Rarely are Liz and I inveigled by tourist blurb, but in the case of the scenic cruise offered on Albany's 'Kalgan Queen' we made an exception, notwithstanding the somewhat 'kitchy' promotional brochure in which the tour highlights were advertised. And we were pleased we did. The four hour jaunt across Oyster Harbour and for approximately 8 kms upstream on the Kalgan River delivered all that was promoted. It was both informative and fun.
Prospective passengers were invited to assemble at the Emu Point marina in front of 'Sammy the Seal', the bronze statue of a New Zealand fur seal which used to make the boat pens its home until some unbelievably cruel local feral brought his life to an end with a bullet. And of course there was the obvious question to the boat skipper...did they catch the culprit? His answer was to say that the person believed responsible "no longer lives in Albany". We suspect a spot of local private justice was arranged.
You may have noted by now that I have referred to 'Percy' as 'she'. This is not a typing error. Percy was found by Jack entangled in fishing line and in grave danger of dying. He rescued and nurtured the bird back to good health, and, not knowing its gender, christened it Percy, only to later discover he is a she! But by now the name had stuck and Percy has become an integral part of the cruise show. She actually 'dances' for her rewards of small herring. As Jack waves his hand and calls to her, this very clever little pelican pirouettes on the spot in the water by paddling furiously with foot. It sounds so 'ho hum', but it really was fascinating to watch.
So, with this introduction to some of the local wildlife over, we made out way past a few of the local fishing boats and on out into the marina entrance channel on what,
as can be seen in this shot, was a somewhat overcast morning. Oyster Harbour is incredibly shallow, and it is imperative to closely watch for the channel markers such as this one and steer by them. If you look very closely you will make out the lighter colour in the water about mid shot....whilst we were cruising with about 10 metres of water beneath us in the channel, the shallow bank on our port side was less than a metre in depth. Some later shots will demonstrate this more clearly when the sun came out.
The channel is a story in itself. It meanders all over the place, which prompted me to think that it was not dredged but natural, and so it is. In years past, before the basin of Oyster Harbour was inundated by the sea, the surface of the then flat dry plain which is now the seabed was scoured out by the Kalgan River as it made its way to empty into King George Sound. And, like most rivers, its course was not straight. With the advent of a rising sea level, the entire basin flooded, but only to a very shallow depth, except, of course where the river had flowed...and this natural feature now acts as a navigable entrance channel from King George Sound, past the head of Emu Point and on into the marina basin.
This photo, which I took on a much sunnier day, shows the real contrast between the deep water of the basin and channel beyond and the shallow water of the banks either side. Mariners, stray at your peril!
I was annoyed that the grey day did not do wonders for the photographic record of our trip, but we just had to make do. This is Green Island, a small, rather non-descript lump in Oyster Harbour not too far from the marina. Its historical significance is much more impressive. Believe it or not this was the site of Western Australia's first market garden, planted and nurtured by convicts who accompanied the first settlers in Albany, and who were landed on the island for that purpose. Water? Carted in barrels from the mainland. It all seemed a bit odd to me but apparently it worked at the time.
Mind you, these were not the first horticultural efforts in the newly founded Albany. King George Sound and Oyster Harbour were actually formally discovered and claimed for Great Britain in October 1771 by the little known but highly skilled naval officer and hydrographer George Vancouver (who had spent seven years previously sailing with Cook). Vancouver's two ships, the Discovery and the Chatham, actually found King George Sound whilst seeking shelter from a fierce storm as they sailed eastwards from landfall at Cape Leeuwin. Before he left to continue his voyage east, Vancouver planted watercress, vines, almonds, oranges, lemons and pumpkins for the benefit of future visitors to the area. Exactly where...I have no idea...certainly not on Green Island!
And whilst meandering temporarily back through history, let me ask, "have you ever noted how so many seaside town esplandes are lined with Norfolk pines?" Coincidence? No...most were planted by the early maritime explorers to provide a tall tree for mast replacements in a land where most of the natural vegetation was low coastal scrubby stuff. Pine is not a strong timber, but it grows well in these environments and a few trunks bound together would make do until a more suitable replacement could be found.
But I digress....back to the present and our journey of discovery. From Green Island we made our way along the navigation channel past Emu Point to the spot where Oyster Harbour empties into King George Sound. Here we could see a couple of the (then) six large bulk carriers at anchor in the Sound awaiting their turn at the loading wharf and further across the Sound to Mounts Adelaide and Clarence.
From here it was on with the nature show. As we made our way back north across the bay, Jack pulled in close to the eastern shoreline from where two sea eagles detached themselves from their roosts and flew directly to the cruise boat. Here they swooped on two fish which Jack tossed to them (it was interesting to see him pump them full of air first to make sure they floated!) in what has been a daily feeding ritual for some years now. My photographic efforts were soundly thwarted at this stage by the scramble of the other passengers to gain a vantage point. Tossing a few of them overboard to get a photo seemed a touch extreme (and I did manage a great shot later).
From here it was on to the entrance to the river
from where we made our way upstream
past this extraordinary example of local art, 'The Kingfisher'
Mind you, these were not the first horticultural efforts in the newly founded Albany. King George Sound and Oyster Harbour were actually formally discovered and claimed for Great Britain in October 1771 by the little known but highly skilled naval officer and hydrographer George Vancouver (who had spent seven years previously sailing with Cook). Vancouver's two ships, the Discovery and the Chatham, actually found King George Sound whilst seeking shelter from a fierce storm as they sailed eastwards from landfall at Cape Leeuwin. Before he left to continue his voyage east, Vancouver planted watercress, vines, almonds, oranges, lemons and pumpkins for the benefit of future visitors to the area. Exactly where...I have no idea...certainly not on Green Island!
And whilst meandering temporarily back through history, let me ask, "have you ever noted how so many seaside town esplandes are lined with Norfolk pines?" Coincidence? No...most were planted by the early maritime explorers to provide a tall tree for mast replacements in a land where most of the natural vegetation was low coastal scrubby stuff. Pine is not a strong timber, but it grows well in these environments and a few trunks bound together would make do until a more suitable replacement could be found.
But I digress....back to the present and our journey of discovery. From Green Island we made our way along the navigation channel past Emu Point to the spot where Oyster Harbour empties into King George Sound. Here we could see a couple of the (then) six large bulk carriers at anchor in the Sound awaiting their turn at the loading wharf and further across the Sound to Mounts Adelaide and Clarence.
From here it was on with the nature show. As we made our way back north across the bay, Jack pulled in close to the eastern shoreline from where two sea eagles detached themselves from their roosts and flew directly to the cruise boat. Here they swooped on two fish which Jack tossed to them (it was interesting to see him pump them full of air first to make sure they floated!) in what has been a daily feeding ritual for some years now. My photographic efforts were soundly thwarted at this stage by the scramble of the other passengers to gain a vantage point. Tossing a few of them overboard to get a photo seemed a touch extreme (and I did manage a great shot later).
From here it was on to the entrance to the river
from where we made our way upstream
past this extraordinary example of local art, 'The Kingfisher'
and on to a river bank mooring below the Montgomery Hill winery where a tasting was included in our itinerary.
After clambering up the steps of the pretty steep bank we hopped into the winery minibus and were duly carted the half a kilometre or so to the cellar door. As spoiled South Australians, Liz and I always go into sceptical mode when it comes to wineries and tastings, but I have to say the drops on offer here were more than acceptable as was the view out over the vineyards to the river below (the water on the left).
Having said that, however, we were only impressed sufficiently to make one purchase...a small bottle of a very good liqueur muscat, unlike many of our fellow cruisers who seemed to think that this was going to be their last ever opportunity to buy grog. I could see why our host Murray was more than happy to make the daily run to the river bank...his product literally walked off the shelves.
After our allotted half an hour or so the gong was sounded and it was back to the Kalgan Queen for some 'blotting paper', Jack's mum's home made savoury damper and a cuppa. Jack's mum is good at what she does...the damper was first class. Oddly enough the recipe is available for those who buy the Kalgan Queen DVD! We didn't. (that's Liz in the blue shirt...standing back so politely!)
And the view upstream wasn't too bad either!
Morning tea over, it was back downstream past river banks campsites
and the granite slabs which are common along the Kalgan banks until we approached the road bridge under which we had previously travelled.
The Kalgan River is tidal for many kilometres upstream. Passing beneath this bridge on a full tide can be a very close run thing.
We just squeaked under the navigation span and only then after Captain Jack lowered both the stern flagstaffs and then we were back into Oyster Harbour.
And here we were in for another exhibition of raptor skills...this time by 'Oscar' a local osprey, which, like the sea eagles knows a free feed when he sees one.
There is only one slight snag...Oscar has to swoop on the tossed fishy offering before it disappears down the gaping maw of Percy, who follows the Queen throughout this part of the cruise.
Oscar just made it, as did your photographer who had to judge the delay between depressing the shutter button and the actual camera activation......I was more than pleased I managed this 'one off'.
As you can see the weather had cleared considerably by this stage and the difference between the deep water of the navigation channel and the sand flats was even more visible.
Oyster Harbour was so named by Vancouver because when he first explored the area its bed was covered with these shellfish. It remains so to this day. Any who wish to make the effort can find a good feed.
For us the cruise was nearly at an end. As we made our way back to the Emu Point marina we passed this different looking vessel which I had previously seen at anchor in the bay. 'True Blue IV' is a former Japanese fishing boat, now privately owned and on the market for $700,000. I though she looked very sleek...a steal at that price. Clearly not...she has been for sale for over three years!
With one more white bellied sea eagle fed (my camera work was not so good here)
it was back along the channel and into the marina.
It had been a really entertaining four hours. Apart from the feathered feeding frolics we had seen, our youngish Captain Jack presented a few quite clever and topical poetry renditions and provided a commentary which was both well researched and presented. We toddled ashore feeling our money had been well spent.
No comments:
Post a Comment