Perth to Albany

Whoops, I’ve been a bit lax with the blog posts recently.

Trees

For the last week or two we have been making our way from Perth to Albany.  A few years ago we spent a couple of weeks over this way and so for the first time since leaving Cape Tribulation in North Queensland, we weren’t ‘breaking new ground’.  It was a bit strange to drive into places that we recognised and in some ways a bit disappointing too.  After the wilder places we’ve been used to, pottering around this neat  south west corner of Australia was, perhaps, just a little bit too civilised for my liking!  Very much a blur of wine and cheese, Devonshire teas, trees (lots of trees) and twee little towns that looked a lot like England, only warmer. I never actually saw a lace doyley, but I was always fearful that they were not too far away.  

So, here in nutshell is a summary of of the last couple of weeks...

In Perth we picked a caravan park at random. It turned out to be in the Swan Valley, just north of the city.  As we drove in, we realised that we had stayed there for a night on our last visit.  We were staying next to a ‘village’ called Guildford, which was a lot like, well, Guildford.  Village greens and quaint churches abound.  Down the road were some pretty vineyards, but the kids were most interested in the Chocolate Factory which offered free chocolate tastings.  It was probably a mistake to go there before lunch...

One afternoon we drove down to Fremantle and had dinner in one of the restaurants there.  We liked ‘Freo’. It has plenty of beautiful old buildings and plenty of enticing cafes, restaurants and bars.  We should have stayed longer!

We were trying to avoid visiting all the same places that we went to on our last visit and so we headed south to a camp site amongst the Jarrah trees in Lane-Poole Nature Reserve. This place had been recommended to us by other campers we met further up the coast.  They probably should have warned us not to turn up on a Saturday.  Being so close to Perth, it can obviously get very busy on the weekend and is obviously a popular spot to come and compete with fellow campers to see who can play their music the loudest and the latest. (80’s Thrash Metal seemed to be a favourite when we were there). 

However, out if shear bloody-mindedness we stayed for another night and what a difference a day makes.  By Sunday afternoon the place was transformed from a place where you would want to keep a very close eye on your valuables, to a peaceful woodland camp with almost no other soul in sight.

Our next stop was the Margaret River region. We have been before but in an attempt to not repeat our last visit, we stayed at a different camp site and tasted different wines!  One day we drove down to Cape Leeuwin, the far South-East and did a walk from the Indian Ocean to the Southern Ocean, which was all of about fifteen metres J

Moving on swiftly, we headed towards a national park called Shannon NP, primarily because it was about half way between where we were and Albany.  On the way we stopped in a small town called Pemberton, for tea and scones of course. 

Shannon NP is a beautiful forest, but we found ourselves at a bit of a loss for something to do for the afternoon.  We decided on the 48km scenic drive around the forest, complete with audio commentary for those who tuned in to the appropriate FM frequency...  Jules and I found the whole thing fairly interesting and at a push could now tell a Karri from a Marri from a Jarrah.  The kids, on the other hand were far less impressed and were heard to mutter not so subtly, that it was (and I quote); “all just a bunch of stupid dumb boring trees”.  I guess that scenic drives are not yet their thing. 

The next day we continued our drive through the forests and, deciding that it was time for the kids to have an Environmental Science lesson and become more tree-friendly, we called in at the Tree Top Walk in Walpole-Nornalup NP.  Here you wander along a metal walkway suspended up to 40 metres above the ground, designed to sway in the wind to emulate the movement of the rare tingle trees that it threads through.  There is also a ‘discovery centre’, for the kids to become more educated about and therefore supposedly take more of an interest in these stupid dumb boring trees.  We did visit here on our last trip, but this one was worth the return  for a bit of fun. 

That afternoon, we arrived in Albany.  I remember thinking on our last visited here that it would be a really great place to spend a few days, if only it would stop raining and warm up.  After a few days here this time, I still think the same thing! And I am not talked dramatic, awe-inspiring rain as you do sometimes experience in Australia.  The weather forcast actually used the word ‘drizzle’, which I can’t remember ever having seen being used here before...  Even though it rained for most of the time we were there, we still had a good time.  We happened to be there for the Christmas pageant and watched them turn the Christmas lights on.  It was strange and yet familiar to stand and listen to Christmas Carols in the cold and wet.

The boys at the helm of the Cheynes IV, one of the last
whale-chasers to operate out of Australia

We decided it was time for another History lesson for the boys and so we made a visit out to Whale World which is built at the site of the old Cheynes Whaling station, the last whaling station in Australia to close down (as made famous of course by Chris Pash in his excellent book, The Last Whale J ). At Whale World we took a tour around the series of exhibits which give an interesting and balanced view of the whaling industry in Albany.  I could tell that Elliot wasn’t convinced that anyone could ever have thought that whaling was an acceptable industry and was eyeing the guide suspiciously throughout the tour.

The next morning we headed north out of Albany, on a road we’d never been on before,  towards a mountain range we’d never visited before...Ahhh...Happy again.