It was good to be back in Albany. We have both felt very much at home here from the time of our first arrival some weeks ago (once we had come to grips with the fact that getting from one part of the town to another is never simple....big lumps of granite mountain to skirt around).
We had booked a different part of the Rose Gardens park for this visit with our Perth friends Anne-marie and Jim Cook. Shade and shelter from the wind were a priority for them....to my great relief I had chosen wisely. We were soon set up side by side beneath the large pepper trees of this part of the park.
Although these sites do not have slabs, they are large and well grassed. We had our own 'beer garden' area at the rear
which was occupied to good effect on more than one occasion. Happy hour in the later afternoon sunshine...nothing like it!
Mind you, at this point I must confess a couple of our happy 'hours' were that in name only....our record was a 2300 hours finish! A late supper that night indeed.
But we were reasonably circumspect on most of the nine days we spent together. The gap between our vans provided a sheltered spot for an evening BBQ
even if it did mean that one of us had to make sure that there was enough light on the situation. True to her nursing traditions, Liz took her turn as 'the lady of the lamp'.
But we shared the burden even if it was just make sure we could watch Cooky burn his home-made chips! Who said men can't multi-task...I managed the light and a drink with no problems!
It is probably time to correct any developing misconceptions that our Albany activities on this occasion were limited only to eating and drinking. Apart from a number of fishing sorties to the beach and the Emu Point sea wall (with some success as we shall see later), we all challenged our physical fitness with a visit to the Porongurup Range, an ancient granite mountain range some 30 kms north-east of Albany. Our mission for the day...to climb to the Balancing Rocks and Castle Rock.
A number of walks of varying degrees of difficulty are on offer in the Porongurup National Park. The relevant tourist blurb on which we were relying rated the walk we had chosen as a moderate climb. We were soon to learn that as far as the author of this particular brochure is concerned, moderate is a relative term!
We arrived at the car park at the base of the range as the heat of the day was already making its presence felt, and, armed with water bottles and slathered in sun screen, we set off.
Within the first 50 metres our confidence took its first jolt. "Er, excuse me cobber, isn't this walk supposed to be 3.2 kms round trip?" "That's what the tourist stuff said", I responded. "Then why does this marker say it's 2.2 kms to the top?" "Buggered if I know...probably because it is". We had been conned by a brochure again!
Slightly shaken by this discovery, but undaunted, we continued on. The forest of this range is predominately karri, but we did pass other quite spectacular trees on our way. This one (species unkonwn) just seemed to spread out in all directions.
On and on we climbed. So far so good. Reasonably smooth and not too steep.
And then the granite began to appear. Great sloping slabs of it....a portend of things to come.
As we climbed higher and higher, sections of the bush along parts of the track opened to allow us views across the plains northwards to the ridges of the Stirling Range rising smoky blue in the distance, some 30kms away.
The temperature continued to rise as we did. By now the sweat was now pouring off me.
The relatively smooth path had become a narrow, rocky track.
We were more than glad of the views on offer. What a perfect excuse for a breather in the shade.
Every so often the bush alongside the track produced a real surprise, as with this huge jarrah tree stamping its authority over the surrounding karri and marri.
A few short sections of the track were still shady and relatively easy, but by now these were very much the exceptions.
The climb was now on in earnest. "Hell mum, are we there yet?" "Just keep walking."
And then, just as we were beginning to think we were all the victims of a sick local joke and that the trail led nowhere, our first glimpse of what we had come to see.....the giant lumps of granite which are the Porongurups.
Here were our first 'balancing rocks'. But we were not there yet.
One final scramble, and then, as our ever reliable electronic navigator smugly informs us at the end of a programmed trip, "you have reached your destination"
and here we found ourselves gawking at this enormous piece of granite perched alarmingly on the bedrock below it.
How did all this come about? The sign told the story. Hopefully you too can read it.
The Porongurup rocks are venerable indeed. This ridge of granite is calculated to be at least 1,200 million years old. Like sections of the rocks along the coast south of Albany, those of the Porongurups are of a similar composition to rocky outcrops in Antactica....this is where our two continents were once joined at the hip in those ancient days of Gondwanaland.
We had arrived at a spot where the landscape was dominated in all directions by huge, grey granite outcrops.
And now, a spell was definitely in order whilst we contemplated our next move. No more climbing, please!
Sorry, it's the only way. Castle rock was not yet in view, nor the trail, ladder and walkway by which access to it can be gained.
Another scramble and we finally came to the base of this monolith. And here my hopes of mounting Castle Rock were utterly dashed.
Let me quote the relevant words presented here.
"To reach Castle Rock summit you must:
Karri Lookout is was....for all of us. With my challenged knees, which were already sending me a strong reminder that they had been exerted to their limits, any attempt to reach Castle Rock would have been nothing short of foolhardy, and probably dangerous.
This may give some idea why.
If you look closely at the face of the rock lower mid to left of the photo you will see what appear to be shiny strips....these are hand holds embedded in the granite. And if you peer even more intently at the edge of the rock which takes up the far left of the shot, you will spy one of these holds silhouetted against the sky. This is the route to the cliff face beyond this jumble of granite.
This photo, which I pinched from an Internet site, provides a very good idea of what was in store, had we plunged onwards and upwards.
I will confess to a sense of real disappointment that I could not achieve all of what I had set out to do. This was coupled with an equal feeling of annoyance that the material which advertises the area and vaunts the views to be had from Castle Rock is utterly silent as to the challenges inherent in reaching the summit.
So off along the path to Karri Lookout we toddled. The 'low road' was indeed very much easier,
and from the lookout at its end we could see right across the plains to the Albany coastline.
And now, a spell was definitely in order whilst we contemplated our next move. No more climbing, please!
Sorry, it's the only way. Castle rock was not yet in view, nor the trail, ladder and walkway by which access to it can be gained.
Another scramble and we finally came to the base of this monolith. And here my hopes of mounting Castle Rock were utterly dashed.
Let me quote the relevant words presented here.
"To reach Castle Rock summit you must:
- scramble over and under rough granite
- walk close to steep cliff edges, and
- climb a 7m ladder.
Karri Lookout is was....for all of us. With my challenged knees, which were already sending me a strong reminder that they had been exerted to their limits, any attempt to reach Castle Rock would have been nothing short of foolhardy, and probably dangerous.
This may give some idea why.
If you look closely at the face of the rock lower mid to left of the photo you will see what appear to be shiny strips....these are hand holds embedded in the granite. And if you peer even more intently at the edge of the rock which takes up the far left of the shot, you will spy one of these holds silhouetted against the sky. This is the route to the cliff face beyond this jumble of granite.
This photo, which I pinched from an Internet site, provides a very good idea of what was in store, had we plunged onwards and upwards.
I will confess to a sense of real disappointment that I could not achieve all of what I had set out to do. This was coupled with an equal feeling of annoyance that the material which advertises the area and vaunts the views to be had from Castle Rock is utterly silent as to the challenges inherent in reaching the summit.
So off along the path to Karri Lookout we toddled. The 'low road' was indeed very much easier,
and from the lookout at its end we could see right across the plains to the Albany coastline.
It really was a spectacular vista, and worth the effort we had made to get here.
Teasingly, this vantage point also provided us a view of what was for us, the unattainable...the Castle Rock skywalk.
Again, on loan from the Internet, this is a shot of the ladder to the top,
and this of the rock itself from below, showing the walkway perched around the edge of its summit (apologies gain for the poor quality...this was originally a tiny photo.)
Teasingly, this vantage point also provided us a view of what was for us, the unattainable...the Castle Rock skywalk.
Again, on loan from the Internet, this is a shot of the ladder to the top,
and this of the rock itself from below, showing the walkway perched around the edge of its summit (apologies gain for the poor quality...this was originally a tiny photo.)
It would have been good to have a chance to take in the 360 degrees outlook from this rocky perch, but common sense had prevailed.
The walk back down the trail to the car park was much less enervating than the ascent, but nevertheless we were all glad to have completed the 4.4 kms round trip and wore our various aches and pains over the next couple of days as badges of honour. I was actually afraid I had done some serious damage to my right knee which gave way on me two nights later, but to my huge relief (I had visions of having to bring forward its inevitable replacement) it settled within 24 hours.
Our physical activities from this point on were much more gentile....walks along the beach, fishing from the point and Liz was even inspired to do some work in the galley. The contents of the freezers were soon bolstered by some packs of fine chicken rigatoni.
I can again boast of some success in my efforts to snare a quantity of Albany garfish ('gardies' over here). That evening it was my turn at the gas stove
after which we enjoyed a huge feed of fresh fish and salads 'al fresco' with plates balanced on knees and our complementary white perched on stools.
During this stay in Albany, we were fortunate to meet Harley, one of Jim's work colleagues, who arranged a private viewing of one of the most incredible pieces of artwork I have yet to see. The huge painting depicts features of the various lands occupied by the Noongar peoples. These stretch from Esperance on the south coast to Geraldton in the north.
Harley, an indigenous man with extensive local knowledge and a wicked sense of humour, works with the Department of Aboriginal Heritage (or similar). He was heavily involved in the coordination necessary to create this extraordinary painting which was originally unveiled in a huge ceremony in Perth's Kings Park. It currently hangs over the stage at the Albany Entertainment Centre as a matter of preservation as much as anything else after it was discovered that, in a rolled up state, the materials used to create the painting were beginning to deteriorate.
Harley (who seems to know just about everyone in Albany) had organised with the manager of the Entertainment Centre to give us access to the auditorium, and this is what we saw. I have forgotten the precise size of this canvas, but it is impressive.....in the order of three metres square at least.
As I mentioned before, the scenes depicted are representative of the various areas occupied by the Noongars. The colours are stunning. Unfortunately the stage lighting was set for the requirements of a recent production and could not be brought to bear fully on the painting. Yet again, I have had to do my best with my limited photographic equipment and a bit of post production work.
The more arid lands of the north feature at the top of the painting, and, as is obvious, the bottom scenes represent the southern coast.
The stunning piece took a number of artists over six months to complete. It was a real privilege to listen to Harley's detailed explanations about many of the depicted scenes and, in some cases, the method by which the end result was achieved. In this segment, for example, the shoals of smaller fish swimming around the two dolphins were 'painted' by dipping a thong, cut to shape, into paint and slapping it against the canvas to create the body of each fish before the other features such as eyes etc were added.
Harley was also able to point out many of the features of this stunning work which were not immediately apparent on first viewing. This is indeed a creation which revels more and more the longer it is viewed. Here I have shot one of the more obvious examples of what I mean....the man's head ghosted into the face of the mountain range in this scene. The viewing of this masterpiece was surely a real highlight of this Albany sojourn...thanks again Harley.
In addition to our social, cultural and physical activities, including an obligatory visit to the Sunday morning Boatshed markets,
we used this stay in Albany to organise a number repairs, additions and replacements to both the Cruiser and the caravan. We had decided it would be far easier to do this here than whilst back in Perth.
When we left Albany we did so in the Cruiser which had been both serviced and re-shod with serious 4x4 tyres (particularly designed for towing and for travelling in sand). We had the van's brakes and bearings checked and serviced, all the inefficient interior fleuro lights replaced with LED's, a water problem identified and rectified (a blocked filter in the pressure reduction valve), a new lighting connection plug fitted (pins were falling out of the original one each time it was disconnected from the socket on the Cruiser) and a toilet leak problem identified. There are still a few odds and ends which need attention, such as replacing the two mudflaps which have cracked and split off and rectifying the stiff tap over the sink, but I'll get around to these in due course. Just like a normal house, our mobile home requires constant maintenance!
And it was also during this second stay in Albany that we made a long term decision. Caravan park accommodation over Xmas is a real problem here in the west, particularly when the family includes a ship's cat. A large proportion of pet friendly parks will not accept our furry feline friend during school holidays. In addition to that, after our recent Xmas in Perth, we had firmly decided that we would not repeat our exposure to the heat and noise of the city over that period again.
It was also whilst in Albany that Liz took a decision of equal import. She has long been toying with the idea of looking for part time nursing work as we travel about, not only for the welcome income this will generate, but to keep up her skills and provide here grey matter with something more of a challenge than the daily crosswords and sudoku. During our stay in Albany she made up her mind that the time had come. And then the fun began, but more of this later.
By dint of a coincidental meeting with a resident of Albany, it had also become apparent that work would be available at the Albany Hospital over the Xmas holiday period. That was it....this was obviously meant to be.
We had already arranged to come back to Albany in late October to again spend time with the Cooks and take in the various events associated with the 100 year Anzac departure re-enactment over the first few days in November. Why not stay on was the question which immediately sprung to our minds? Albany summers are much cooler than Perth's, we both feel very much at home here and the Rose Gardens will accept pets over the summer holiday period. The only remaining snag was obvious...was there a long term, suitable site still available?
I am sure by now you have guessed the outcome. We took the plunge and are now booked into site 82 of the Emu Point park from November 7 2014 until the end of January 2015 after which we plan to travel east and 'do the Esperance area' when the Perth holiday makers, who invade this entire coastline in droves, have returned home.
With all that settled, the time had come to wrap up what had been a marvellous nine days with Anne-marie and Jim. We were all heading back to Perth. It was a return to work for the Cooks, and for us, the Australian Surf Lifesaving titles, a catch up with Adelaide clubbie mates, and finally having the Cruiser's damaged front bull bar assembly replaced.
What better way to farewell Albany for the second time than with a convivial ale or two in the more than acceptable venue of the beer garden of one of Albany's oldest pubs, the Earl of Spencer.
So, farewell Albany for the winter. Our noses were now pointed firmly northwards....firstly back to Perth and thence up the west coast chasing the sun.
The walk back down the trail to the car park was much less enervating than the ascent, but nevertheless we were all glad to have completed the 4.4 kms round trip and wore our various aches and pains over the next couple of days as badges of honour. I was actually afraid I had done some serious damage to my right knee which gave way on me two nights later, but to my huge relief (I had visions of having to bring forward its inevitable replacement) it settled within 24 hours.
Our physical activities from this point on were much more gentile....walks along the beach, fishing from the point and Liz was even inspired to do some work in the galley. The contents of the freezers were soon bolstered by some packs of fine chicken rigatoni.
I can again boast of some success in my efforts to snare a quantity of Albany garfish ('gardies' over here). That evening it was my turn at the gas stove
after which we enjoyed a huge feed of fresh fish and salads 'al fresco' with plates balanced on knees and our complementary white perched on stools.
During this stay in Albany, we were fortunate to meet Harley, one of Jim's work colleagues, who arranged a private viewing of one of the most incredible pieces of artwork I have yet to see. The huge painting depicts features of the various lands occupied by the Noongar peoples. These stretch from Esperance on the south coast to Geraldton in the north.
Harley, an indigenous man with extensive local knowledge and a wicked sense of humour, works with the Department of Aboriginal Heritage (or similar). He was heavily involved in the coordination necessary to create this extraordinary painting which was originally unveiled in a huge ceremony in Perth's Kings Park. It currently hangs over the stage at the Albany Entertainment Centre as a matter of preservation as much as anything else after it was discovered that, in a rolled up state, the materials used to create the painting were beginning to deteriorate.
Harley (who seems to know just about everyone in Albany) had organised with the manager of the Entertainment Centre to give us access to the auditorium, and this is what we saw. I have forgotten the precise size of this canvas, but it is impressive.....in the order of three metres square at least.
As I mentioned before, the scenes depicted are representative of the various areas occupied by the Noongars. The colours are stunning. Unfortunately the stage lighting was set for the requirements of a recent production and could not be brought to bear fully on the painting. Yet again, I have had to do my best with my limited photographic equipment and a bit of post production work.
The more arid lands of the north feature at the top of the painting, and, as is obvious, the bottom scenes represent the southern coast.
The stunning piece took a number of artists over six months to complete. It was a real privilege to listen to Harley's detailed explanations about many of the depicted scenes and, in some cases, the method by which the end result was achieved. In this segment, for example, the shoals of smaller fish swimming around the two dolphins were 'painted' by dipping a thong, cut to shape, into paint and slapping it against the canvas to create the body of each fish before the other features such as eyes etc were added.
Harley was also able to point out many of the features of this stunning work which were not immediately apparent on first viewing. This is indeed a creation which revels more and more the longer it is viewed. Here I have shot one of the more obvious examples of what I mean....the man's head ghosted into the face of the mountain range in this scene. The viewing of this masterpiece was surely a real highlight of this Albany sojourn...thanks again Harley.
In addition to our social, cultural and physical activities, including an obligatory visit to the Sunday morning Boatshed markets,
we used this stay in Albany to organise a number repairs, additions and replacements to both the Cruiser and the caravan. We had decided it would be far easier to do this here than whilst back in Perth.
When we left Albany we did so in the Cruiser which had been both serviced and re-shod with serious 4x4 tyres (particularly designed for towing and for travelling in sand). We had the van's brakes and bearings checked and serviced, all the inefficient interior fleuro lights replaced with LED's, a water problem identified and rectified (a blocked filter in the pressure reduction valve), a new lighting connection plug fitted (pins were falling out of the original one each time it was disconnected from the socket on the Cruiser) and a toilet leak problem identified. There are still a few odds and ends which need attention, such as replacing the two mudflaps which have cracked and split off and rectifying the stiff tap over the sink, but I'll get around to these in due course. Just like a normal house, our mobile home requires constant maintenance!
And it was also during this second stay in Albany that we made a long term decision. Caravan park accommodation over Xmas is a real problem here in the west, particularly when the family includes a ship's cat. A large proportion of pet friendly parks will not accept our furry feline friend during school holidays. In addition to that, after our recent Xmas in Perth, we had firmly decided that we would not repeat our exposure to the heat and noise of the city over that period again.
It was also whilst in Albany that Liz took a decision of equal import. She has long been toying with the idea of looking for part time nursing work as we travel about, not only for the welcome income this will generate, but to keep up her skills and provide here grey matter with something more of a challenge than the daily crosswords and sudoku. During our stay in Albany she made up her mind that the time had come. And then the fun began, but more of this later.
By dint of a coincidental meeting with a resident of Albany, it had also become apparent that work would be available at the Albany Hospital over the Xmas holiday period. That was it....this was obviously meant to be.
We had already arranged to come back to Albany in late October to again spend time with the Cooks and take in the various events associated with the 100 year Anzac departure re-enactment over the first few days in November. Why not stay on was the question which immediately sprung to our minds? Albany summers are much cooler than Perth's, we both feel very much at home here and the Rose Gardens will accept pets over the summer holiday period. The only remaining snag was obvious...was there a long term, suitable site still available?
I am sure by now you have guessed the outcome. We took the plunge and are now booked into site 82 of the Emu Point park from November 7 2014 until the end of January 2015 after which we plan to travel east and 'do the Esperance area' when the Perth holiday makers, who invade this entire coastline in droves, have returned home.
With all that settled, the time had come to wrap up what had been a marvellous nine days with Anne-marie and Jim. We were all heading back to Perth. It was a return to work for the Cooks, and for us, the Australian Surf Lifesaving titles, a catch up with Adelaide clubbie mates, and finally having the Cruiser's damaged front bull bar assembly replaced.
What better way to farewell Albany for the second time than with a convivial ale or two in the more than acceptable venue of the beer garden of one of Albany's oldest pubs, the Earl of Spencer.
So, farewell Albany for the winter. Our noses were now pointed firmly northwards....firstly back to Perth and thence up the west coast chasing the sun.
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