This is the view of Breaksea Island lighthouse from Frenchman Bay. It is about 10km away. Cloudy day so not a great photo.
This is called the Salmon Holes. Locals reckon it is a great fishing beach.
View back over Frenchmans Bay to the port & city of Albany. Notice the ship in the middle of the pic. It is the wreck of the whale chaser Cheynes ll. It was built in England in 1947. It was used by the Whaling station at Tangalooma, QLD. When that closed in 1963 it was purchased by the Cheynes Beach Whaling Company & was used up until it closed on 21st Nov 1978. It was then bought by an entrepeneur who wanted to turn it into a floating restaurant who then went broke. During a gale in 1992 it broke its mooring & ran aground on the east side of the harbour. Its been there ever since rusting away.
This is the lighthouse on Eclipse Island. It’s about 7km offshore. Due to the difficulty in getting access to the island in 1976 the lantern was removed & replaced with a beacon. The lantern is on display at the museum.
Next stop was the blowholes. Not much happening as the swell wasn’t that big. You can hear the wind in the video.
The Whaling Station museum was interesting & confronting at the same time. We are just glad they stopped killing the whales when they did. The Cheynes IV was the last & most modern whale chaser & has been preserved as it was when it stopped. The whales had no chance in the end, they were using spotting helicopters, sonar & explosive harpoons.
How big are these skeletons
A murial on the grain silos at the port. A lot of work goes into creating these but not everyone in Albany is happy about this one. Its a seahorse.
Speaking of the port, did you know that Albany was the first port in WA & was first set up in 1826 & was the major port up until the early 1900’s when Fremantle was developed. Today its major exports are wood chips, silica, wheat, barley & other grains.
The first ship to land at King George Sound was the brig Amity. There is a full size replica at the museum. This is where King George Whiting came from. Have not been able to catch any yet.
This is the Cave Point Lighthouse. It was decommissioned in 1994 & the lantern was replaced by a Cospas-Sarsat satellite-aided search and rescue ground receiver.
Just underneath this is Cable Beach with some keen rock fisherman.
And just around the corner from this is the Gap & Natural Bridge. Yes that is Ulrika out on the edge. I couldn’t get a good shot as I wasn’t game to look over the edge.
Natural bridge was more my style.
There is a wind farm sitting on the cliffs that produces up to 80% of Albany’s power. Listen to the video & you will hear the power that is in the blades.
After all this walking we had to stop for a wee dram of single malt.
There is a bike track that goes all the way from our caravan park around King Point & into town. There used to be a lighthouse at King Point but was replaced by this. The ruins of the lighthouse keepers house still remains.
Up to Mt Adelaide on a gloomy day to have a look at the National ANZAC Centre. One of the better museum/memorials we have been to. The reason it is in Albany is that this is where 40,000 AIF soldiers last left Australia to go to WW1.
There were two major convoys. The first & largest left Albany the 1st Nov 1914. It was made up of 38 troopships, 4 escorts, 29,000 men & women & over 7000 horses. For many of them Albany was their last view of Australia.
Up until the end of WW2 there was also gun emplacements on the hill together with the associated infrastructure that have become part of the museum.
There are also a number of exhibits of more modern Australian ships.
Also has a nice restaurant for lunch.
With great views looking out to Emu Point (our caravan park) & with golf course in mid pic.
Granite Skywalk at Ponrongurup National Park. Long walk up the hill & them climbing over boulders to get to the Skywalk.
Saint Werburgh’s Chapel was built in 1872 & is on the original property of the builder. It was a Sunday morning & there was a service on inside so no photos.
Lunch at Emu Point Cafe.
Has been a bit wild & wet today so we packed up the van for the next few weeks as we head further east.
Quote of the Day
“To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone and a funny bone.”
Reba McEntire