Fitzgerald River National Park

200km drive to Ravensthorpe. Mining town in decline but good supermarket. Another 50kms to Hopetoun. Rough sea and going dark as we checked into the campground. Old fashioned but OK. Some rain at night but lots of shelter from trees.

Thursday morning drove 30kms through Fitzgerald River national park. Clear sunny great views over the turquoise sea. Hammersley Inlet campground at the end of the road was more for vans than tents. Track 30mins to sea which is magnificent. Another 30mins to Tamala Karst lookout. Lots of shells, wild sea, flowers and hills. Driving back we stopped for lunch at Mylies Beach. So many flies. 1 hour walk up Mt Barren east. 2 hour drive to Esperance with little traffic. 

Stirling Ranges

Tuesday morning it is grey but fine. Chat to Eddy about his 15m radio wire antenna. 50kms to Pongerup ranges. Loads of cars in car park and people walking up through beautiful bush. Sunshine now. Balancing rock and metal ladder to skywalk. Good fun. Drive another 50kms to Stirling Ranges. Camp at Mt Trip campground. Lots of everlasting flowers. Beautiful. Put tent behind bushes to get away from wind. Camp kitchen for dinner then campfire and a glass of shiraz.

Cloudy next morning but as we drive to Bluff Knoll the sun came out and all the mountains looked amazing. Very steep climb for 2 hours. Bush, grass trees, flowers , cliffs and great views. Highest mountain in the south of WA and a great walk. Coming down it became very hot. Lunch in the picnic ground great view but very windy. We had out mattress drying in the sun when it blew over the mountainside. Luckily a swiss guy got it before it was gone for ever.

200km drive to Ravensthorpe. Mining town in decline but good supermarket. Another 50kms to Hopetoun. Rough sea and going dark as we checked into the campground. Old fashioned but OK. Some rain at night but lots of shelter from trees.

Albany

Youngmi's new backpac

Peninsula to Bald Head

Albany and civilisation. Old Victorian buildings with an Accrington atmosphere. Visitor centre at the sea front was very helpful and we checked in to the Big 4 campsite near the town centre. The best grass ever just like a carpet. Woolwoths for food and petrol using the 4c off voucher. Lamb burgers and salad for dinner and no wine. Watched the news about Ebola and shirt fronting.
Bad weather forecast so we went for a walk while we could. Drove to the old whaling station which had closed in 1978. Walked from near there along the headland to Bald Head. 8kms each way. Youngmi turned back soon as there were lots of warnings about snakes. View of wild ocean one side, calm big bay the other, flowers and granite rocks was superb.
We read the next day that in other pars of WA three people had been hospitalised by snake bites in the last week and one guy had died 45 minutes after being bitten earlier in the week in Laverton. We had better buy some gaiters for protection and make sure to carry the crepe bandage.

Flowers next to the wild ocean

Looking back towards the whaling station and Albany

After a showery walk for a couple of hours we drove on to the blowholes. Great noise as the waves forced air through cracks in the rocks. Next stop the Gap and natural Bridge. Grand scale

Cracked granite rocks near the Gap

The natural bridge.

Campground for lunch. Quick visit to the library which was very comfy, busy and had free wifi.
Then Friday 5pm and off to Dan Murphys. Very busy as we enjoyed our tasting. Three penfolds were the highlights.Campground dinner and a bottle of fifth leg Margaret River red. Nice. There was a heater in the kitchen area and comfy chairs. Despite this our neighbours sat outside there tent playing cards in the dark freezing evening. Tough as.
Sat morning and rain and wind so into the library. Good wifi and lots of life. Kids orchestra. Chinese lunch.
Visit St John's church. A very lovely lady showed us around and told us the story of Padre White. First world war chaplain who started the Anzac Day dawn service tradition in 1923. The first 30,000 soldiers from Aus and NZ to WW1 left from Albany on 1 Nov 1914. Big commemoration planned for 1 Nov this year. Drove up Mt Clarence to the Anzac memorials

The first world war story in Albany

Kids orchestra in Albany Library. What a great place life and free wifi

St John's oldest consecrated church in Albany. Looks like the church in Accrington

Padre White stained glass window. 

We could ring the bells in the Church

For the train spotters. Freight only now mainly woodchips

War memorial for desert light horse brigade. Storm coming

Storm over King George Sound. Albany to right

Drove on to Emu Point which was nothing special in bad weather. Couldn't work out the signs at first but then a sign send "careful turtles"

Beware of turtles

That evening we went to the local theatre which was a number of acts by the local opera group and disabled people.Rain and wind that night but the tent survived.
Sunday morning went to the boat shed market and chatted to a couple we met in Fremantle who had a pottery stall. Museum was good. Old gaol was good but freezing. A jack the ripper suspect was held there one night before being shipped to Melbourne and executed for murdering two wives and 4 kids.

Albany gaol

Aboriginal art in cell at gaol

Gallows and BBQ. Can't be without a barbie in Oz. Perhaps the condemned man wanted a BBQ

Sunday afternoon and all shops were closed. Poured and poured. Sat in the TV room of the camp ground wondering if the tent will survive. 5pm and really windy and pouring and 12degs.

Albany and still raining. Morning in the library then drive out to the windfarm. Huge windmills on a windswept hillside above the cliffs. 80% of Albany’s electricity from here. Walk along the cliff top, part of the Bibbilum track, magic. Big storms keep coming in.Visit a distillery on drive back but a bottle is $150 to $350. In town look at the old ship, visit Dan Murphys then dinner on the campground.