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Noy's 4th Walkabout
Our final morning in Albany was spent doing things the weather refused to allow us to do when we arrived! We went to the two nearest lookout points (Mount Adelaide and Mount Clarence) and beside the stunning views were brought to realise this sleepy town had a deep history of supporting wars a world away. We found an impressive ANZAC war memorial as well as an avenue of trees planted in memory of soldiers who gave their lives in two world wars, many of whose last view of their country was as their ship left this port. Another natural harbour is to be found here but the surroundings are not so striking or so built up as Sydney.
We left after lunch and drove back along Highway One to Walpole where we found "The Valley of the Giants" with its fascinating "Treetop Walk" and then on to an un-aptly named "Coalminer's Beach Caravan Park"!! It doesn't sound very salubrious but it was on the side of the Nornalup Inlet on which we found some pelicans having their last swim before dusk - and as we went back to the van the kookaburras were cackling in the trees; a real Aussie sound in a lovely woodland setting. There were no trucks keeping us awake at night and the first sound in the morning...was the kookaburras saying "G'day"! On the way to Margaret River on Thursday we called in at Pemberton to see the "Gloucester Tree" which was the biggest tree in the Gloucester Park and therefore chosen as the fire lookout. You climb it by using spikes strategically placed in the trunk....61 metres in all and yes, Jill had a go! To find out how far she got, ask when she gets home! Then on to the most South-Westerly tip of Australia, Cape Leeuwin. Whales were playing in Flinders Bay but too far away for us to see anything more than splashes in the distance..we thought we might go back on Friday to get a second chance at seeing them close by!
No better on Friday either, not a whale in sight! But we have to thank T&A, back in Sydney, for persuading us to take a look at Lake Cave. Spectacular would be an understatement and our caves at Cheddar and Wookey (in the UK) have to rank well below this one. The first view is of the top cavern whose roof collapsed in over 500 years ago; in 1900 an Irishman found the entrance to the lower caverns and that's where we were taken. The photos don't do it justice but they'll give you an idea. The key exhibit was a "suspended table" calculated to weigh 5½ tons. Mirrored in the water of the lake below, it looked stunning. Back in the sunlight (having climbed 285 steps and 62 metres back to ground level), we went off to "Flutes" the restaurant of the Brooklands Valley winery and had a nice lunch (Venison/Prawn Risotto) before finding Prevelly Beach, a fine surfing beach by which stands a chapel built in memory of Prevelli Monastery in Crete (and with gratitude to all the Greek people who were involved) which sheltered ANZAC and Allied Forces from the enemy in the last war. The scene was so relaxing that we stayed to watch the sun go down!
Saturday saw us going up to Cape Naturaliste before Bunbury (to see if the dolphins are "in") and Perth. Now it's Sunday, the sun's out and, who knows, we might have seen our last rainy day for a while! Lots of love to you all, R&J xx
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