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Published: January 27th 2009
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When the alarm went off I did my best to persuade Matt that getting up now was a bad idea and we’d be much more productive if we had a bit more sleep. He agreed and we finally got up an hour and a half later feeling much better.
When we opened up the curtains we saw that it was raining and cloudy. It was the first rain we’d seen on the west coast and it was a shock. The weather had been getting cooler since crossing the tropic line and even though I wasn’t cold in long shorts and a t-shirt, it was hardly the bikini weather we’d been used to.
We’d managed to make up some time by doing longer journeyes and staying less time at some places so it meant we now had time to drive down to the South West of the country before Christmas. It was going to be a rush but it would save us having to make a special trip in between Christmas and New Year.
Todays drive was a mere 400km to Albany. A walk in the park compared with the epic dive the previous day where we were on
the road from 8.30am until 6pm.
We set off, and apart from a few more cringes when birds flew straight into the grill, it was uneventful.
By the time we arrived in Albany the clouds were grey and threatening. Luckily it was still warm so we grabbed the opportunity to have a walk along the beach. The white sand was fine and soft, and the surf reminiscent of Cornwall. Ordinarily I would have thought it was a spectacular beach, but having been spoilt by the empty beaches higher up the coast, it felt a bit crowded - I could see at least fifty people on it.
I started to worry about how I’m going to cope back home in summertime when the beaches really are crammed?!
After a quick bite to eat in our van we drove a few km up the road to see Emu Point. On the track leading to the beach were treated to a display of beautiful widlflowers.
This stretch of beach really was wonderful as there were only about five people on it! It looked like a perfect spot for dog walking and as if to demonstrate this a couple
of dogs appeared running through the tide line chasing each other.
After checking out the beach scenery, Matt insisted that we drive on further so we set off towards Denmark, a small town a few km away. On the way we got sidetracked and ended up going to some amazing rock formations called the Natural Bridge and The Gap.
Australia and Antarctica were once joined together forming one continent, but over millennia they split apart and moved further and further away from each other. The information boards on site showed an a illustration of the jagged jigsaw like boundary where they separated. The place where we were standing would still interlock in with Antarctica if you could drag them back together again.
The rock formations were very high up and given that it was windy it wasn’t the safest place to be. Our guide book (and all of the signs in the car park) warmed that many people had lost their lives there by either being blown off into the sea, or by being swept away by unexpected waves that occasionally reached out from the swell.
Matt, being a typical boy, had to rush off and
go right out along the rocks making me cringe. I watching him convinced he was going to slip ny second.
The ‘natural bridge’ was a formation created as the waves drove against it repeatedly widening the hole underneath. We were high up on the rocks, looking down as the water swooshed around shaping the opening. I could have stood and watched it all day as each wave created a different view.
To the other side of the rocks was the ‘gap’. It was a deep gorge between the rocks that angrily sucked and spat out the ocean.
It was amazing looking at a scene created over millions and millions of years and we left feeling invigorated and pleased we‘d made the detour.
Denmark wasn’t too far away which was lucky as our caravan park office closed at 6pm and it was approaching that. We’d chosen a place called the Observatory. It was a bargain $30 for us both, it came with free wifi around the reception area, and more importantly we got an en suite!! We’d seen the en suite cabins at other sides but they usually cost at least $10 more per night than a
normal powered site (thus beyond our budget), but this place only had en suites. It meant we got to park next to our own little shed that housed a private toilet, sink and shower! Once inside the shed you could be forgiven for thinking you were in a hotel bathroom, it was so plush. It felt like a real luxury.
The other great thing about the site was that it was on the top of a hill with scenic valleys on either side - one looking out across pastures and woodland, and the other side giving ocean glimpses.
As Matt parked up I watched the shroud of rain slowly engulfing the valley and coming towards us. When the cows in the field next to the resort had vanished from sight in the mist I decided it was time to get indoors.
I gave my Dad a call to wish him a happy birthday before cooking dinner and settling in for the night. When it got dark we parked up in the front of reception to use the free wifi from the comfort of our van (the receptionist had suggested bringing a couple of deck chairs up but
given that it was now pouring down that was no longer an option!) By the end of the night we’d done some more research on Thailand and had formed a long list of places we wanted to visit..
We went to bed listening to the rain coming down and feeling the wind shaking the van from side to side.
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