Like Esperance, we booked a week long stay in Albany. We wanted to set Albany as a base for the week to explore the area and this place had a lot of great reviews so we were excited!
Thursday, May 11th – (Day 35)
ALBANY – Doh! Another long drive today. It was going to be somewhere between 5-6 hours, but at least we were well rested this time unlike the Nullarbor.
First mission today was to get fuel, but this proved to be tricky. Shell had no diesel so we had to go find another place, which took a while to find, before we eventually come across an Ampol. On the way we drove past an old couple who had just written off their caravan, there was wreckage everywhere all over the road. Pretty unfortunate.
Ravensthorpe was pretty much the only town on the map that looked large enough to stop at for lunch and it was about exactly 2 hours away, so we set that as our first destination.
We took turns in driving, switching between the Lakers vs Warriors game and the audiobook Ready Player One, depending on who was driving.
It turned out Ravensthorpe was a dusty old one road town with not much happening. After a walk up and down the street, we stopped in a little diner and got some pumpkin soup. Across the road was a lolleyshop so we stocked up on some chocolate.
Then it was time to hit the road again with a 3 hour drive awaiting us before hitting Albany. We arrived into Albany around 5pm and got setup just before it got dark. Not long later we did a video call with Adam’s family, then found a restaurant around the corner called Hybrid for tea.
Friday, May 12th – (Day 36)
Today’s plan was to explore Albany a little bit, but we also had a bit of work to catch up on as well. So we decided to kill two birds with one stone and do our work at a cafe in town.
Our park was about a 10 minute drive from town so we took the car. After a walk up and down the main strip, we realised it was a pretty busy little place. We found a little florist that was also a cafe called La Botanic. It was a nice little spot until a loud group of three came in and ruined the ambiance, so it was time to hit the road.
On the way back we stopped at a book store as well as Coles, then had a game of table tennis in the games room. It was a close game which Linda took out in a thriller.
Game 5: 21-19, 18-21, 16-21 (tied 2-2)
Then later on in the afternoon Adam went for a swim in the ocean and then the pool. We had a cottage pie for tea and listened to the Cats Tigers game on radio and then called it a night. Our first full day in Albany.
Saturday, May 13th – (Day 37)
This morning started with another piano lesson for Adam, followed by a trip into town to go check out the farmers market. We were expecting it to be a reasonable size market, but turns out it was only a small little area. Even more annoying was they had some stuff we wanted to buy but it was cash only!
After the farmers market we went for a little walk around town and then Googled a sports bar to go watch the Warriors Lakers game at. There wasn’t much on offer but we found a place called InSwing Sports Bar.
The bar was a little bit on the outskirts of town and the front looked pretty dodgy. There were no windows out the front and it was some weird slide door where you had to press the green button to enter. We looked at the Google photos and it seemed alright inside so we gave it a shot.
In the end it was a great decision, this bar was awesome! They had the NBA on the big screen and multiple AFL games on the other screens, so we parked ourselves here for the next few hours.
After the game we went to Coles to get some stuff for tea and got some clothes next door in the K-Mart. Then it was back to the caravan for the rest of the afternoon.
We both caught up on our work and had the footy going on the radio, Carlton again copping a hammering.
Sunday, May 14th – (Day 38)
As is usual on a weekend now, Adam had another piano lesson to start the day, which was fortunate as the weather was pretty crappy again with rain on and off.
We didn’t really have too many plans today and once the rained stopped we decided to go for a walk on the trail on the mountain next to us, which goes along the ocean.
Well, it didn’t take long before it started raining again so we got caught in that. It eventually cleared up and we continued our walk seeing things like the old lighthouse and amazing ocean views.
Arriving back at camp and with not much to do, we opted for a late afternoon game of table tennis, which Linda won easily.
Game 6: 8-21, 14-21 (Linda 3-2)
That was about it for today, it was mostly a lazy day.
Monday, May 15th – (Day 39)
The weather looked a lot nicer today so we planned to explore a different part of Albany – the historic area. But first was a morning game of table tennis which Linda had another comprehensive victory:
Game 7: 13-21, 11-21 (Linda 4-2)
Today was also the day we made a new friend – a little bird we named Dolphin. He was a little guy who lived in the tree next to our window who spent the day looking at his reflection in the window, and flying around from leaf to leaf.
Now off for our walking tour! First up was the old gaol which was built in the 1820s and looked to be a pretty grim place. The guy behind the desk told us a little about the area, including Albany being the oldest town in WA, as well as being home to the oldest street and oldest house in WA.
So after that we decided to go for a tour of the oldest house which was pretty cool. Next was a stop for lunch at Fredericks Cafe which was beautiful. Then after lunch we continued our walk around the historic area.
Adam sailing the Brig Amity 
Apparently the oldest house in WA
The next stop was the Brig Amity which was the 1820s ship that discovered the area 200yrs ago and near there was some old historic school and a museum about the Bush Mechanics (who we’d never heard of…).
To finish with we went for a drive up the Mount Melville Lookout Tower which had incredible views of the city. We grabbed some tea on the way home and watched the 8th episode of Succession and that was it for another day.
Tuesday, May 16th – (Day 40)
With the weather now fining up, we were enjoying Albany a lot more. Our plan today was to chill out around the park until lunchtime and enjoy some sun. We were up nice and early thanks to Dolphin!
He was tapping away at the window around 6am and if it weren’t for him being so damn cute, we would probably be annoyed.
After lunch we went for a walk to the National Anzac Centre that was at the top of the hill we walked up on Sunday. We had to go up some weird sandy bush walk to get to the top. I think this is normally a place you have to drive too because the walking tracks seemed to be pretty rough.
Anyway, we kid of just stumbled our way to the top which was some back entrance to the area. There was this awesome lookout which gave perfect views of where the Anzac soldiers left from for WW1 back in 1914.
Then we went for a walk around some old barracks area and fort which was to do with WW2. The Anzac Centre itself is a tribute to the soldiers which tells the tales of about 100 soldiers who went off to war.
We were both given a card each with a soldiers name and photo and along the way in the museum you could scan it and learn more about the soldier. Linda’s soldier survived and lived to 100yo and also became an author of about 30 books. Meanwhile mine died at war when he was 26yo, his name was Jack Dunn.
After the museum we walked back home a different way, through the expensive houses. I shudder to think at what these houses would be worth, with amazing views of the city and ocean.
When we got back, we placed a Coles Click & Collect order for tomorrow, then drove to the nearby Woolworths to get some tea and snacks for tonight. We saw a creep in the laundromat where the car was parked as well. The rest of the afternoon and even was spent back at the park.
Wednesday, May 17th – (Day 41)
Our last day in Albany! Fortunately this was the nicest day of the week so far. We awoke early to watch the NBA Draft Lottery (Spurs got the top pick) then watched the first match of the Conference Finals, which the Nuggets won.
After those festivities we went for a swim at the beach. This was the crystal blue water near where we walked the other day and which also had the platoon in the middle. Adam spent a while swimming, before we then decided to go for a drive to The Gap which was a highly rated spot.
The Gap was unreal. It’s a granite cliff that used to be connected to Antarctica years ago, and now has the wild sea crashing into it every few seconds. Over millions of years it has created a pretty amazing natural bridge and they have built a viewing platform for it.
After that we went to the nearby Cable Beach Lookout, then just up the road was some blowholes which was a lovely 15 minute or so walk to get to. With our exploring now done, it was time to go and pickup our Coles food order and grab some fuel.
When we got back we went to the Hybla bar again to have some beers and play card games. This was a pretty cool little bar which had a nice ambience. Next we went for our final game of table tennis which Linda cleanswept yet again.
Game 8: 14-21, 19-21 (Linda 5-2)
Like the previous couple of days, we admired our new friend Dolphin as he flew around next to our window. Then we spent our final night enjoying the warmth and then packed up some of our stuff ready for our next adventure tomorrow. Off to Denmark!
