Albany and its surrounds

Campground: Torbay Inlet
Facilities: Toilet, Bins.
Good stuff: A modern toilet, nice little secluded campsite close to Albany.
Not so good stuff: Filled with backpacker travellers who like to stay up way too late whilst making lots of noise…
Price: Free

Our time in Albany and its surrounds was varied, from wandering around the town itself to checking out the nearby national parks. Margaret went in for her service and thankfully there was wrong with the gearbox and the oil was changed so she should be a smoother drive from here.

Whilst Margaret was getting a lookover we checked out what Albany had to offer. Heading down towards the sea there is the ANZAC Peace Park. When you walk around it is sobering to think that this was the last glimpse of Australian soil that many of the troops saw before heading off to fight in WW1, never to return home. It has the perfect blend of tranquillity mixed in with signs informing you of the timeline and history leading up to the soldiers’ departure making it a nice place for quiet reflection. There is the tourist information centre close to the park so we picked up a few pamphlets. There is also a drinking water tap available to refill your supplies if need be. We set off on the historical walk, pamphlet in hand, to learn about Albany’s historic buildings. They are a bit of a miss mash… A mix of 19^th century architecture, modern 1960’s (maybe?) Aussie architecture and your odd random Tudor style building – weird! The walk takes you via Albany’s museums and they are reasonably priced. We on the other hand were a little overly eager with the walk so they were closed when we passed them.

Free hot showers in the centre! 

Brig Amity Replica

Funky archway to the Albany Courthouse.

The next stop was Torndirrup NP located south of Albany and yes it is worth a visit. We spent the day checking this place out and it swayed out view of WA, as a whole, with the stunning scenery it had to offer. First we checked out the Blowholes… To sum it up it is a crack in the granite headland that sounds like a whale. Rather cool. However follow the warning signs and don’t get too close, Kyle got a face full of spray and that was on a mild day (there’s always one isn’t there?). If it were a heaving swell the force expelled would have been massive. The walk is on a well-marked footpath and is a little hilly on the way back to the car but not too bad for most. It was then time to check out the Salmon Holes lookout. A stunning beach with a massive granite headland but be warned, the waves can come crashing in at times and people have been swept off the rocks. Not only that, it was a hotspot for the fisherman with over a dozen people lined up with their surf fishing gear- ours on the other hand was not quite suited to the occasion (its not all about size…). To top off the quick rundown on the lookouts in the NP we went to Stony Hill that has evolved from a flagpole/lookout point in WW1 to a full on Radar Station in WW2. It is a lovely walk and you get to see essentially a 360 degree view of the area!

Yet again more beautiful beaches

Salmon Holes Lookout- look at the tiny people!

Now it was time for a walk, to Peak Head, with a brisk wind in the air we layered up with coats and Liz even had her down jacket out. We later found out that this was a mistake! The walk goes from downhill, trying not to trip over roots in the sand; to relatively steep sand and then next thing you know there is a granite headland. Well maybe not quite as easy as that… To get to the summit you have to do a bit of scrambling on a small steep granite face and yes Liz did have a mini freak out moment, which happens when she is faced with this kind of occasion… One thing to note is where there is a big midden ring and a post further up when you first start walking on the granite leading you to the footpath; this is where we went into exploration mode by accident… The rest of the walk to the top of the Peak Head is relatively easy and the views are spectacular. When we were there it felt like our Britishness was shining through. Clouds became more abundant and the sun decided to hide for the perfect photo opportunities. That was until we had left and were half way back to the car when the sun decided to be glorious again. Our lack of exercise since Brisbane, and the steepness of the hill, made the back to the car walk a sweaty and out of breath experience. Liz as per usual came up with excuses as to why she wasn’t as fit as she normally is… 

Heading towards Peak Head

Some of the other stop offs that we went to were Cape West Howe NP, Gull Rock NP and the scenic drive in Albany that runs around some great lookout points along the coastline. If you happen to be in Albany for lunch take a short drive to the marina at Emu Point where you can have some delicious fresh fish and chips at the Squid Shack. Greasy goodness! This area in general is rather pretty but it depends how much of a beach babe you are as to how long you would want to stick around after checking out the walks and lookout points.

Albany Wind Farm

Shelley Beach Lookout: Cape West Howe NP

Gull Rock NP 

Our last day trip for our extended Easter weekend in Albany was to head up to Porongurup NP. This is one of those entry fee applicable NP so we got to use our Annual Pass Fee for the first time. The most popular attraction is head up to the Granite Sky Walk. It was only 4.2km but the ascent is a steep one. If you are comfortable with climbing over a few rocks/ using some grab rails/ going up a small ladder you can check out the scenery at the top of Castle Rock. Again, it is well worth it for the view at the end. Even on a cloudy day like ours it was pretty though watch out, as it can get a little slippy when wet.

Porongurup NP

Our last point to mention is about the campsite at Torbay Inlet itself. Although it’s a lovely setting by the inlet with great little camping areas and a decent toilet - this place, for us, wasn’t as enjoyable as some (or at all). It seemed to be the young travellers’ home, which is not an issue, but during our time here it was like the equivalent of being around Byron/Airlie beach. For us it was the first time that we felt out of place - looks like we will be the “going grey” nomads soon!