The Rock

We were up at 4.00 am to catch our AATKings bus for a drive into the National Park, to view sunrise over the rock. There is a special viewing area for this. Our driver/guide, Jacob, aged only 20, was full of info as he drove us along. The bitumen road travelled all around the base of the rock, with stops at various points with little walks and photo opportunities. 

It grew progressively hotter as the morning went on, ending up at 39 degrees by 11.00 am when the trip ended. We had a packed breakfast with us in a pretty bag: C read out the ingredients for each packet and they all started with sugar. We had been advised to bring 2 litres of water with us, which seemed an enormous amount. In fact, the hot, dry air makes you need to drink and drink and drink some more. The bus carried a backup supply.

We walked to the Muṯitjulu Waterhole, where a bird sat in a tree observing us all. We also saw an ancient “family cave” with paintings on the wall and ceiling. All these are sacred sites for the traditional owners of the land. The final stop provided an opportunity to walk into the base of the Waḻpa Gorge. I was flagging by this time, so I sent C ahead over the rocky ground. It was 30 mins in and 30 mins out for those who managed it.

Back at base, the only thing to do was go to bed for a couple of hours in the blissful aircon.

Sunrise viewing platform

Sun’s rays changing the colour of the rock

Cave paintings 

Waterhole: rain streams down the rock
in the wet season.

Bird watching us and the waterhole

Breakfast

Looking towards Waḻpa Gorge

Ayers Rock

When I saw the trip to Uluṟu advertised in the West Australian newspaper, it seemed like a great idea for New Year. Normally, it’s hard to get there from Perth but this was a special charter flight with 3 nights in the red centre.

We were a bit late setting off for our 10.30 am flight. The terminal was a little way away from the main Perth airport and we observed several FIFO planes arriving from mine sites up north.

The flight was fine till we approached our destination when there was a lot of turbulence, caused by currents of very hot air rising from the ground. It was 43 degrees down there! The pilot circled round both the rock and the Olgas to ensure everyone on both sides of the plane got a good view. One man threw up, it was so bumpy! I was glad to finally get there and exit the small plane.

Waiting for our flight

Flying over Uluṟu 

Our small plane getting loaded.

Nice big room at Sails in the Desert Hotel

View of the pool from the restaurant 

We made our way to the pool asap. We are not used to these temperatures!

Last day in Albany

There’s always more to see. On our last day, we drove on the scenic route from Middleton Beach to Albany and on to the other side of King George Sound to Torndirrup National Park. First on the agenda were the two natural wonders: the Gap and the Natural Bridge, where the waves from the Great Southern Ocean come crashing into the granite rocks of the coastline.

Looking down into the Gap.

There has been a lot of engineering work done since I was last here, in an attempt to make it safer for visitors who used to regularly slip off the rocks trying to get more spectacular photos. Where we were standing is a viewing platform that sticks out over the Gap. It is quite breathtaking to look down.

Walkway and support structure 
For the viewing platform.

Next to be seen was the Natural Bridge. The interpretive board warned that a fault line in the rock would cause it eventually to collapse.

Fault line down the centre of the pic.

We had been advised to take in Stony Hill, a look-out point with a 360 degree view of all the coastline and back towards Albany. We took the short pathway around Stony Hill and were suddenly attacked by big March flies which give you a nasty nip.

Looking back towards Albany

After that it was time for a coffee. We proceeded to the historic Whaling Station for refreshments but I thought the entry fee of $35 for the museum was a bit too much.

Luscious!

Photo of the day.

Albany shopping and Lake Sepping

Monday morning arrived and it was time for a stroll around Albany, looking at all the shops and trying not to buy anything. Temptation was too much for me and I found a small black Pierre Cardin handbag, a cross-body bag in a perfect style for me. C threw my old one in the bin: it really was old and an embarrassment every time I went to the hairdresser!

The shops were getting geared up for Christmas. We admired this red and white display in the bookshop.

In the afternoon we went on a "bird walk" around Lake Sepping. These were the birds expected:

The track was like a maze, cut through the dense undergrowth, with the occasional bird hide hidden inside it to enable a view of the lake.

 

Ibis in the middle of the lake.

Flower of the day.

Grass of the day.

Pea flowers creeping everywhere.

C bought this denim skirt half-price at Rivers.

National Anzac Centre

C insisted on an early morning swim before the wind got up. Our local beach is quite exposed, with waves coming straight from the nearest land mass which is the Antarctic. Just around the other side of Emu Point is quite sheltered and there is a swimming area partitioned off, where the sand has been excavated in order to make it a good depth for swimming. I was trying to do lengths inside this, but the current against me was so strong that I couldn’t make any headway. At 7.00 am it was quite a challenge to get into the cold water, but it proved to be very exhilarating. The nearby Emu Point Cafe was doing good business for breakfast even at that early hour, but we returned to our chalet for our own favourite delicacies.

After that , we jumped in the car to drive to the National Anzac Centre, high up on Mt. Clarence between Middleton Beach and Albany. This is an award-winning museum which commemorates the large numbers of Australian and New Zealanders who went to fight in the First World War. “In late 1914 over 41,000 Australians and New Zealanders in two large convoys of vessels over 50 ships strong departed…. For many of these young men and women, this would be the last time they saw Australian soil.” We now know that casualties on both sides of the conflict were enormous and futile.

View from the main window, looking out onto the harbour where the convoys gathered.

The poppies on the windowsill are all hand knitted or crocheted by volunteers. They are everywhere in the museum.

Vessels in the First Convoy in position.

Interactive display, with info about each vessel.

Model of soldier sharing the last drop of water with his horse.

C saw a display which stated that 4000 N.Z. horses were shipped to Gallipoli and only 4 made it home. We read and listened to many interactive displays before stepping outside to take a guided tour of the rest of the area, which had been a military installation for many years previous to the museum.

Our volunteer guide was an ex-policeman, who couldn't resist telling us too many anecdotes for us to remember.  Here are a few pics from his tour:

We decided to go home for lunch and returned in the afternoon to take in the rest of the museum:

Logistics of the convoy.

Casualties as a percentage of the population.

Albany Adventures

Saturday morning in Albany and the weekly Farmers Market is a must for fresh produce. We were up early to get there before the crowds, but everyone else had the same idea. Everything was top quality, but not cheap. I bought cherries, plums, apples, a sourdough loaf with jalapeños and a luscious almond croissant to share. I would have bought a big bag of macadamia nuts but it was a cash-only stall and I didn’t have any.

On the way back to Emu Point, we saw E and her friends walking into town (3kms!) and it was hot and humid. They should have investigated the local bus service, especially as they needed to buy all their food supplies and carry it home.

Our local beach is a long strip of white sand. Rocky loves to race along it and wears himself out. He is still on the alert for rabbits near our chalet. Apparently there is a sudden surge in the rabbit population:

https://amp.abc.net.au/article/103126512

24 rabbits were imported from England in the early days, to facilitate hunting by the landed gentry. They have been impossible to control ever since, as there are no natural predators here. A so-called rabbit proof fence was erected north/south to keep them out of WA, to no avail. 

E sent a pic of their fridge stocked up with food for six. C made friends with the tiny dog who lives next door to us.

Local gardeners have built their own mini rabbit proof fences round their garden beds.

Albany Escape

“Schoolies Week” is a big thing here. Traditionally, groups of school leavers go off and enjoy themselves, completely free of supervision and parental control. Favourite venues from Perth are Rottnest Island and Dunsborough, but E and her friends decided to go further afield and booked 5 nights in Middleton Beach Caravan Park, near Albany. I had visions of them travelling down there in a car with an inexperienced driver who had just passed their test. So I put it to C that we should book ourselves into a place nearby and just transport a few of them down there.

We set off with 3 friends and Rocky in C’s car and everybody’s heaps of luggage in my car, on a 4.5 hour journey. It was a very hot day (about 33 degrees). We stopped for lunch at Williams Woolshed, where I was told to leave one of the outside tables because I had brought my own sandwiches, and later for a short break at Mount Barker in the carpark of Plantagenet Winery.

When we got to Middleton Beach we waited for the other 3 friends to arrive and they all went to check in. The manager was alarmed to be confronted by a group of schoolies and almost turned them away unless an adult was with them. Two of the group were 18 and the others 17, and this had been made clear at the time of booking. The manager wanted one of us to stay there, but we said we were going to a dog-friendly chalet up the road at Emu Point. Eventually the manager relented, having read the riot act to all the kids, with dire warnings about riotous behaviour which might annoy other residents.

Our dog-friendly chalet is really nice. It’s set in a grove of peppermint trees which protects it from the sea breeze. The only issue is that there are rabbits everywhere, so Rocky goes mad trying to chase them. Greyhounds are trained to go after a mechanical rabbit on the race track, so it’s hard for him to keep sighting real ones that pop in and out of the bush.

C had a mishap with an exploding bottle of non-alcoholic champagne, which she had put in the freezer to cool down and forgotten about: