It took Padma and me two and a half years to build our new family home on a beach south of Perth. But it only took two weeks after we received the keys before we welcomed our first overseas visitors.

For three years, we lived next door to Markus, Claudia and Carla in a little German village overlooking the Rhine. Within a week after we moved in, they became part of our extended family. They helped us wade through German bureaucracy, taught us about Rhineland gardening, shared gossip about the neighbours and comforted us when we almost burned down our home. They were invaluable to us. The saddest day of our stay in Germany was when we broke the news to them that we were leaving the neighbourhood.

But we never said ‘goodbye’. It was more like ‘see you later … in Australia’.

And they kept their promise and came to visit us. After they arrived to Australia, we let them get over their jet lag for two days and get acclimated to the Western Australia winter. We took strolls on our beach and explored the area surrounding our new home.

Then we packed up the car for a roadtrip to the north where we knew we’d find warmer and drier weather. We saw koalas at Yanchep National Park, sand dunes at Lancelin, unusual rock formations at the Pinnacles and a brilliant sunset at Jurien Bay. Then we ventured further north to a new destination for Padma and me: Shark Bay. We didn’t see any sharks, but we did get up close and personal with dolphins and turtles at Monkey Mia. On the way home we spent time in Geraldton, where 40 years earlier Padma worked as a teacher.

We rested at home for a couple of days and then disregarded the weather forecast and decided to brave the winter storms and travel south to the Margaret River area. My favourite time to visit the area is when the weather is the wildest. It was windy and the skies opened and closed and the rain stopped and started. Perfect for exploring the beaches and being overwhelmed by a very angry sea and huge waves.

It is sad once again to say ‘see you later’ to our beloved German neighbours, who will now continue their Aussie explorations in the Northern Territory and Queensland. Now Padma and I will have to make friends with our new neighbours who can help us settle into our community.