Perth – Hyden (Wave Rock) – Bush camping – Albany
Kilometres 18531 – 20279 km
Our 2nd week in Perth started similar to our first week,
busy busy and we were constantly on the go! We headed back into the city on
Monday to check out a few more city sights. We’d heard so much about Kings Park
that we spent much of the day there catching with an old Wollongong SES friend of
ours. The park overlooks the CBD and offers great views of the Swan River and
city skyline. With the park being split 50/50 between grassed recreational
areas and bushland it’s a great place to unwind. The War Memorial and its
scenic backdrop would have to be one of the best we have seen.
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| War Memorial and Perth Skyline |
On Tuesday we were keen to see Wave Rock but since it wasn’t on our
intended route and it was too far to do in one day we decided to do it as an
overnight trip. Leaving the van behind we headed out through the Perth Hills
and Avon Valley into the rich wheat belt region where as far as you can see
there were paddocks after paddocks of different grain growing. By late
afternoon we’d finally made it to Wave Rock, the long drive had taken its toll
on us and we didn’t appreciate the attraction as much as we should have. Half
an hour later we were driving away from the rock in search of a cheap nights’
accommodation. We soon had a cabin where we spent the night curled up in front
of the TV watching movies with the kids.
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| Wave Rock |
Wednesday had a real sense of “here we go again” as we undertook the
return trip back to Perth. We took a slightly different route, one that took us
along the “Tin Horse Hwy”. This novel stretch of road is where many farmers
have built tin structures (predominantly horses) in the paddocks depicting
various characters or themes. We spent a good hour laughing and photographing
the zany horses that line the roadway. It certainly made the trip home a bit
more exciting, but none less shorter. Our adventure to Wave Rock had been a
700km round trip for 110m of rock…. Once we were back in Perth I finished off
the night with a few local geocachers as we did some night caching around
Perth.
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| Tin Horse Hwy |
Thursday was moving day for us, our time in Perth had come to an end
and we were once again on the road. Our original plan to follow the coast down
around the bottom of WA had to be changed as it clashed with a major upcoming
event in Albany, so we decided to go straight to Albany and thus miss the 60000
people expected in Albany later this month…… The drive south to Albany is
easily done in a day but we were keen for some more bush camping so we decided
to split the trip and have a night in the bush, but with rain clouds
threatening to spoil our camp fire we settled for a nice quite spot in a
reserve just off the highway. A chilly afternoon ensured we spent the remainder
of the day in the van cowering for our jumpers and long pants.
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| Castle Rock Skyway |
Friday saw us wake to the pitter-patter of rain on the van but as luck
would have it, it cleared by the time we were ready to pack up. We detoured off
the highway to the newly opened Castle Rock Skyway. This spectacular high-rise platform
is bolted directly to the side of a cliff with about 50m of nothing but free
air underneath the see-through platform, reaching the platform requires
climbing an exposed 7m high ladder. The kids loved the change and tackled the
dizzy heights with ease. The views were well worth the 2.5km walk and climb up
the mountain…. After arriving in a chilly windy Albany we spent the rest of the
afternoon in the van park catching up on domestic chores.
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| The Brig Amity - Albany |
A pre-arranged caching get-together on Saturday saw me head across to
Denmark for the day. A few Perth geocachers had travelled south to do what some
say are “Australia’s best geocaches” and after spending much of the day finding
these unique caches I would say they are on par with the best I’ve found. While
I cached, Leonie and the kids had a nice relaxing day back in Albany. Some
friends we’d met in Perth arrived at the park allowing the kids and mums some
catch-up time around the pool.
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| The Natural Bridge - Albany |
We used Sunday to check out the many sights of Albany, the most notable
being the rugged cliff line and endless bays that litter the area. The Granite
coastline boasts some spectacular natural features like the blowholes, The Gap
and the Natural Bridge. These were amazing to watch as the huge seas pounded
the coastline. Another impressive sight was the ANZAC memorial on Mt Clarence,
the views southward from here were postcard perfect. Meanwhile the nearby wind farm
with its 18 towers makes for an impressive sight as they capture the winds directly
off the Southern Ocean. To complete our beautiful day we had dinner with a
lovely family we’d met from Adelaide who likewise are traveling this amazing
country.
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| Wind Farm - Albany |
The weather this week has been a real mixed. The further south we’ve
ventured, the more the temperatures have reminded us of home. We’re actually at
a latitude which is more southern than Wollongong now.
Until next, bye for now.
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