Albany

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Our caravan park at Albany is Rose Gardens and is only a short drive from the heart of the city. It is quiet and located at Emu Point, a pretty little point on King George Sound. As with Esperance, the coastline of Albany is just amazing and affords views no matter where you look. The waters of King George Sound and the harbour at Princess Royal Bay are serenely calm today.







At The Gap and The Natural Bridge it was a different situation. The pounding waves relentlessly battered the 40m high coastal granite cliffs of Torndirrup National Park. We had to drive around Frenchman’s Bay to reach the side by side lookouts which provided outstanding views of the Southern Ocean. There are two very well anchored viewing platforms with warning signs to stay within the confines of the walkways and yet people still foolishly venture beyond just to get that “special” photo – not only putting their own lives at risk but those of any emergency rescue people who might be needed should they be blown off cliffs or washed out to sea as has unfortunately happened before. The viewing platforms allowed us to look down into the foaming swell and it was a little daunting to do so; you could feel the steel structure flexing in the wind and the sound of the powerful waves made you appreciate just how insignificant we really are. (I was very brave!)







Further on into the National Park we climbed down a well formed pathway that at times saw us clamouring over granite rocks to The Blowholes. John ventured a little further than me and found the actual crevice in the rocks where the Blowholes screamed. There was no spray visible, but the crack as the waves whipped in and out was very loud indeed. The climb back up to the car park was a lot steeper than before and the 88 steps took their toll on little legs but we were able to stop “to take in the view” a couple of times so we made it!

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