinating than an exhibition of paintings, it delves into the lives, works and influences of all the Impressionists, and takes you right into the heart of their world.
Then we hit the road for a short (Australian style) 1500 km drive; first stop, the famous Wave Rock, which we had already photographed, but which this time was bathed in a remarkable pinkish light. And then we reached the place in Australia that had most seduced my daughter Vaimiti, who a few years ago travelled 40,000 km in a van around the country, with its magnificent beaches: Espérance, a Mecca of French exploration, where you can find Cap Le Grand and other names of French sailors and scientists, as indeed is the case all along the west coast of Australia.
Then we returned to the enchanting city of Brisbane, where nature, plantations and flowering trees thrive at the foot of imposing skyscrapers, and found Banana Split in the Great Sandy Strait with its immense sandbanks, its islets and lagoons such as Wathumba, emerald at high tide and brick red at low tide.
I wish you an excellent month of March
Antoine
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