Day 667 – Albany - Bunbury, Australia

Day 667– 6th April 2007 +7:00 GMT

Had to get up early and pack up all our stuff and load the car. We got on the road and headed North West we drove for a couple of hours and then stopped at Munjimup for lunch and then carried on until we reached Bunbury. We checked into the hostel which seems really nice and then we had a wander around the town and visited the local cinema to see 300.

A Kookaburra In The Hostel Garden

Bunbury

The film was very good a lot better than I thought it was going to be. We then got pizza and headed back to the hostel, I played some chess with Martin and then we all played trivial pursuit until after midnight.

Day 666 – Albany, Australia

Day 666– 5th April 2007 +7:00 GMT

Had a wander around the shops in Albany with Jill and then Martin, Dave, Bruce and I went out to play golf for the afternoon. It took a bit longer then before as we played for about 5 hours on the same course as yesterday and I scored 97 which included 3 shots on par, Martin managed a birdie on the 9th hole. We had a beer at the clubhouse and then headed back into Albany. We had some food and then we went to the local pub called London. We had a few drinks and then Jill and I headed off to bed, Martin stayed out with Bruce.

Day 665 – Albany, Australia

Day 665– 4th April 2007 +7:00 GMT

Martin and I got up and went to play golf, we first tried Albany golf course but there was a tournament on so we drove to the course on Frenchman’s Road. Here the owner is very friendly and even gave us a load of golf balls for free. We played the 18 holes over 4 hours and I got a very good score of 99 getting only one whole on par. While we were playing we saw many strange birds and insects as well as many kangaroos as the day was cooler they had stayed out all day.

A Kanagroo

A Giant Ant

Golahs

A Golah

We had a beer and then headed back to the hostel around 2:30pm. Jill was having a lazy day and did not want to do anything so we just spent the afternoon and evening hanging around the hostel.

Day 664 – Albany, Australia

Day 664– 3rd April 2007 +7:00 GMT

Martin cooked breakfast and then we got in the car and headed about 110km West towards Walpole. We took Bruce with us and we visited the Valley Of The Giants.

The Valley Of Giants

Jill, Martin And Bruce

This is an area of particular tall trees which only grow in certain regions. Here they have a tree tops walk which is a walk that takes you up to the height of 40 metres so you can look down at the forest floor.

Me At Valley Of Giants

The Walkways 40 Metres Up

The walkways are connected on tall pillars and sway a little like swing bridges. The walk is just under a kilometre long and gives you a fascinating view being just under the canopy of many of the tall trees.

Walkway

We then did the walk of the ancient, which takes you on ground level through the grounds of many of the trees.

Valley Of Giants

Jill And I Under A Tall Tree

A lot of these trees are completely hollow for the first 10 metres or so and been damaged by fire but they still survive and keep growing. When we left the Valley Of The Giants we drove into Walpole and had some lunch at a local café then drove down to the waterfront. There was not of a beach but we did find a pier with a couple of pelicans on it.

A Pair Of Pelicans

A Pelican On The Pier

Walpole Pier

On the way back to Albany we stopped off at a lovely beach called Green Pools, Here the water is very shallow and crystal clear.

Green Pools

Green Pools Beach

We then drove onto another beach a bit further down the coast, but it was covered in Blue Bottle Jelly Fish so moved on.

Jill On The Beach

A Blue Bottle Jelly Fish

A Bug On The Beach

We drove back towards Albany and stopped at Denmark, here we stopped where the river joins the sea. The area was full of pelicans and other birds.

Some Pelicans On The River

A Pelican

A Pair Of Birds

Another Pelican

Two More Pelicans

We then drove back to Albany via the supermarket and I cooked a Bolognese for all. We spent the night chatting away and playing pool.

Day 663 – Albany, Australia

Day 663– 2nd April 2007 +7:00 GMT + 50

Went to the supermarket first thing with Jill and bought some food for breakfast. I then cooked sausage and eggs etc for Matin and I. We ate in hostel garden which was full of lizards called skinks a family of ten live in the garden and feed on cockroaches.

A Skink

A Skink

Today we drove to Torndirrup national park which is only about 15km West of Albany. Here we visited The Gap and The Natural Bridge which are rock formation created by erosion from the sea.

The Gap

The Natural Bridge

Jill and I At The Natural Bridge

The Natural Bridge

We had a walk around the national park and climbed up Stoney Hill.

View From Top Of Stoney Hill

We then stopped at the blow holes and walked on the kilometre track to them only to find the sea was not rough enough for them to be blowing. We drove across to Cable Beach to have a look.

Cable Beach

360 Degree View Of Cable Beach

Cave Point Lighthouse

We drove back into Albany and then out to the East side.

A Magpie

Turtles Crossing Sign

Dinosaurs Crossing ??

Here we visited Emu Point and then onto Middleton Beach. We stopped at Middleton Beach for cake and coffee and sat by the water consuming it. We the drove to the golf course on Frenchman’s Road as the course at dusk is filled with hundreds of kangaroo’s.

Kangaroo's On The Gold Course

My First Kangaroo Sighting

Kangaroo

More Kangaroos

Even More Kangaroos

So we took some photos of the kangaroos and then we then drove back to the hostel and Bruce who we had met from the previous hostel had turned up so we went to the local pub the Earl Of Spencer and had some dinner and a beer. The food here was very good and every ten minutes someone played a song on the bagpipes which to be honest is not what you want when you are trying to chat and enjoy a good meal. We went back to the hostel and played some pool before going to bed.

Day 662– Esperence - Albany, Australia

Day 662– 1st April 2007 +7:00 GMT

Had to check out of the hostel early so packed up our bags and went to pack the car. Found Martin asleep on the back seat as he had only just got back from the previous night. Looks like I am driving the 500Km to Albany on my own. The drive was not so bad as the roads are empty and the speed limit is 110km the whole way. As we were driving through Fitzgerald Biosphere we seemed to get attacked by a plague of insects that looked like locusts. They were flying left right and centre into our windscreen and splattering all over the front of the car. We stopped halfway at Ravensthorpe for a coffee and the front grill over the car was covered in thousands of dead insects.

Front Of My Car Covered in Insects

I carried on driving to Albany and arrived just before 3pm. We checked into Albany Backpackers and then went for a walk around the town. We stopped for a quick beer on the way back and then Jill had a nap. Martin and I spent the rest of the evening playing pool and cards with some others from the hostel.

Day 661 – Esperence, Australia

Day 661 – 31st March 2007 +7:00 GMT

Martin and I got up at 7am and left to play golf. We got to Esperence golf course and we were the only ones there. The club house opened at 10am but you could pay $20 green fees and play. Unfortunately we did not have any golf clubs and needed to hire them. So we got back in the car and drove to the other golf course which is at Pink Lake. Same situation here but we did find out we can hire club from the sports shop in Esperence town centre. So we drive back into Esperence and find the sports shop. We have to wait for the assistant to turn up for work before they can leave the shop and get us some golf clubs, we eventually get sorted out and head back to Esperence golf course. We tee off just after 9am, the course is fantastic with very well laid greens the only issue is they have some geese like birds pecking around the edges of every green and the occasionally kangaroo or two hiding behind trees on the fairways. There are a lot of water hazards on this course as the course is built around several large lakes, one tee off point is on an island in the centre of a lake. Anyway I got around in a respectful 117. We got back to the hostel just before 3pm and we chilled out for a bit. A few hours later Martin and I and two other guys from the hostel went to Chesters the local bar and had a few beers and played some pool, I left just before midnight and headed back to the hostel.