13TH APRIL 2013 – ALBANY, SOUTH WESTERN AUSTRALIA
 

 Whaler  Cheynes VI

White Tailed Black cockatoo

Bremer Bay misty with rain when we left at 7.30am, temperature 17deg. A very quiet drive on the highway passing through beautiful green ‘golf link’ paddocks. Luckily the rain stopped about 30km before Albany & we headed for their Saturday Farmers Market to stock up on nice fresh vegies, homemade marmalade for MM who can’t survive without it, & lovely fresh baked bread to go with it. That done we headed for a caravan park – had done our research on them all looking for the cheapest & had even phoned the chosen one to ask if they had an unpowered site. On arrival though we discovered I had omitted to say we had a caravan& they only had unpowered sites for tents. Most other sites were powered with ensuites. Must say the receptionist was very helpful & offered us an ensuite site for $36 instead of $45 – BUT no keys for the ensuite!!! We had to accept it as the other 5 parks in the area were even more expensive. Settled in, we spent the afternoon driving out to the coastal attractions like ‘the gap’ & the ‘natural bridge’, amazing rock formations on the edge of the sea. Quite a lot of walking over the wonderful granite rocks, miles & miles of them coupled with again the wonderful aqua waves foaming over the rocks. There was also ‘blowhole’, not the usual type with waves blowing up into the air. This one was a large fissure in the rocks, & underneath I think was a cave. Some people sat on the fissure waiting for the wave to come in at which point it made a very loud ‘boom’ & blow of air. Sort of scary at first.

The Gap

Natural Bridge

Down further along the coast was the old Whaling Station which Stu was interested in. The old whaling ship is still there & they have guided tours with videos etc, with the factory still complete as it was. It was the last whaling station in Australia & closed for operations in 1978 after 26 years. Over a century of whaling in this country had come to an end, only killing 11 whales in the last 6 years. Stu found it all most interesting but not my thing hearing about & seeing the slaughtering of whales, so I indulged in coffee & cake & wandered around the beach & rocks - very relaxing & peaceful. All in all a nice day & the weather once again good to us.

Next morning being Sunday we headed for another market down by the marina, which advertised as having fresh fish; would be a lovely change we thought. Turned out to be mostly arts & crafts but one fish stall, unfortunately all whole fish except for fillets of ‘gummy shark’ which we didn’t fancy. In the afternoon we decided we needed some exercise & followed a bike trail from the township to Emu Point which Stu said was 6kms each way & thought it followed the coast. And so it did, high up above it! Lots of ups & down, but a lovely sealed track, very popular with walkers & cyclists being Sunday. Towards the end it went through a bit of residential area & we got a bit lost & did about an extra 3 kms, so by the time we reached Emu Point (our destination), we were ready for a break. Sat near the beach & had our afternoon tea, then had to face the trip back again. Had to dismount a couple of times for hills, but surprised myself all in all. Final total 21 kms.

Bike ride at Albany

Janice onboard brig "Amity"

Next morning we aimed for a little freebie near a beach called ‘Cosy Corner’. We were very lucky to time it just right as a caravan had just left. Lots of vans came in after us & couldn’t fit, but must admit some others left here later in the morning & others filled the spaces. All a matter of timing. It’s a very popular little camping spot as we can stay for up to 7 days. There are lots of trees which make it a little awkward for larger vans & there are tents & backpackers in cars squeezed in wherever, but it is sheltered from the beach by shrubbery & more trees so quite good. We couldn’t stay for 7 days as there isn’t enough to do. First day we walked the whole length of the beach (quite a long way) & really good exercise as the sand is quite loose. Became quite breezy overnight & light drizzly rain thus I have time to catch up on this blog.

Lazy morning sitting outside, me reading, doing crosswords , Stu sudoku, & talking to our neighbours as it’s too windy on the beach. After morning tea left camp for a drive to West Cape Howe National Park which has 23km of coastline dominated by headlands of Black Granite. It occupies the most southerly section of the West Australian coastline – next stop Antarctica. The landscape consists of small sandy beaches surrounded by limestone cliffs & rocky granite headlands jutting into the Southern Ocean. Luckily the weather improved though not brilliantly sunny. The entry to the park was a lovely drive through Karri forests which have regrown since the logging in the 1800’s, with lower growth of Jarrah & Sheoaks, peppermint trees & Banksia. Over 500 species of flowering plants can be found here including 56 species of orchids. Fauna includes the red eared firetail finch which is quite rare, & the Western ringtail possum which needs Peppermint trees to survive. Wasn’t lucky enough to spot either. At Shelly Beach there are a few campers but unsuitable for caravans. Fishermen (& women) are busy on the beach, some up to their knees in water, casting for salmon. One group of 3 or 4 had apparently caught about a dozen 10lb sea salmon. Apparently they are different to our NZ freshwater salmon, more like kawhai & need to be bled straight away. The rural area we drive through is so green & lush & we saw a very large herd of friesan dairy cows, the first on our travels. The farms & lifestyle blocks are beautiful & I feel as if I could easily live here. There is a distinct Scandinavian influence here with road names & property names, and the nearest small town is called Denmark.

West Cape Howe National Park

Karri Forest West Cape Howe National Park

Returning to camp & lunching we sat outside in the light sunshine & relaxed again & talked some more to our neighbours who we have met several times now, both ex pat kiwis who have been here about 28 years. Lovely people who I hope we may keep contact with as they live in Queensland (Burleigh Heads on the Gold Coast).