Sixth Entry - Albany!

Sorry for the delay in getting this post up! Had a lot of photos to sort through and a bunch of actual school work. Working on the blog is a lot more fun though :) 

After a fair sized drive from Lancelin to Albany, we arrived at Emu Holiday Caravan Park. Like many of the others, this site was right next to the beach. We got in later than we anticipated so we just cooked the cans of chili and had it with rice (or the rice that managed to remain unburned). Here was the sun setting as we drove.

The next morning I woke up early as usual and went to check out the beach here. 

With rolling green hills in the background it was quite the sight to see after just waking up. When the others woke up we got in Winston and left for Torndirrup National Park to see the Gap and the Natural Bridge.

 It really seems like each place we go to just gets more and more beautiful than the last. Albany, especially Torndirrup National Park, might be the prettiest place we’ve been to. The Gap and the Natural Bridge are these massive coastal cliffs that feel like they are a setting right out of a movie. 

Make sure you click to see the enlarged version of this photo.

Pretty astounding but also eerie since apparently it is a place where people often go to kill themselves. The beauty overpowered the eeriness though. I was very brave and looked over the edge several times! No way to capture what it feels like being there and seeing the waves crashing against the rocks below you. 

Pano!

Vertical Pano!

Pano!

Another Pano!

Here's a video from the cliff top

 After the Gap and the Natural Bridge we checked out Cable Beach where there was another nice view – this one including a lighthouse. 

When on any of the cliff sites they warn of rogue waves that can occur on even the calmest of days. To get an idea of how strong this ocean is, at cable beach there is a boulder that was thrown onto shore that weighs 100 tons (220,000 pounds)! The next site we visited was the Blowholes – a rock formation where when the sea is rough enough the water is blown through. Apparently several meter swells was not rough enough so there was no spray though there were these huge bursts of air. 

Devon and Kristen were brave and stood over the hole.

 Having been up for several hours we all were getting hungry so we made some sandwiches and headed to West Cape Howe National Park. The man at the caravan site had told me about this secluded beach that was his favorite beach. This trip once again has shown off just how friendly Australians are. Every person we have encountered has just been so eager to help in anyway or chat and see where we were from. One funny encounter came while we were BBQ-ing and a somewhat intoxicated Australian started chatting with us. When he heard I was from New York he said something that sounded like, “I got a mate in New York!” And I was like “Oh wow, that’s awesome! Maybe I know him haha” To which I got a pretty strange look. He then repeated himself and this time I heard what he actually said, which was, “I got mugged in New York!” Er… not so great! Apparently he went to New York; got mugged at knife point at 7 P.M in Times Square; and on the way back to his hotel room saw a store owner run out of the shop and shoot at people with a shotgun! What!? Sounds like something out of a movie. After our makeshift lunch we headed to Shelly Beach (the one the guy recommended it.) To get there we had to drive through this forest (almost like a rainforest) and then wind down this hill. The beach was everything we could have hoped for. Felt straight out of Lost.

Pano!

 Rock boulders on either end with majestic green hills behind us and baby blue water in front. After several days packed with activities we just lazed around on the beach for the rest of the day. 

We also had a wheel barrow race, spinning contest, and gymnastics display from Kristen and Devon. 

Here is the video of our spinning contest! Think it's a pretty good music video! (Kristen and Devon decided to turn it into a fashion show at the end)

Then disaster struck! When getting back in the car Matt realized he had left the lights on and our good friend Winston was dead! Luckily, a family had pulled in to the beach and had jumper cables. “Clear!” Nothing. “Clear!” Nothing. “Clear!” Beep … beep … beep … and Winston was back from the dead! Definitely made it feel like a real adventure. Arriving back at the site we made pizzas with a stir fry veggie topping (fresh zucchini and onions and canned artichoke hearts and mushrooms.) Matt found a box of oOeos he had brought so we wolfed those down for dessert. And that’s that! Again, it’s pretty crazy that this is our last full day (writing this Saturday morning.)

Here is another video of Shelley Beach