We set off on the Kalgan River Cruise with Jonathan, the captain. Jonathan was a very interesting character and is very passionate about the local wildlife especially the pelicans. It seems that the biggest enemy of the pelican are fishermen and he has saved many from discarded nets and fishing lines.
He has taught the pelicans to dance by spinning either left or right on command while he is cruising along. It was stunning to see a large pelican flying beside the boat while we were travelling at speed as though Jonathan was their leader.
We enjoyed many views of the Kalgan River, large brown eagles perched up high diving for the fish thrown to them, kingfishers and a wine tasting at a local winery.
As we were getting off the boat Jonathon showed us the local Black Bream which when fed act like Pirahna, the water was frothing.
Trice was has come down with some gastric thing which has slowed our adventuring down a touch. The town is a lovely place and the shop assistants are genuinely pleased to see you and go out of their way, it is just so refreshing. The town is based on it's whaling culture as well as the landing of Matthew Flinders.
There is a great historical walk around the foreshore which includes the replica Brigg Amity where you can tour using the audio tour. It was amazing to see how small it is below decks but this is where 44 sailors lived and slept along with enough supplies to get them to Australia and even horses and other livestock, where did they put them?
We saw various old buildings including Patrick Taylor Cottage, the old Prison and a museum, all very interesting.
We visited the first house built in Albany being the Old Farm on Strawberry Hill, we we expecting this to be an old strawberry farm but it was named Strawberry Hill after the name of the original village in England. Albany also boasts having the first street in Western Australia.
Middleton Beach is quite picturesque and is the start of a beach boardwalk which stretched right along the beaches of Albany. The boardwalk has many plaques of deceased residents mounted on the trusses of the raised boardwalk towards the scenic lookout.
Life must be pretty damn good here because I have never seen so many people who have lived to their late 90's.
Trice has come down with something which is preventing us from getting too far away from the van. I decided to put my Sign out for my caravan stickers and the interest was great. I ended up doing a fair few stickers which certainly filled in the time in between going to the doctor and the hospital.
When Trice started to come good we ventured out a bit further to take in the Sandlewood Factory. in our drives we came across many trucks piled high with logs, we have found where they are going.
We visited the Natural Bridge, the Blow Hole, the Wind Turbines and another walk to the top of a hill in Albany to take in the view.
The Salmon Holes were beautiful but I was intrigued by the ferocity of the water at the Natural Bridge, The Blow Hole and The Gap.
The Blow Hole looked like it was dead until I bent over it to have a look down and the rush of air and vibration of the rocks scared the heck out of me.
Little Beach at Two People Bay was outstanding with water which was so clear that when a wave was breaking you could see all the way through it, just pristine and untouched. Weather is now very comfortable during the day and still cool at night, just magic.
Shelley Beach was a nice stroll before we noticed the paragliding on top of the local outlook, so off we went. $200 for lessons and a flight but the wait was 3 hours, so we couldn't go, that is my excuse and I am sticking to it.
Off to Mutton Bird Island, the beach looked nice with plenty of people and their cars on the beach. Trice was driving so I told her to have a go, the sand looked pretty hard so I didn't bother to let air out of the tyres. It didn't take too long to dig us out and the people were very friendly, we didn't hang around.
We dropped into a distillery on the way back to have a look and sat down for a tasting. Normally $5 per nip but we were offered 3 for $10.00 which included the $500 a bottle whiskey. 3 turned into 5 and nips were more like a 3rd of a glass, it was rocket fuel.
We got to celebrate our 34 year anniversary in Albany which was nice to get dressed up a little, pop the cork on a nice bottle of MOET and enjoy a meal not cooked by us.
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