25 October – 27 October 2013 – Albany

Josh helped Ben out with some auto work on his digger this morning while Zoe taught Jenna how to fold paper boxes.  Sami enjoyed her final hours with Foxtel, in fact every spare moment here she has spent staring at the idiot box – no surprises there.  The girls had their final play with Cedar and by mid-morning we were saying our farewells to the lovely Eliot family.  We headed to Albany today, stopping at The Woodworks Gallery on our way through to view some of the finest and most unique wood craftsmanship I’ve ever seen.  Again it wasn’t a long drive today and we arrived at Middleton Beach Caravan Park by about lunch time – this is a fantastic caravan park for anyone ever coming this way.  We quickly set up camp and decided to head into town to pick-up schoolwork – already we are a week behind in this fortnightly pack.  We had, in the meantime, been in contact with our new friends made whilst in Exmouth, Teesha and Mike Stone and their lovely kids Jake and Chloe.  They lived only a few minutes from where we were staying and were on their way over for a few drinks.  It was coincidental too that Teesha’s folks are neighbours of ours in the caravan park as they are building a new home in the area so they too joined us for a drink at the van.  Late afternoon we headed to the Stone’s stunning hilltop house for a social night of eating and drinking but I’m sure we did more of the latter, not to mention having a bit of a sing and dance around the lounge room too.  The poor kids were all up until around midnight or later but they too had a ball in dress-ups and just playing with each other.  It was a fantastic night with fantastic people.

The following morning was terrible – awoken with a hangover and just wanting to sleep but my head wouldn’t stop pounding.  Eventually I surfaced and went for a shower knowing that the Stone’s would be here to show us the sites around their town.  Josh cooked up some bacon and egg rolls for breaky but that wasn’t helping the head either.  The Stone’s turned up just after 9am and we headed off on our tour with them.  It was an icy cold morning with some light drizzles but they showed us around the gorgeous coastline of Albany, thankfully stopping for a cup of tea along the way.  High on a hill, we witnessed the 18 wind turbines that maintain 80% of Albany’s electricity needs and with the wind here, it seems like a very logical choice.  We attempted to get through to the Anzac memorial but unfortunately its under renovations so we couldn’t get up there which is a shame because going by pictures on the internet it looks lovely and has great views.  We ended up in the Torndirrup National Park at The Gap, similar to that of the Sydney Gap where many suicides occur; and also the Natural Bridge, another massive granite formation caused by the gradual erosion of the Southern Ocean.  There is a viewing “cage” for each of these but I still didn’t feel all that safe, especially with much of the area being very open and free to roam – as close to the edge as you like.  Mike and Teesha left us after this point to get the kids home for a rest after our late night last night and we headed back into town for lunch ourselves.  We then went back to near the tip of the Torndirrup National Park and to the Blowholes which are also made from local granite.  It was a big walk down the steps to the blowholes but, although it was mighty cold, the swell wasn’t that big and no water was being blown.  It began to drizzle so we found shelter in a small cave for a few minutes while it passed – then we had to climb all the way back up to the carpark.  We next ventured to Albany’s Whale World – Australia’s last old whaling station that operated back in the 1950s through to the late 1970s.  We had arrived just in time for a tour where the guide showed us around the station and explained how it worked back in its day, before then roaming free around the station to explore it in more detail.  There were four movies to watch, each on the inside of an old oil tank where the blubber oil used to get stored and we even got to board and have a thorough look around the Cheynes IV whaling ship.  It is an extremely interesting place and well worth the money – you could really picture how this place operated before it closed down in 1978.  It was almost 5pm when we left here but still we explored other little bays on our way out of the national park, such as Salmon Holes, Fishermans Beach and Jimmy Newells Harbour – all absolutely gorgeous places but would have been even better had we seen it with the sun shining across the water.  We attempted to drive in and view the Quarantine Hill but unfortunately the gates were locked – not sure if this was due to the time or simply closed to the public.

The next day we enjoyed a bit of a sleep in before hitting the books and doing some schoolwork.  We had promised the girls that we would go into the shops today so just after lunch we packed the schoolwork away and went into town.  Unfortunately all the big shops such as Kmart, Target & Best & Less, and most of the small shops were all closed – probably good for our wallets anyway.  We pulled into a wholesale butcher and topped up the freezer before returning to the van.  Mid afternoon, Teesha and the kids dropped in so us girls took the kids to the park for a play.  The girls are so good with the little ones!!  Mike gave Teesha a call not long after to say he had returned from his fishing day out so we followed Teesha to where they were gutting and cleaning up after their day.  From the number of fish lying about, it looked like it was a pretty successful day out – the kids had fun poking the fish eyes and playing in their guts – gross!  We said our goodbyes here to Teesha and Michael and their kids here as we were planning to leave the following morning.  I hope it’s not too long before we are able to catch up with them again.  Back at the van, the kids and I spent some time at the recreation room playing table tennis and snooker before retreating to the van for some quiet time.

22 October 2013 – 24 October 2013 – Denmark

We headed out of Walpole this morning, heading in the direction of Denmark (the WA town, not the European country).  On our way east, we drove back past Conspicuous Cliff until we came to Peaceful Bay.  The name of this sounds wonderful but when you head there with kids it just doesn’t live up to its name.  In saying that, it is a gorgeous protected beach and would have been well worth a swim if we had the time and if the weather was warmer.  After walking along the beach and taking in the views, we got back in the car and pushed on.  Only about half an hour down the road we pulled into the carpark for Greens Pool and checked it out first from the lookout and then from the beach.  There were many people here (compared to what we’d previously seen on the beaches in this cool weather) and the water was pristine.  There were some large granite boulders poking up from the water and it appeared to be a flat shallow bay – well worth a swim.  I threatened to throw Sami in in her clothes but then allowed her to remove her jacket.  It was lovely and warm but nowhere near hot.  We decided to go for a swim anyway but couldn’t be bothered walking back up all the stairs to grab our swimmers.  Instead, Sami and I ran into the water fully clothed (we figured we’d be warm if this Southern Ocean water was cold) and headed for one of the granite boulders.  It was quite shallow until about half way and then the sand beneath our feet dropped away.  We climbed up the boulder and I headed for the edge and jumped back into the water…  Sami wouldn’t follow me though as she’s too scared to jump even from a relatively small height.  By this stage, I saw that Zoe had raced up to the van and put her swimmers on and thankfully had also brought some dry towels down for us.  She too swam across to the boulder and we took turns jumping off.  We only stayed in the water for about 10-15 minutes as it was quite cold but still lots of fun and the setting was perfect.  After drying off and getting changed into some warm clothes, we headed to a few other spots such as Madfish Bay and Elephant Rocks, the latter one being named according to what the rocks in the water look like.  This was a smaller beach than Greens Pool but the view from atop the rocks was stunning.  We had been offered to stay with friends in Denmark; Ben, Jenna & Cedar Eliot who we met whilst undertaking Cape York.  Unfortunately for them, they had to return home to Denmark early from their Oz trip but for us it was a great chance to catch back up with them.  In pulling into town we picked up some cupcakes for the kids and went to find their address, stopping first at the lookout at the end of their street.  Denmark is a lush green forest of many tall trees such as the karris and the sheep and cows around here look really well fed.  The Eliot’s land is about 7 acres and they currently live in a fantastic shed until they build their dream home on the land.  I don’t envy them with the work involved in building a home here.  However, although it is beautiful the way it is, I’m sure after all the hard work and effort of building a home it will complete their dream.  Ben was out when we arrived but we caught up with Jenna and Cedar for a while and then headed into Denmark to do a little bit of grocery shopping.  It wasn’t long after we returned that Ben arrived home so we cooked up some pizzas and spent the night swapping travel stories and catching up.  The funniest part was when we headed to bed and Ben pulled out the vacuum cleaner – his OCD habits haven’t changed in the six months since last seeing him.

The following morning we headed out and came across Harewood Forest Walk.  It was a walking track to explore and learn about the once thriving mill in the area.  Nearing lunch time we went into Denmark and wandered about the shops for a while and picked up some very fresh and tasty seeded rolls to have for lunch as well as a great coffee from Ravens – what a busy little shop that is.  We headed to the park right on the river where a great kids park was located and made up our lunch and left the kids to play on the equipment for ages.  There were some friendly and very hungry ducks approaching and they weren’t leaving until we shared our rolls and crackers with them but it was hard to land the food in the duck’s bills with so many seagulls surrounding us at the same time.  Josh and the kids had a kick with the footy before we packed up and left the park.  We came across the local cheese factory that Ben had suggested we test out but unfortunately it was closed for the day so we headed on.  After a bit more driving around the area, we pulled into the Boston Brewery / Willoughby Winery.  I finally got to sample a few wines and after choosing my favourite we bought a couple of drinks and a bowl of hot chips and enjoyed the view over the vineyard while the kids again went to play on some kids equipment - they amused another youngster in the process.  We returned back to the Eliot residence late in the afternoon and the girls went for a walk to the dam to check on the yabbies and then up to the lookout where Jenna taught Sami how to check if the electric fence was operating – fortunately Sami didn’t shock herself in doing so.  Jenna put on a fantastic chicken curry for dinner tonight which we enjoyed with a few drinks.  Cedar also put on a very entertaining dance show for us – she is so cool and full of personality.

Ben and Jenna showed us a few of their favourite places the following morning.  First we stopped in at a small farmer’s vegetable stall.  It must have been good stuff as he had run out of quite a few things by the time we had pulled up.  All we bought were a few banana passionfruits to try… Sami ate hers but Zoe was not too impressed and she is meant to be the passionfruit lover.  We attempted to go shopping at the Jassi Shop where they sell Ugg Boots but they were shut for the day – bugger!  Further along, Ben showed us a couple of his favourite beaches, Parry Beach and Hillier Beach.  The kids had their swimmers on and although they walked across a bit of an inlet, it was far too cold and windy to get right in.  Ben and Jenna had to head into town to run errands so we continued exploring the coastline.  We took Ben’s advice and drove west to Boat Harbour but part way down the track a car stopped to advise us to turn around as we’d need to get the boat off the roof to get across the water ahead.  Josh decided to take a look anyway… he walked through the water to check what kind of base it was and how deep and of course there is no stopping him.  Off we went crossing this water, as well as about another four of them – the highest coming over the bonnet as we drove through… but we made it!  At the end was a ramp down to the beach and the lovely harbour.  We walked up around the rocks for a while and admired the colour of the water before wading our way back in the car.  On our way back towards Denmark we were passing the toffee factory so called in to see what treats they had.  The kids were expecting a couple of toffee apples but they didn’t have any of those.  They did have lots of different types of small squares of toffee for trying and we ended up walking out with a bag full of goodies.  They also had a very cute pig out in the yard that the kids were playing with – Wilbur – very appropriate name.  Again we headed back to our makeshift home and Josh got helping Ben with a bit of clearance work around the yard before jumping on their quad bike and taking the kids for a ride around the property.  We topped off the day by heading up to the end of their street and admiring the gorgeous sunset but we just can’t get used to this cold weather – we couldn’t sit up there for too long as it was freezing!  Again Jenna made a fantastic hot dinner to finish off the day and we had a quiet night in, even trying to figure out how to play Game of Life with the kids – but that didn’t last long.  We enjoyed the fire for a while before heading to our snuggly warm beds for the night.