Historic Whaling Station

This whaling ship and station were still in use as recently as 1978. Whaling was – as we already knew – once an important industry in Australia. When the whaling station closed here it marked the end of the last shore based whaling station in Australia.

For Albany it was the end of 178 years of whaling. This museum crams in all that history and allows you to explore the ship as well as the oil storage tanks and out buildings containing tools used to process the whales as well as many skeletons…

 

Misery Beach

Aptly named for me. After exploring the whaling station we went to nearby Misery Beach where I thought my left knee was recovered enough to play beach tag with my son. Too much twisting of course was always going to lead to another injury. I should have known better. As it turned out that injury was to the right knee. Probably equally damaged over the years and weakened – having taken most of the weight the past couple of weeks – yes; it went! Exact same pain as I had had in the left kneecap. Bloody Hell! This was not a lucky start to the new year eh? I spent the next few weeks recovering from that knee injury.

That said, Misery Beach is a great spot to relax if you ever get the chance. Great views across the Frenchman Bay. Even in the overcast weather we had that particular day.

Valley of the Giants

About 108km west of Albany, past the quaint (and crowded) town of Denmark, lies the Valley of the Giants. An old forest of tall trees many of which are several hundreds of years old. This is where they had one of those trees so big that you could drive your car through the trunk. Sadly that tree is no longer standing but there is a mock up of how it was and the car that was famously photographed driving through the trunk. Not as famous as that one in North America but similar theme…

There are still several trees that are large enough to walk through and even a treetop walkway that I decided to sit out due to my injured knee.

Also this forest is home to a type of quokka. I had thought that they were only to be found on a couple of islands, mostly famously on Rottnest Island off the coast of Fremantle of course – click here for that trip. We never saw one but we were assured that they do live here…

Torndirrup National Park

Torndirrup National Park covers most of the south side of Frenchman Bay peninsula. This area is convenient for half or full day trips out of Albany.

The park is home to many photogenic spots. Among others are the “Natural Bridge” and “The Gap” rock formations as well as dramatic clifftop lookouts. There are several beaches (including Misery beach) and Cave Point lighthouse

The scenery was so inspiring that Dani decided he wanted to take some photos using the zoom lens.