We took a private tour today in Albany with a couple from Perth, Australia who we met in the Lion's Pub playing trivia a couple of nights ago. David our tour guide was a real "Man vs. Wild" kind of guy. He knew everything about everything. He even takes people on eco-tours and wine tours but today it was the rocky jagged coastline right outside of Albany.
We drove all the way around the harbor to Torndirrup National Park. Once inside the park area we drove out to The Gap, a huge open ended rectangular block of granite rock that the ocean waves come crashing up into. In the same area there was a natural bridge which also had waves crashing underneath it and popping up on the rocky beach below. We walked down the granite rocks to the edge for some wonderful shots of the beach across the way and the crashing waves against the rocks strewn all along the shore. It reminded us a lot of New Zealand.
Next stop was Stoney Hill Lookout and Salmon Holes. Saw some snakes and a monitor (sp?) lizard at Stoney Hill . David gave us a quick education on the surrounding vegetation and the history of the area. Great waves for surfing on Salmon Holes if you brought the board and they even had a sign warning you about 'freak' waves coming up on the beach - tsunami or no tsunami! We were positioned about 50' above the beach, so we had a great vantage point but the wind was very strong, especially at these higher elevation. David warned us not to wear a hat unless it was secured. He said it was too dangerous to try and retrieve anything and he said every year they have a loss of life because the wind knocks people over the cliffs and down to the rocky beaches below. Not a pretty thought when you have wind gusts pushing you around on top. During the month of February the winds kick up from Antarctica and there is nothing to break them before they hit Australia. The winds were so strong the other day when we were in Melbourne that I actually started to think that the glass surrounding the back pool where we were eating a late lunch was going to shatter. All the deck chairs and tables started moving and jumping. We thought it was funny until a table attacked us and the crew members looked a little anxious! You should have heard the roar! It was just a tad bit scary hearing this ghostly wind whipping all around the ship but you couldn't see it.
We then headed down to Frenchman's Bay where the explorer Vancouver landed in 1791 for a walk on the beach out to the natural fresh water spring which served him and his crew after they landed. This site later became a Norwegian whaling station and Albany just recently stopped all whaling operations in 1978. There was a converted whaling operation that changed over to a museum after whaling was outlawed. The large round silo where they stored the whale blubber was turned into a movie theater - talk about your sticky floors, ha, ha!
We were then dropped off back in town for a little walking and touring on our own. We visited St. John's Anglican Church which was built in 1846. We did a little bit of wine tasting at Alkoomi's and we thought for sure we would see Lee and Joe, our new dinner table folks from UT. Lee loves her wine at dinner and is always looking for the latest wine tour off the ship. Seems the elderly ladies, Betty and Nancy, bought some wine today and Lee told them she bought a corkscrew because the ship charges a $15 corkage fee. Said she'd open their wine for them for free (what a great dinner companion). Speaking of Betty and Nancy, they were late getting back on the ship in Adelaide. Betty had some friends pick them up for the day and they got caught in all the hoop-la traffic close to the pier. I asked them how late they were and they said 20 minutes, so it looks like you do have a small window but ever so small and not worth chancing it.
We walked over to the Patrick Taylor Cottage which is the oldest home site in Western Australia. I think it dates back to 1832. Funny thing was Candice had walked on ahead of me and I was taking some pictures outside so when I rounded the corner to enter the house I didn't see Candice so I went on into the house. I never saw Candice in the house and there was no back door so she couldn't have exited without going past me. I took a few pictures and came out looking for her. There she was sitting on a bench under a tree. I asked her were she went. She told me that it cost $2 to enter the house. I said 'What?" She said "Didn't you see the sign?" "What sign?" "On the door." "NO." Oh well, I guess the guy at the front door just thought I was on a tour, or it could have been that crossword puzzle he was doing. Ha, ha. You know, I don't really like to do any unnecessary reading!
Albany was another maiden port and the media showed up for footage. Candice was on the gangway and they wanted her to wave with the other people, so if catch Albany news channels be on the lookout for her. We went to an IGA store and stocked up on Coke for Candice. We saw this other young guy who's also on the world cruise bringing back a whole case of beer. He told us that he had plenty for everyone on the bus, dockside, if they wouldn't let him back on with it. Once again not too much food to recognize except Oreo's, Coke, Pringles and Doritos (but no ranch flavor). I think I'd loss weight outside the US. And the prices were much higher! Of course the Australian government includes their taxes within the price of the merchandise instead of at the register but based on our $11.45 purchase for a ten pack of soda and small bag of chips, the tax was only $1.03. So prices are high! We discovered just how much we love and appreciate Walmart and this made us just a little homesick!!!:) I think we might be having Walmart withdraws.
Sandy
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