Up down and around a bit in South West W.A

[JohnM]

I have only just spotted this thread.

Great report and pics.

 

[OZDUCK]

We then drove to Albany - a little under 500 km. We had a bit of excitement on the way there. My wife was driving and sitting on 110 km/h. At the top of a steep hill the car suddenly began to miss very badly. She slowed down and we crawled into the nearby town. A quick look showed nothing obvious so we headed off again with me driving. It seemed to be ok until you got over about 105 km/h. The fuel tank had been pretty low when I topped it up in Esperance so maybe some dirt had got into the line. I put in some ' injector cleaner' additive which seemed to eventually work. When we got back to Perth I had the fuel filter changed and the car given a good looking over. Nothing was found but the problem hasn't re-occurred.

The conveyor belt for the Nickel mine crossing the highway. It was painted by the same person who also painted the wheat silos in the town. Unfortunately the mine has been closed because of the low international nickel prices.



(From the Internet)



We took a little detour to drive through the Stirling Ranges





Our Airbnb. We had the front half of the 'top' floor.

 

[OZDUCK]

We didn't really take many photos of Albany itself as we have been there so many times. One day my wife caught up with an old school friend and I dropped our German friend out in the Porongorup to do a hike. While she was doing that I just mooched around without seeing anything particularly photogenic.

On another day we drove about 35 km east of Albany to Two Peoples Bay.

On the road there







As you might guess by the sign it was actually named by the French. In the form of Captain Nicolas Baudin of the exploration vessel Géographe who unexpectedly meet an American whaling ship in the bay in 1802. He named many parts of Western Australia.



I was intrigued by this request for fish skeletons



The bay itself





There had obviously been some recent storms as there was a lot of seaweed washed up on the beach



There was a little creek running into the bay.

 

[OZDUCK]

As the sun was setting we headed back towards Albany with a quick stop at Ledge Point above Gull Rock Beach





There were four teenage girls swimming - at sunset in waters known to be inhabited by Great White Sharks. I mentioned this at the local tourist office the next day and the woman was as surprised as me at their behaviour.

They are standing on the boiler of a 1887 New Zealand built steam tug that was scuttled there in 1936 . Albany itself is across the water - King George Sound

Awhina | Maritime Archaeology Databases

From Mt Clarence above Albany.

The historic whaling station is in the centre distance.



Looking along Middleton Beach towards the entrance to Oyster Harbour



Looking across Ataturk Entrance to Princess Royal Harbour. The old Quarantine Station is on the far shore. The vessel to the right of that is the wreck of the steam whale catcher Cheynes 2. After the closure of the whaling station various schemes were made for her use. In 1992 she was blown onto a sand bank during a storm and abandoned.



The ANZAC Desert Corp Memorial

Desert Mounted Corps Memorial | Monument Australia

<p align="LEFT">The Desert Mounted Corps Memorial commemorates Australian and New Zealand soldiers who died in service or were killed in action in Egypt, Palestine and Syria during World War One. More commonly known as the Light Horse Memorial, it commemorates the men of the Australian Light...

monumentaustralia.org.au

 

[OZDUCK]

We dropped our friend off at the Whaling Museum in Frenchman Bay. She spent over three hours there on her own and while she found the whale museum interesting she was really impressed by the Regional Wildflower Garden and Australian Wildlife Park. All on the same site.

Frenchman Bay



The Cheynes IV



There is still a faint smell of whale oil around the station




We had been intending to go to the Gap and Blowholes but they were closed off due to extensive work on the roads and facilities.
Just up the road a bit is Jimmy Newells Harbour



Oyster Harbour



The entrance to Oyster Harbour



Our friend is from Baden-Wurttemberg so she was delighted to see this sticker on the back of a sign at Oyster Harbour. It says something like "Nice here but have you ever been to Baden-Wurttemberg?"



Looking along Middleton Beach towards Mt Clarence.



Looking out into King George Sound

 

[jastel]

A good report bringing back memories of many trips to (not all but most) these places when I was a kid in WA. The old Whaling Station used to really pong back in the 80's...

Good to see you taking the Holden for a spin as well. People forget we used to get to these places by Kingswoods and Falcons for decades before the SUV came along.

 

[OZDUCK]

A good report bringing back memories of many trips to (not all but most) these places when I was a kid in WA. The old Whaling Station used to really pong back in the 80's...

Good to see you taking the Holden for a spin as well. People forget we used to get to these places by Kingswoods and Falcons for decades before the SUV came along.

In 1974 I spent a couple of months working in the Customs Office in Albany. I had to process a Whale Oil Tanker at Frenchman Bay. It was the offseason so no whales were being processed but it certainly did smell.

The Statesman (3.6L V6) is still a great car for country trips even though it is 19 years old. Sitting on 110 km/h and just ticking over on country roads it gets around 8 l/100 km with a full load of passengers and baggage. We are getting the base of the front seats re-padded as my fat backside has squashed the foam.

 

[jastel]

We had the old HQ Kingswood Station Wagon, if more people than seats there was always a fight to be in the back with no seatbelt.
Then Dad got a HX Sandman 308 V8 Panel Van, it had air con and a cassette player!! He put extra seats with seatbelts in the back for me and my sister. We saw Australia from that thing and our caravan.

 

[OZDUCK]

On another day we made a trip Denmark way.

Wilson Inlet







Ocean Beach - the ocean outlet of Wilson Inlet





After this we went a little west of Denmark to Greens Pool and Elephant Rocks

Firstly Elephant Rocks





I am like the old Daleks before they became able to teleport. My dreams to conquer the universe are thwarted by a flight of stairs - damn those knees.



Greens Pool

 

[JohnM]

Then Dad got a HX Sandman 308 V8 Panel Van

What, after you were conceived? That's novel...

 

[OZDUCK]

These signs are plastered all around this coast. Unfortunately they are really needed. There have been a number of fatalities over the years due to carelessness and people underestimating the cliffs and seas

 

[jastel]

What, after you were conceived? That's novel...

It was quite plain, cream coloured and just a little Sandman lettering on the guards, no LSD paint schemes, shag pile carpet or lava lamps.

 

[OZDUCK]

Finishing off Albany

The walk up to the ANZAC Memorial and some flowers nearby







Around town





Some nice metalwork in the windows of an unfortunately closed shop



The Porongorups

 

[Disco]

Finishing off Albany

The walk up to the ANZAC Memorial and some flowers nearby

View attachment 415708

View attachment 415709

View attachment 415710

Around town

View attachment 415712

View attachment 415713

Some nice metalwork in the windows of an unfortunately closed shop

View attachment 415711

The Porongorups

View attachment 415714

Enjoying the pics. Did you get up to Castle Rock and climb by any chance,?

 

[OZDUCK]

We then headed off to Dunsborough via the South Coast Highway. It would be close to 30 years since I have driven this way and I had forgotten how twisty and slow parts of it is. I let our German friend drive a fair portion of it and she really enjpyed the drive.

Many people think that quokkas are restricted to Rottnest Island but there are small groups of them in the South West. I have never spotted one however.



On the way there we stopped at The Valley of the Giants to do the treetop walk

Valley of the Giants, Denmark, Western Australia

The Valley of the Giants region in the South West of Western Australia is home to the iconic Tree Top Walk, ancient forests, rugged coastline, fine wine and food and a range of accommodation options.

www.valleyofthegiants.com.au

I have little to no head for heights and you can see me carefully holding on to both rails. Though what good that would do me if the whole thing collapsed I don't know. Happily for me we arrived fairly early so there very other people on the walk so it didn't 'swing' as much as it could.



Despite my fears it really is worthwhile doing the he walk

 

[OZDUCK]

Enjoying the pics. Did you get up to Castle Rock and climb by any chance,?

We have been up it decades ago - when you could drive most of the way up. We tried the climb in 2021 but my knees gave up about halfway up when the track became pretty rocky and there was a bit of clambering to do.

This climb was one of the hikes we tempted our friend from Germany with to come out and experience. She really enjoyed it and didn't find it particularly hard. But she is about 17 years younger than us and hikes several times a month - often in the Southern German Alps..

 

[OZDUCK]

There was a free guided, ground level, tour through the Tingle Forest it was very well done and also very informative.

 

[JohnM]

I'm not sure whether @Disco is asking about the Skywalk at Castle Rock because they have done it and are curious as to whether you have also done it, or whether they are asking seeking information about it.

If I may briefly hijack, see posts #34 & #35:

Thread 'Excursion to Esperance'

Jan 16, 2021

Righto, time to go for a drive again in the great wide WA Covid-free land of St Marko’s Own Country®. Setting off tomorrow morning for a week.

Being summer, it is PERtinent to head S. Esperance (Ultimate guide to Esperance | RAC WA) is the target for three nights, via stops in Bremer Bay (Ultimate guide to Bremer Bay | RAC WA) for one night on the way there and in the Porongorup NP (Places to visit and things to do in the Porongurups) for two nights on the way back, and passing through Collie to scope the new mural trail (Collie Mural Trail) on the run back into...

• JohnM
• Replies: 37
• Forum: Trip Reports

• 

 

[OZDUCK]

Displaying the use of soapbush - you can see the lather the leaves produce.















After Manjimup we took the back roads to cut through to Dunsborough.

I was persuaded to use the GPS on the phone and naturally it sent us down a goat track gravel road to save about 5 km.



The land around here can be very green and rolling - when it is not covered with trees and rolling.



Just outside Dunsborough in the late afternoon was probably the biggest mob of kangaroos I have ever seen.







The white flowers you can see in the photos are Arum Lilies an invasive weed introduced from South Africa. It loves moist ground and has spread all through the southern corner of WA. Even in my lifetime I have seen a huge increase in sightings. It can poison stock.

Arum lily: declared pest | Agriculture and Food

Arum lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica) is a declared pest in Western Australia (WA). This article describes the nature of the plant with links to requirements land owners/occupiers must adhere to, pest control methods and how to search, detect and report it.

www.agric.wa.gov.au

 

[Disco]

We have been up it decades ago - when you could drive most of the way up. We tried the climb in 2021 but my knees gave up about halfway up when the track became pretty rocky and there was a bit of clambering to do.

This climb was one of the hikes we tempted our friend from Germany with to come out and experience. She really enjoyed it and didn't find it particularly hard. But she is about 17 years younger than us and hikes several times a month - often in the Southern German Alps..

Thanks, yes something I've been considering for a while. Not sure how fit you needed to be.

We have been up it decades ago - when you could drive most of the way up. We tried the climb in 2021 but my knees gave up about halfway up when the track became pretty rocky and there was a bit of clambering to do.

This climb was one of the hikes we tempted our friend from Germany with to come out and experience. She really enjoyed it and didn't find it particularly hard. But she is about 17 years younger than us and hikes several times a month - often in the Southern German Alps..

Thanks yes. Something I've been considering but not sure how fit you need to be.