ALBANY 5 - AN ALBANY POTPOURRI (MARCH 2014)

One of our self appointed tasks during this stay in Albany was to conduct a recce of the area with a view to investigating potential future camping spots, not least for our proposed sojourn later in March when we shall be sharing ten days or so in the company of Jim and Anne-marie Cook. 

To that end we did a day trip west along the southern coast, through the lovely town of Denmark and the fishing hamlet of Peaceful Bay to Walpole, which lies just over 120 kms west of Albany. Both these main towns, and their surrounds, which includes 'The Valley of the Giants', a walk amongst huge karri trees, are high on our 'we shall return' list, but unfortunately all the caravan parks we checked were lacking in one way or another for our proposed joint venture. Given the nature of this trip, a fact finding mission only, I did not bother with photos.

We conducted a similar exercise to the east of Albany on another occasion when we poked our noses in along the coastal areas of the Naranup Inlet, Two Peoples Bay and on past the quaintly named Mount Many Peaks (when seen in profile the name is understandable) to a spot which had been recommended to us, Cheyne Beach. Two Peoples Bay and the nearby Little Beach are wonderful spots. Little Beach in particular is widely recognised as one of the finest in The Great Southern. These are both areas we plan to revisit in the next few weeks when hopefully the planned photographs will also include a few piscatorial conquests.

I did, however, snap away at Cheyne Beach where we checked out the caravan park for future reference.  What a top spot.

Most of the reasonably large, shady sites provide views of the bay below the park, and  

whilst the sites themselves are not grassed, all the amenities areas are surrounded by green sward and, from what we could see, more than acceptably clean and well maintained.

And what of the beach and the bay itself?  I'll let you be the judge.  From the rocky headland at the south-western end of the beach, the blindingly white sands arc away to the north and east in a huge crescent

past and below the tiny hamlet of 'shacky' holiday houses and the far distant outline of Mount Many Peaks,  

and on and on for kilometre after kilometre. And this is a beach which is not only accessible to vehicles, the relatively small makes of the tides in this area mean that there is rarely the risk of becoming stranded by the incoming tidal flood.  And, as told me by a fellow traveller recently, the fishing along here is excellent....one of his favourite spots. Cheyne Beach, here we come next summer!  




But for the time being it is back to Albany and a quick look around the dockside. It is probably just as well that the harbour in King George Sound is accommodating of large numbers of ships...the actual loading wharf facilities are relatively limited. Only one vessel at a time can be loaded at either the bulk grain terminal or the wood chip loading facility just beyond this. 


Combined with the fact that ships are not accepted alongside until the payment for the goods they are to carry has been received, and some countries apparently pay more quickly than others (the Japanese in particular are noted for their quick turn-around), bulk carriers have been known to have remained at anchor in the King George Sound roads for weeks. You would hope the crews liked fishing!  

Apart from the obvious, the dock area is home to Albany's oddly shaped entertainment centre which can be seen here from the end of the marina rock wall against the backdrop of the houses on Mount Melville to the left and Mount Clarence to the right.  And the yacht moored on the finger in the foreground is a monster....80 feet if it is and inch, in the old terms.

Panning a little further right, the Albany Boatshed, the venue for the Sunday morning markets, comes into view together with the finger wharfs of the small boat marina all sitting under the watchful crest of Mount Clarence.

Looking to the west from the viewing platform erected on the marina breakwater, I could see past the end of the Mount Melville housing area and along Frenchman Bay Road which took us to the Flinders Peninsula and beyond a few days ago.






Before I leave this part of Albany, two more snippets.  One of the town's grandest buildings, one street removed from the wharf area, interestingly has nothing to do with maritime activities...this imposing edifice is in fact the Albany campus of the University of WA.





And, by way of complete contrast, I couldn't resist this one.  At the bottom of historic York Street one can visit 'Afrikan Tribal'. What more could a jaded uni student or visiting mariner ask for than a lesson or two in 'traditional West African drumming' to bring a spot of spice into his or her life? I'm amazed this enterprise has not been franchised! 






From the docks area I decided to wander back around the foot of Mount Adelaide and take a pictorial stroll through the parks of Middleton Beach and the check out the local Albany Surf lifesaving Club, where I was seeking some local knowledge about a mass of small, long tentacled jelly fish we had previously found on our Middleton Beach walks. The SLSC building is at the end of the path 

which meanders through the lawned picnic area past the row of ubiquitous Norfolk Island pines.

There we so many facets of this area of Albany which were so similar to my home beach of Glenelg....the lawns, the pines, and a modern surf club building where the most welcoming 'clubbie' colleagues invited me to avail myself of the view from the first storey balcony










which not surprising overlooks the main patrolled swimming area of Middleton Beach. Tucked up as it against the foot of Mount Adelaide, this end of the long beach is sheltered and picturesque.










This vantage point also presented a fine view northwards along the 4 kilometres of Middleton beach to dip on the far horizon which is the Emu Point channel.  






And as for the jelly fish, which are know here as 'bluebottles'.  They can be painful but do not pose a serious threat to life and limb. Thanks for that....I'm not into pain....I'd rather not be stung at all. Long swims along the beach were off the agenda immediately.




As one would expect in this 'premier' patch of Albany beach front, the real estate is suitably 'up-market' as this small sample demonstrates.  Behind the Esplanade one comes into the holiday rental chalet and beach house area with its expected clutch of somewhat yuppie cafes and restaurants. Tapas is big at Middleton Beach.



Albany's other main beachside park area also features white sands, lawns and pines and was much closer to our temporary home.  Emu Point park is just delightful and was but a five minute stroll from our site.  




Like Middleton Beach, the real estate here is also at a premium. This old asbestos house is currently on the market. It's original asking price of 3.5 million was a touch ambitious, but it still has a tag of 1.8 million.  Mind you, it does look out directly over Oyster Harbour and is on land sufficient to carry two large semi detached replacements.

This particular street in the small community of Emu Point where harbour views are available does boast a group of homes such as this which are grand, to say the least.

We both really like Emu Point.  From the fishing fleet marina which we have visited previously, 

the sheltered waters of Oyster Harbour, complete with this swimming enclosure which, to my real surprise includes a couple of lap lanes (where I did bash up and down most days)










abut a shady terraced park which extends from the marina car park 

to the Emu Point cafe












which has pride of place right on the Point and which is clearly, from our observations of its patronage, a licence to print money.  Even on days when the wind was howling across the harbour under a leaden sky, the punters were queueing for their mid morning coffee and cake or a light luncheon.

The cafe is surrounded on all three sides by the lawns of the Emu Point park and here we are actually looking south over the waters of King George Sound.  The Rose Gardens caravan park is about 500 metres along the roadway to the right of this shot.






The cafe also overlooks the rockwall and waters of the Oyster Harbour entrance channel, 

 a vantage point from which your correspondent had some fishing success.


A chat with a fellow park camper convinced me that garfish and tommies (sorry, herring) were to be had from these waters at the right time, with the right rig and on the right tide. I didn't actually have the recommended rig but I am a pretty dab hand at gar fishing, so hopeful as fishermen always are, I clambered down the rocks, set up, and hit the water with the SA version of floats and hooks.  And, as you can see, what a morning....fish will be a bonus!


Bingo!  A few minutes of adjusting the cast and float angles for the incoming tide run and the line tightened.  We were on!

Now I admit this is far from the largest gar I have ever hooked, but there were more and larger to come




and by the end of a couple of hours we had a good feed in the bucket. But of course, catching them is the fun part.....then comes the cleaning and filleting, 

but with the prospect of some of these beauties sizzling away in the pan, and a good drink at hand it was no real chore, and I did feel particularly safe from predatory raids with The Black Panther on guard station at the annex doorway!  PS...they were delicious and I managed the same the following morning. Brownie points for Pierre..garfish are Liz's favourite and we have packs in the freezer with the prospect of more to come on our return to Albany.

   

Speaking of cooking, we generally do so on site, but there are times when it is just easier to wander down to the camp kitchen and make use of the park facilities, if they are well cleaned each day and adequate for purpose.  Here at the Rose Gardens this was certainly the case, and we did take advantage of the good BBQs here a couple of times.

Enough of the galley....I've realised that the ship's cat hasn't feature for a while.  Max just loved The Rose Gardens.  He is always happy when the annex goes up.  It provides that feeling of security for him until he gets his bearings, which really means until he works out that he is the king of the castle.  And then he has been known to take over.  Liz was silly enough to leave the sun lounge unoccupied for a minute!

At Rose Gardens Max did like taking advantage of the warm concrete late in the afternoon where he would happily lie for some time tied off to the chair.

But as you all know, cats spend most of their days sleeping.  This, combined with the fact that they can be left for hours on end without fuss, actually makes them much more convenient caravan companions than most dogs.  And Max does like a snooze.  Elegance is another matter altogether....and the fact he had taken over Liz's dinette bench and forced her to enjoy her lunch perched on a small stool was a matter of complete indifference to him....first in best dressed is high on Max's lifestyle priorities.

  

And when it all gets seriously too much....just retire to the bed, put your paws over your eyes and tell the world to go away!  

And if any of you good readers are concerned that Max may find the travelling life stressful, let me reassure you this is not the case with the advice that at his last vet's check-up visit we discovered he has put on 1.2 kilos.....I think he's coping!



Liz and I have become unashamed advocates of Albany.  We we completely at home there, but all good things do come to an end (as usual, just when the fish are biting and the weather is golden) and it was time to pull down and pack up in preparation for our trip back north to Rockingham where we shall be greeting the young Lieutenant home from the waters of the Middle East and East Africa.  


Pulling down a caravan annex after a couple of weeks in the one spot is very similar to moving house....it is amazing to discover just how much 'stuff' has been accumulated in nooks and crannies. Fortunately experience does bring familiarity and everything now gets packed away in its allotted space without too much panic.  Boyup Brook and other new areas of WA's Great Southern await us.