Day 26: 19th Sept 2014

Not too much on the agenda again today.

This morning we took both vehicles, with everyone on board this time, for a run up the beach. We drove amongst all the other vehicle’s tyre tracks until they started thinning out and the sand got softer. Not wanting to get bogged, and not really enthusiastic about airing down our tyres, we turned around and headed back to where we started.

At this point you can head away from the beach and jump onto a 4wd track over to the Fitzgerald River National Park. One of the residents back at the Caravan Park had told us about some native orchids he’d spotted the previous day in this area so the ladies were keen to locate them.

In the mean time, we had to negotiate the track that had seen a lot of water in the recent past and was extremely rough in places, and heavily corrugated in others.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately, we didn’t manage to find the orchids we were told about, but we did come across a healthy looking young goanna, countless other wildflowers to photograph, and a couple of nice bits of firewood that’d come in handy later that evening.

 

 

Day 25: 18th Sept 2014

Today we left Albany for Bremer Bay, a little village whose main reason for existing appears to be as a weekend location for amateur fisherman. The caravan park we stopped at was full of permanent “fishing shacks” of various sizes, shapes and elaborateness.

The staff here were very nice and helpful and even dropped off a fire pit for us to use, free of charge.

Sharon wandered across road to a walking track in search of more wildflowers to photograph. She wasn’t disappointed.

Later, Dave, Sharon and I drove around to look at possible fishing spots and to drive out onto the beach, mostly just because we could.

The rest of the day was spent just lounging around, relaxing  and doing generally very little.

Day 24: 17th Sept 2014

Sharon, Laura and I are doing our own thing for a bit today, and the others have gone off in their own direction, planning to all meet up later in the afternoon for coffee.

We decided to drive along the foreshore of Middleton beach and then on up to lookout atop Mt Clarence and the monument to the Desert Mounted Corps.

This is thought to be the site of the 1^st ANZAC dawn service, held by Reverend Arthur Earnest White, himself a veteran of The Western Front. There’s much work and construction going on getting things ready for the commemoration of the 100^th anniversary of the ANZAC fleet leaving the shores of Albany.

After winding our way back down off Mt Clarence, we parked the car and strolled up Albany’s main street, bumping into Dave, propped up against a veranda post whilst Di and Wendy browsed a shop.

We also did a bit of browsing, with a few purchases made at a lolly shop, and then some souvenirs.

Time for lunch and we chose one of the many eateries that are all along the main commercial strip.

Late that afternoon we tried some more fishing off breakwater again, but unfortunately our activity was cut short when Laura’s iPhone slipped out of her pocket and down between the rocks. It came to rest several inches out of reach, and in a position where waves were occasionally washing in and giving it a good soaking. To cut a long story short, I eventually retrieved the phone, but by this time it was ruined.

It’s Sharon’s birthday today so Laura and I took her out for dinner.  Earlier in the day we’d spotted what looked like a nice venue at the end of Middleton Beach and it turned out to be a good choice.

Day 23: 16th Sept 2014

This morning we found ourselves once again drinking coffee whilst gazing out over King George Sound right across from our campsites.

After breakfast we all drove out to Two People’s Bay, 35kms east of Albany. The weather was a little overcast when we first arrived, but cleared up as the day progressed.

On the way, we detoured down a 4wd track out to the west side of the National Park that ended in a spectacular view out over the steep granite outcrops that sloped down to the Southern Ocean.

After many camera clicks, it was on to Little Beach, which was just breathtaking, almost picture-postcard perfect with brilliant white sand and beautiful turquoise water.

Lunch was enjoyed on the beach, and we strolled in the icy cold water and soaked up the sunshine. Dave and Laura were braver than the rest of us and donned their bathers to go in a bit deeper, but stopped short of getting fully wet.

The return drive was interrupted numerous times with stops to take shots of the many and varied wildflowers. 

 

Back at caravan park and in the late afternoon we decided to go fishing off the breakwater just a short walk down from the caravan park.  Almost straight away Laura caught a legal sized bream, and later on I managed to snag a squid.