We didn't know what to expect in this Western Australian city of 30,000 and we were very pleasantly surprised at what a terrific time we had and how interesting this place is. We took the shuttle into the little town. First impression was that although it was Sunday and a lot of stores were closed, the town had put on a special little market and welcoming committee for our ship. There were iVisitor volunteers everywhere and lots of tours to choose from. We hurtled up the hill to find some free WiFi, and also made arrangements to take a 4 hour tour out to the spectacular coastline we had heard about. We managed to speak to 2 of our families, but had to rush back to make the 10 a.m. leaving time for the tour.
Lee, our guide, had a small bus with about 20 of us. He was an excellent guide, with some ecological background and filled our heads with data which was so interesting. The first thing we saw was a reproduction of the British explorer, Flinder's, ship which landed here in 1836 - so pleased to have discovered what most people believe is the largest natural harbour in the world. There was high hope for a long time that Albany would be a great centre, but Perth eventually won out. Albany's biggest industry until 1978 was whaling, and thankfully the people all agreed to shut that venture down, even though it caused a lot of contention at the time. They now have a whaling museum which helped replace the money from whaling.
On our way out of town we pulled over, first for "roo" sightings. About 20 kangaroos, who are a big nuisance to farmers, were grazing in a field and when we clapped our hands and they stood up and gazed at us.
We also learned that this is one of the most bio-diverse areas in the world, because of the poor soil, and the types of plants that are here from the time it split from Antarctica when it was part of Gondwana, the original mother continent. We saw "black boys" a spear like plant that grows 1 cm a year, but had about 8 different uses for the Aboriginals, and learned about fire being as natural here as rain and sun, and how now they do controlled burns of the wild areas to help regenerate the flora.
We also stopped at the entrance of one of the most famous walks in the world - called the Bibbulman (the tribe name) walk, an Aboriginal walk of 1000 km from Albany to Perth, which has 40 stations along it, with basic shelter for walkers. It takes 6 weeks to do the trek, but apparently it is splendid scenery.
Then we came to the main attraction - Torndirrup National Park. This is the area that when attached to Antarctica - about 1 billion years ago- had a mountain range higher than the Himalayas, formed from tectonic activity. Over the next millions of years, - about 100 million ago, Australia separated, and since that time, the sea has worn those mountains down to a nub of granite that reminds me of Peggy's Cove in Nova Scotia. This magnificent area has, we are told, the biggest surf in the world, and it pounds in here, around a natural granite bridge with a hole in it. The surf can come up to the parking lot which is about 150 feet behind where we stood. We were told to stay on the path as there had been several lives lost from people getting up on the rocks and plunging to their deaths.
Albany has some of the finest beaches in Australia, and the real danger surfers come to this spot, being towed out in the HUGE surf. However after this, Lee told us about his close encounter with a Great White Shark. He and his "mate", were surfing 3 years ago, and he had just come into the beach when he saw a grand splash around his friend, who was still out and he knew immediately what it was. A wave came along and his friend managed to get onto his board, after 2 attempts and into shore, but he was badly injured. Luckily it was a national holiday and there were other people to help Lee, who says he couldn't have managed on his own. The shark narrowly missed his friend's artery, and they got him to the hospital - but it took an hour for the helicopter to get there because there was no cell reception. He said there have been 5 shark deaths this year, and for some reason not known, these Great White attacks are becoming more frequent. He took us to another family beach in the afternoon where a local school teacher was attacked and badly injured last year.
Then we went to the Windmill Farm. This was also very impressive. Built in 2000 for $43 million - these 18 windmills, which are a German design and the largest in the southern hemisphere, produce 80% of all the energy of Albany. They are also looking into wave generation of energy like we learned about in Northern Ireland, because of that large heavy surf. By now it was raining heavily and so we couldn't get out to look at the whole farm.
Off we went to lunch, on the other side of town, where our planned picnic on another beach was spoiled by the rain. We ate in the bus, then finally ventured out for home made cake and passion fruit from Lee's own yard.
Final stop was the ANZAC (Australian, New Zealand Army Corps) war memorial. In 1915, 30,000 men from all over Australia and New Zealand (and some women),including boys as young as 14, who lied about their age and were recruited for the 1st World War, and who had foolishly bought into the idea that this was to be a glorious adventure, set off in 30 ships for what would be the slaughter of the Battle of Galipoli. They landed in Egypt for a few months of training, then 8,000 were killed, 12,000 seriously wounded, and the rest made it home. This galvanized this area, who had only just become a nation 14 years earlier. Next year is the centennial of that leave taking from this harbour. We all remarked that tragically there is still war in the areas in which these boys and men lost their lives.
Tonight we are dining at a special dinner hosted by Jonathan, the Captain, for Lisa Evans who turns 99 today. We met this marvellous woman last year on our cruise and we were all so delighted to find her once again on the ship. She is beautiful, interesting, and travels all alone all over the world. What an honour to celebrate her birthday with her tonight.
Tomorrow we will be in Freemantle - Perth, where we will be met by our friends Berndt and Linda, who we met on another cruise. They are bringing us to their home for dinner, then taking us on a tour of their city the following day. We are so looking forward to seeing them again, and to getting an inside tour of their city. Stay tuned!
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