Big boats and brilliant seas

Today was an opportunity to cycle the local sights before the wind picked up, with 70kms gust forecast for tomorrow.  We took our time getting started, enjoying some more of the Top Shed sourdough toasted - this time with Vegemite, thoughtfully provided by our Airbnb hostess.

We took the hills into the Main Street to find Bred Co Sourdough bakery to source some morning tea and lunch supplies.  The Main Street was incredibly busy - with heaps of traffic and even more people.  We passed a little market that we returned to after our visit to Bred - with its excellent selection of pastries and lunch options, and a quick detour to try on bike helmets at the bike shop next store.  As we walked our bikes past the tourist information centre we commented on the mass of people and the number of volunteer ambassadors offering tourism assistance.  It was hard to believe that this was typical of a Monday in Albany. 

We stopped in front of the Munda Biddi Trail Southern Terminus and debated whether we could legitimately take our photo there, given that we had cycled so little of it.  In the end, we decided to do so, and a kind couple offered to take our photo.  The guy who took our photo professed to being a keen cyclist and asked questions about our bikes. 

The market had nothing much to offer so we were soon heading away from the bustle of the Main Street and retracing our route from yesterday around Princess Royal Harbour and picking up the cycle path that hugged the bay.  I stopped for a few moments to admire the black swans as we headed  towards Torndirrup National Park.  We turned off at Quaranup Road towards Camp Quaranup and the Isolation Hospital site.  We pulled off the road to look back over the Harbour before continuing on to Whaling Cove - and found the perfect spot for morning tea (even though it was after 12 by this time). We enjoyed our coffee and pastries overlooking the stunning beach of Whaling cove.

This was as far was we could cycle as it became a private road. It was a shame that we didn’t have time to do the 5km walk around Uredale Point Heritage trail.  I covered the first 100 metres or so as I tried to find the best route down to the beach and it would have been an amazing walk - a good reason to come back again! i turned back when I realised that there was a more direct route, and took that path down to the even more beautiful Fishermans beach

We needed to get a move on as we still had some distance to cover to our lunch destination at Albany’s Historic Whaling Station. The route was undulating and we could feel the wind picking up, but made good time and were soon settled into the most perfect picnic spot with views across to the Whaling station and the beautiful surrounding beaches. 

We spent an hour or so exploring the Whaling station, including time on the Cheynes IV Whale Chaser, one of the original whaling boats that had lots of interesting information about the operations of the whaling boat and the people who worked on it.  There were three old oil storage tanks that had been converted into exhibitions, including one that followed the timeline of all those who had worked in the whaling industry and a little about their lives and exploits.  There was also a hut with the original spotter plane and another with whale skeletons and artefacts.  We could have lingered longer but the wind was picking up and we had a big climb to look forward to.

Fortunately the climb wasn’t as bad as we had feared and we stopped briefly at Jimmy Newells Harbour, a small protected harbour named after the fisherman driven into it by a sudden southern squall.  Amazingly the wind seemed to be behind us for the rest of the journey and we made quick time back into Albany, stopping briefly to admire the shoe tree. 

As we wanted to stop at the IGA for dinner provisions, we stuck to the main road and were buffeted by the winds and the road trains as they barrelled past.  It was a relief to reach the Brig Amity (not actually a ship or a boat) a replica of the brig that was used to transport the party which established the first British settlement in Western Australia.  Nearby we could see the enormous cruise ship that explained all the people in town!

After a quick stop at the IGA we were soon back at our accommodation ready for a quiet night in.