After leaving Esperance we headed off for Albany. First stop was Bremer Bay, which was blowing a gale. Camped next to the 'gold detectors' we spoke to in Esperence, who had recommended this park. They were waiting for things to dry up a bit in Kalgoorlie before they ventured up to find their fortune. They had gold in their veins and their eyes sparkled just talking about the stuff! A lovely couple and we hope they find plenty of it.
Then it was off to Cape Riche for some downtime. A nice small park, only $5.50 a night with flushing toilets and cold showers. Did some fishing with a nice bloke camped next to us and I actually caught some, even though the old fella outdid me! Met another nice couple who had 2 Ford Mustangs. He had photos in his wallet of the cars (not his kids!) and they looked great; a '67 Fastback and a '67 Convertible. I was drooling.
It wasn't a very long drive to Albany and before I go any further I must point out to all you Victorians, it is not pronounced like Albury but like the bloke's name 'Al'. Al...bany. Got that? Good. First impressions reminded us of Hobart, especially as it was overcast and raining too! Lots of old buildings as this was the first European settlement in WA. There was quite a few caravan parks in town but would you believe one of the Big4 parks was already full? School holidays are over and guess who is filling the parks up? We settled into the park at Emu Point and I kid you not, it felt like we were in a retirement village. I know we keep hanging it on them and good on them for enjoying themselves after working all their lives but there's just sooo many.
Checked out the local attractions like the Natural Bridge (think London Bridge at 12 Apostles but made of Granite and still standing) and The Gap, which had a 25 meter sheer drop into the ocean. Also the Wind Farm that had some great views and whilst walking around there we came across a caterpillar crossing. There was a line of them, nose to tail, across the footpath and we counted over 100 of them (see photos). Kept us entertained for a while! Whale World, Albany's historic whaling station, was fantastic. This place was still in operation up till 1978, the last place in Australia to cease whale hunting. We had a tour that was a bit grizzly at times (pictures and descriptions of how they cut up the whale carcasses) but it was fascinating. They converted some huge old drums that they use to fill with whale oil, into mini theatres and we watched a 3D movie called 'Giants Exist and others on whaling and sharks. There was also some whale skeletons and one of the old ships (or whale chasers), the Cheyne IV, which we climbed aboard and checked out top to bottom. A bit of some X-Files stuff here, but the old newspaper clippings from when the plant shut down, included some interviews of the men who chased the whales. They would travel out to the Continental Shelf to track the whales with their sonar and at times they chased things "as big and bigger than whales" for hours, which wouldn't behave like whales and then simply vanish from their screens. They made mention of things out (or down) there that are very large and we obviously don't know what they are. There were also accounts of finding Sperm Whales with sucker marks (from Giant Squids) "...as big as a dinner plate". Another story recounted a shark feeding frenzy on a whale that they were taking back to the station and many of the men witnessed what they all agreed on (based on comparison with the size of the whales) "at least 6 White Pointer sharks around 9 meters long". Those figures are the right way around too. Currently the world record for a Great White is around 6 meters. Enough of that.
Leaving Albany we drove through Denmark, which looked beautiful, and went on the 'Valley of the Giants Tree Top Walk'. At its highest point we were 40 meters above the ground and with the spans and platforms swaying with the wind, it felt a lot higher. The base walk around the giant Red Tingle trees was just as impressive. Most of them are rotted away at their huge bases and you can stand inside them. There are old pictures of cars parked inside them! Then it was down to Windy Harbour at Point D'Entrecasteaux (c'mon, pronounce that!). Some nice views but it was very windy and a let-down for us, after hearing others really talk it up, so we headed north again and made our way to Pemberton. This area is surrounded by some of the highest trees in the world, the Karri tree. These are magnificent and we had a look at the Gloucester Tree that is 65 meters tall and was used as a fire lookout years ago. They can grow to 90 meters high! We really liked Pemberton and it reminded us of Marysville back home but on a larger scale. Next stop, Margaret River.
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