Day 132 02/08/2011 Albany – Road side stop on the way to Esperance

Day 132 02/08/2011 Albany – Road side stop on the way to Esperance

The coastline of Albany is described as having some of the most raw and dramatic natural settings in Australia,

The Gap



 it is where land and sea converge to offer contrasts so unique they cannot be seen anywhere else in the world.  Today we explored a couple of the places that best highlight Albany’s natural beauty.

First stop was a look over Cable Beach, here we could see a 100 tonne bolder that had been thrown up upon the beach by wild surf.  I used the boulder to reiterate to the children not to get to close to the rock edge.  Luckily for us the sun was peaking though the clouds and for the first time we caught a glimpse of the turquoise waters of the Southern Ocean.

Next stop was Natural Bridge and The Gap.   These are two natural features carved from ancient granite by the forces of nature. The gap features a 25 metre sheer drop to the ocean.  Because of the strong westerly wind the ocean was pumping and we were all fascinated watching the ocean smash up against the granite cliff face of The Gap. 



Natural Bridge



Natural Bridge was awesome to watch as the swell pummelled into the opening under the natural granite bridge.  Of course we were waiting for the big wave that would send the sea water spray into the air, we were not disappointed!!

Next stop was the Blowholes (don’t think Kiama Blowholes), here sea spray is forced up through natural gaps in the granite rock, whilst this wasn’t such a captivating event the walk down to the Blowholes took us around Peak Head and we got a different view of Cable Beach and we were once again able to watch the tumultuous ocean pound into the granite rocks!!

On the walk back to the car Pete called out “whale” and we were delighted to watch a mother humpback and her calf frolic in the water below.  The calf was practising his/her breeching technique so it was a great show.  We have been lucky this trip to see a number of whales migrating along the west coast.



This is the saw that was used to cut of the whale's head!!



After lunch we headed to Whale World.  Whale World is on the site of the once operational Cheynes Beach Whaling Company’s whaling station.  Once an industrial site to rend whales to useable products, the station has been transformed into a tourist attraction that took us through the journey of Australian whaling.  This was an interesting afternoon with the kids completely perplexed about why whales were hunted in the first place.  The kids though did enjoy learning about the size of whales and how the whale hunters had to fight of the great white shark after they had harpooned and killed the whale!!  We even got to watch a movie on the history of whaling whilst sitting in one of the three tanks that once held whale oil waiting exportation to other areas and countries.



Harpoon used to catch the whale!



Luckily most of the exhibits were undercover because when we emerged the wind had again picked up and we could see an afternoon storm rolling over the hills.  Once again we had to hold onto Claudia so that she didn’t blow away!!

As the weather had set in we decided to start the pilgrimage to Esperance and camped the night on the side of the South Coast Highway.

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