20100909 Albany, WA

(Map Link) (Picture Link – O) (Picture Link – D – a huge file)


Up in the morning to the common room for the continental breakfast. We said goodbye to our hiking club acquaintances as they left for Perth.

Then we settled up and left for Albany. We went the scenic way, via Porongorup and then south on the Chester Pass Road.

We went first to Hertz to report the accident yesterday. Mucho paperwork. No replacement car available here, so we'll go on with our plan until after Margaret River and get it swapped or the mirror replaced at Bunbury. Bother.

Then on to the Frenchman's Bay tourist drive. Captain Vancouver discovered this place back when. It has perhaps the best natural harbor outside Sydney in Australia. There's a huge outer harbor and the sheltered inner harbor could hold dozens of ships. All shipping from England to Eastern Australia in WW2 went around the south side of OZ, and much of it came through Albany.

The drive was spectacular; we took many pictures of both the harbor side and the ocean side. Then we passed back into town and had lunch on York Street in The Mean Fiddler. Great sit-down lunch (D had lamb shank, I had fettucini carbonara) there. Good conversation with the waitress; the couple works for a while and then moves on to another part of Australia to live life there for a while – then on again.

We drove out to Middleton Bay Reserve to look up and down the beach. We found a mother and baby Southern Right Whale feeding in the bay and watched them for a while. Then a walk up the reserve and back, taking flower pictures.

Then we drove to an overlook at Wooding Point. There we saw two adults and one small Right Whale feeding along the coast. They’re beautiful animals. Then on to the top of Mount Clarence for pictures of the town (ok) and beach (beautiful).

After that, we decided to be tired. We drove to the Comfort Inn and checked in. Then we spent time getting our electronics squared away (mainly battery charging) and doing laundry. This place is made up on the American standard of bathroom furnishings and heat (blessed heat – we've been in many cool rooms this trip, on the OZ fashion).

We'll go eat soon, and finish this later....

Back from the dining room. The mob from the tour bus was into their main course, so we were served quickly. The food came out a bit later – roast pork for D, vegetable soup and chicken/walnut salad for me. Nice enough.

Then we arranged for internet access and came back to the room to do that. We managed to upload a flock of pictures, but not this log. I'll figure out that problem later.

Then to bed. Off to Denmark (Western Australia), Walpole, and Bridgetown tomorrow.