I'm one lucky gal. Work and being (suddenly!) the parent of a high school kid has kept me from too many big trips this year - along with the after-effects of Covid on travel - but I have been able to spend time running workshops in various parts of my beautiful home state, Western Australia. When I look at all those trips together, I realise properly what fabulous experiences I've had this year, and I wanted to celebrate this special 280th episode by chatting about how I saw my home state thoughtfully.

My first 2022 trip was in March, to Broome in the far north of Western Australia (in other continents I would have crossed multiple countries to get there!), my first time to this iconic destination. One highlight was meeting a local friend and hearing more about what life is like in Broome for those on the margins.

I headed "down south" in June, basing myself in Busselton for a few days of work and exploration. It's an area I've visited frequently, so I set myself the challenge of finding something new, and in so doing learnt much about the Wonnerup Massacre from almost two centuries ago - but still very important today.

Later that month I went further south to Albany, a town on the south coast of Western Australia and one I'd visited dozens of times over the years when my grandmother was alive. With over a decade between trips, I was keen to see new developments like the National Anzac Centre.

My final trip was a few hundred kilometres north to Geraldton, another first-time visit for me, where exploring the HMAS Sydney II memorial touched me - though not as much as the random exploration of a place my father lived back in the 1940s.

I hope this episode gives non-Western Australians a taste of what this state is like, and maybe even helps everyone to ponder how they can make their own travels more thoughtful, too.

Links:

• Broome - Episode 273 https://www.notaballerina.com/2022/05/broome-western-australia-episode-273-thoughtful-travel-podcast.html 
• Cape to Cape Hike - Episode 276 https://www.notaballerina.com/2022/10/walking-cape-to-cape-track-episode-276-thoughtful-travel-podcast.html 
• Wonnerup Massacre reporting - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-17/wonnerup-minninup-massacre-the-ghosts-are-not-silent/100458938 
• National Anzac Centre in Albany - https://www.nationalanzaccentre.com.au 
• Feed the Little Children Inc. - https://www.feedthelittlechildren.org.au 
• HMAS Sydney II information - https://museum.wa.gov.au/explore/sydney 
• Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers
• Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin
• Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/280