From Albany to Margaret River

Hello everyone,
During our stay in Albany we experienced some fabulous weather as well as got to see some fabulous local attractions and mesmerising coastline. We stayed at Middleton Beach Caravan Park which is right on the beach
Albany is a large service centre for the agricultural and fishing industries & is an export port. Albany was also a major whale hunting centre. The last whale hunting station closed in 1978 and it was the last to do so in Australia. The whaling station has been preserved & we enjoyed a guided tour and a nice light lunch afterwards. From what we heard on the tour it sounds like cutting up whales was not a very pleasant way to earn an income.

 Reflections at Albany & Cheryl with friends at the Albany Whaling Station
Torndirrup National Park is close to Albany and has some interesting natural attractions. We visited the blow holes as well as a natural bridge and a newly built lookout platform. The powerful waves have shaped some fascinating coastline and we visited several different beaches. We also got out the surf rods & fished for Australian Salmon but alas the fish did not co-operate.

Natural Landbridge & Salmon Holes Beach where the fish won!!!!!!!!!
After Albany, we headed west to the small township of Denmark where we enjoyed morning tea at the local bakery. There are quite a few wineries in the district (17) but somehow, I managed to keep Cheryl in the car. We journeyed onto Walpole where we enjoyed a forest skywalk and had lunch before continuing onto a free camp at Mt. Borden some 73 km east of Pemberton. A couple that were staying at the same caravan park as us in Albany were already set up at the free camp. We joined them around the campfire for a convivial drink or two & swapped the odd yarn.
We had rain in the night but were up early and headed for Pemberton where we shall be residing for two nights. The township of Pemberton is nestled in the valley surrounded by the magnificent Karri forests of the Gloucester National Park. It has a cool Mediterranean climate and many acres of rolling vineyards. Pemberton’s timber heritage is everywhere and there are many restaurants, cafes & gourmet food places and wineries.
We took ourselves us on a local forest self-drive tour known as the Karri Forest Explorer which took in Big Brook Dam, Warren River Cedar trees and Beedelup Falls. We were in awe of the pristine environment and very tall trees. After this drive, we visited the Gloucester Tree.

Cheryl at the Gloucester Tree         Beedelup Falls
The next day we enjoyed a one-and-a-half-hour tour on a tram rail car to the Warren National Park which was interesting. Both nights we spent in Pemberton were very cold & we also copped a bit of rain. It is the worst weather we have had since leaving Tasmania.

   Cheryl on the Pemberton Tram railway tour.
We left Pemberton & travelled via Karindale to Margaret River. We travelled through vast forests of karri trees – it was very impressive. We have checked into a bush caravan park for a few days to explore the area which is well known for wine production.
On our first day at Margaret River we headed south through Augusta to check out Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse. It is Australia’s tallest mainland lighthouse and is situated at the most south westerly tip of Australia, where the Indian and Southern Oceans meet.

We also had a very enjoyable tour of Jewel Cave whist in the area. It is a cathedral type cave which you enter through a modern interpretive centre. In the three vast caverns we saw tremendous stalagmites, straws, flowstones, frozen waterfalls, coral formations and shawls. They have also found the remains of Thylacines (Tasmanian tiger) where they have fallen into the cave.

We visited Hamelin Bay as well on the way back. The next day we visited some wineries, Vasse Felix Winery (very expensive), Mongrel Creek, Knee Deep and Woody Nook Winery. We had a delightful lunch at Woody Nook. Cheryl had Veal Scaloppine and I had Lamb Rack. We could not fault it. After our lunch, we drove north to Dunsborough and onto Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse. We returned to Margaret River via Yallingup and Prevelly Beach. Prevelly Beach is where the famous Margaret River Surfing Event is held and the surf was certainly up

 Prevelly Beach