New Year Albany Road Trip

For the New Year weekend we decided to venture to the South coast of Western Australia on a road trip, but Bluey was a bit poorly and wouldn't start! The roadside assistance man towed Bluey away and left us with a courtesy car for the road trip. Fingers crossed for Bluey!

We headed south on the Albany Highway (which is VERY long and VERY boring) and 5 hrs later we arrived in Albany. We had dinner reservations at 'The Wild Duck' and enjoyed a delicious meal with a drop of local Denmark Pinot Noir - turns out that the Great South-Western vineyards produce just as nice plonk as the Margaret River ones!

On New Year's Eve morning, we headed West along the coast road to the Walpole-Nornalup National Park. Our first stop was the Valley of the Giants for the 'tree top' and the 'ancient empire' walks. The Park is full of Tingle trees, some of which are more than 400 years old and tower more than 50m tall. Some of the older Tingles are hollowed out in the centre and are big enough for Rupan AND Steve to stand in. Staying in the national park, our next stop off was at Conspicuous Cliff, a bit of a hill to climb but we were rewarded by stunning views over the bay. Further along the coast was Peaceful Bay - not so peaceful as it was full of 'schoolies' getting a little tipsy!

Steve twitching in the tree-tops

Rupan in a Tingle

Steve in a Tingle

Conspicuous Cliff

Peaceful Bay

Fireworks at midnight on the beach - Albany

For New Year's Eve night, we popped into Albany for a spot of dinner and a few beers in the White Star. Just before midnight we headed down to the foreshore with a bottle of Champagne and watched the fireworks display.

On New Year's Day we explored Torndirrup National Park on the peninsula South of Albany. We took a scenic drive around Frenchman's Bay and stopped in at a few lookouts on the way. The first lookout was the 'blow hole' which is created by the surf blowing through fissures in the granite rocks - only it was a bit of a calm day, so no blow hole action! More impressive was the 'natural bridge' and 'the gap' which have been formed by natural wearing of the huge granite stones that once connected Australia to Antarctica.

Can you spot Steve?

Rupan at the blow hole

Steve on the natural bridge

Hope you all had a great weekend - HAPPY NEW YEAR!