February 25th-27th, 2012- Bremer Bay Caravan Park-Bremer Bay

Saturday February 25th saw us on the road East to Bremer Bay. We travelled along the South Coast Highway before turning South East to Bremer Bay. We booked in at the Bremer Bay Caravan Park which is close to the beach and the Wellstead Estuary. Lovely large grassy site although not very much shade. We got setup beside Di & Terry who had arrived yesterday. The Ransleys and Bewells did a tour of the local area and beaches in the afternoon. Beautiful, beautiful white sandy beaches with lovely green/blue water. Our first stop was the lookout overlooking Bremer Bay and the Wellstead Estuary.

Next stop was the point just South of the lookout. We walked down on the rock point where we got a great view along both sides of the beach. Got a few photos before driving down to the estuary for a walk on the sand.

We next ventured to Fishery Bay and Short Beach. Fishery Bay had a nice wharf and is where the larger ocean boats were moored. Short Beach was quite secluded with some reef that the water breaks over just out from shore.

We travelled across to the west side of the peninsula to Blossom Beach. This was a large beach with quite a good swell. There was some beautiful houses overlooking the western ocean views. Had some large sand dunes with the wind whipping the sand through the air. Great pictures but not a great place for a swim.

Ventured a bit farther south to Little Boat Harbour on the South West of the peninsula. Surprisingly this was quite sheltered and a beautiful place for a swim. Rans and I had a quick swim while the girls got some pictures. Headed home from here for happy hour and dinner.

Sunday morning the Ransleys and Bewells went touring to the Fitzgerald River National Park. Had a couple of stops taking pictures of wildflowers before we made it to our first lookout at Mt. Maxwell. The wildflowers are amazing and you can only imagine what they would be like in the spring. Mt. Maxwell is a short walk up to a lookout giving a 360 degree view of the surrounding landscape. Mainly rural views with lots of vegetation. The lookout is the smallest wood structure you can imagine. I joked that only 3 of us could use the viewing platform at one time (but I wasn't that far off).

Next stop was West Mt Barren where we enjoyed morning tea. We decided against the walk which said 374M. Unfortunately we think this was the vertical distance and the actual walk would have been much longer and tough. We chickened out after our Castle Rock experience earlier. Took a bunch more wildflower pictures. So many species in such a small area.

Continued on to our main destination Point Ann and Mary's Inlet. We had been told that this was one of the most beautiful places in Australia. It was overcast during our visit so we couldn't give it top honour but you could certainly imagine what it would look like on a sunny blue day. Was incredible as it was; and the wildflowers and the variety of vegetation were amazing. Got some great photos, enjoyed a nice walk to the lookouts, and had our picnic lunch overlooking the beach. An added bonus was watching a seal stalking a school of fish. They move so gracefully and quickly though the water.

On the way back we decided to take a different route which proved to be not one of our better decisions. We did eventually make it back home; but not before we experienced some very bad corrugation and fairly rough 4WD tracks. We did have some good laughs and will definitely remember our journey home; although we probably couldn't quite retrace our steps. Carol especially loves our adventuresome, although misguided spirit! One of the funniest moments was when we pulled up in the middle of nowhere on the track, to check our directions on our map. Next thing we know an old woman walks out of her driveway?? and proceeds to have a chat with us like we've known her for years. We ask her about the road and she says she doesn't use it but lots of other vehicles have gone down it lately. It was only much later on in our journey that we begin to wonder if any of those other vehicles have ever returned!

We do eventually make it back to Bremer Bay for a late happy hour and an easy dinner. Had a great talk on Skype with Justine who celebrated her 24th birthday today.

Monday was a bit rainy so we enjoyed a quiet day with a bit of cleaning. Did a bit of maintenance on the cars and caravans in the morning. Afternoon cleared off a bit and all of us but Stephen had a hair cut. Had a lovely baked dinner with the Ransleys. Spent the evening catching up our diary and Blog. We are off tomorrow towards Esperance but will probably overnight in a free camp half way to break up our journey.

February 20th-24th, 2012- Emu Beach Caravan Park-Albany

Monday February 20th saw us leave Denmark and take the long 60KM trek to Albany. We checked into the Top Tourist Park at Emu Beach. Nice large caravan park only a short walk from the beach. Not in the same class as our Denmark Big 4 but not too bad. We all got set up in some fairly shady sites in the same area. Once setup we ventured into Albany where we did some grocery shopping at Woolies before heading off to the Tourist Info Centre. Got our local brochures and some recommendations from the helpful staff there. Walked through a beautiful park with roses on our return trip to the car.

From there we drove up to the Memorial Lookout on Mount Clarence where we got a good view all around Albany. Also drove up to the Fort at Mount Adelaide but didn't go in as they charged a hefty admission and it was already late in the day. May check it out later in our visit. We went for a short walk along Emu Beach later in the afternoon.

Tuesday the six of us were off early to tour the Albany Whale World and the Torndirrup National Park on the peninsula south of Albany Harbour. We arrived at Whale World just before the first tour at 10am. The Whale Museum is situated in the last working whale processing factory in Australia which closed in 1978. The tour and the museum were very interesting with a number of working displays and movies set up in the old whale oil tanks. It was sad to hear what happened here and that it was still happening in our lifetimes. Was a very eye opening experience to the industry and the hardships the men and women employed at the whaling station endured. We toured all the displays including the Cheynes 4 whaling ship before driving to Frenchman Bay for a picnic lunch.

After lunch we toured a number of hills, beaches, bays, and rock formations in the Torndirrup National Park. Our first stops were Misery Beach and Isthmus Hill. This was followed by Salmon Pools in Isthmus Bay. Beautiful beach and views.

Our next stop was Stony Hill. Here we did a 1KM loop walk that took us to a lookout point that gave us a 360 degree view of the surrounding area and Albany.

We then stopped at the Gap and Natural Bridge which were both impressive sights. This whole area is a beautiful section of Australian Coastline. We got a number of photos along the way. An unexpected bonus was a large number of Inukshuk which had been erected on the rocks near the Natural Bridge. Sandra loved them and we got a few photos of them as well. Final stop at Cable Beach before returning to the Caravan park late in the afternoon.

Wednesday the Ransleys and Bewells headed North toward the Porongurup National Park. Only 40KM north of Albany it is amazing how quickly the landscape changes. We arrived at Castle Rock where we decided to do a 3KM walk to the Castle Rock Viewing Walkway and the Balancing Rock. Well what a walk this was. First off it was considerably longer than 3KM as we walked a considerable distance up the hill before we got to the old parking lot where the 3KM apparently started from. We all are pretty sure that it was still longer than 3KM from this point and was it challenging. Quite a steep climb with lots of steps and stones to climb over. Although we all weren't in the best shape as our walking hasn't been what it was early in our trip; this was still a bugger of a walk. Even Rans who does his regular morning walks was ready to collapse when we finally made it to the Balancing Rock. We all laid out on the cool rock under the Balancing Rock for a while to catch our breath. We then ventured on the short distance to the Castle Rock Viewing Walkway. Had to climb over rocks and between crevasses using metal hand rails that had been installed for this purpose. We all made it through this to the bottom of a 30 foot metal ladder which led to the walkway. I went up first only to see all 3 of my travelling companions climb up part way then retreat to the bottom. Eventually Rans made a second attempt and joined me at the top. The walkway was a beautiful glass and metal structure attached to the rock that you could circle. The far side dropped straight off with nothing underneath you or the walkway. Very Cool! Got some pictures of the view and of the girls on another lookout down below. Returned to the Balancing Rock for a rest before beginning the descent. Easier than climbing but still a slow tough walk. We were all happy to see the car park and no one was anxious for any more walks.

We had lunch at The Rock in the Tree Picnic area in the park. Enjoyed a nice lunch and a bit of a rest. We did manage to walk in the 100m to see the actual Rock in the Tree which wasn't that impressive. Enjoyed a stop at a Strawberry Farm on the return trip. Lots of tastings of all things Strawberry. We ended up purchasing some Strawberries, Strawberry Vinegar, and Strawberry/Blueberry Sorbet. We also stopped to take a few photos of some clever driftwood art. Stephen and I went for a refreshing swim in the surf at Emu Beach when we returned. Pretty quiet night as we were all exhausted and Sandra had hurt her back during the day.

Friday morning we said goodbye to the Butlers who are going on ahead to Bremmer Bay. We are staying an extra day as the Ransleys are having their car and caravan worked on by an Auto Electrician. We will catch up on some of the sightseeing we missed out on yesterday and join the Butlers in Bremmer Bay on Saturday.

Picked up the Ransleys at the Auto Electrician before heading East of Albany to explore a number of National Parks and Nature Reserves. Our first stop was to be Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve but the road was closed due to fire danger. We carried on to Nanarup where the river meets the ocean. Quite overcast when we were there but took a couple of pictures.

Next stop was Gull Rock National Park. Only a brief stop as not a huge amount to see. You did get a view of Albany from across the bay.

Onwards we went to Betty's Beach in the Waychinicup National Park. This was quite pretty with rugged rocks and a number of old small fishing shacks. Also took a quick diversion down East Bay road where we got a good view of Two Peoples Bay from the opposite end of the Bay/Beach. Beautiful colours and a small camping area which was very secluded.

We headed back to Albany where the four of us enjoyed Fish & Chips at the Squid Shack. They did Gluten Free Chips and grilled the fish for the two girls. Very nice. Rans introduced me to a Chico Roll which I had never tried before. I think it falls into the "been there, done that" file and I likely won't be doing a repeat performance. We took at scenic drive along the beach between Middleton Beach and the harbour where we stopped at a lookout. Beautiful walking trails all along the foreshore in Albany.

We did a bit of retail therapy in downtown Albany before delivering the Ransleys back to pick up their car and caravan. We topped up our diesel and our Jerry cans for our trip tomorrow. I had a swim with Stephen down at the beach before we began our pack up for tomorrow. Sandra and I enjoyed homemade pizza for dinner.