Arriving in Albany feels a bit like a black cloud has lifted, there’s lovely wineries and big trees. We head out to see ‘the gap’ and ‘natural bridge’ which are cool but ben says on the right swell direction they’re amazing as the swell hits the rocks and shoots straight up into the air. Down the road is a walk to the blowholes, no luck here either but the walk is nice, the weather is warm and the scenery is amazing. We spot some lizards and some hairy caterpillars playing follow the leader.
On our way through town Ben had noticed a car wash and we spend $50 and an hour here trying to make the van look new again. Alila has a go with the water blaster and the pressure is so high she manages to miss the van entirely and spray the poor man next to us. He looks so mad it’s comical. The van is mostly white again and the red dirt left on the concrete is the only evidence of how dirty it was.
We check in at 3pm and although the heat of the day is disappearing we hop in our togs and head to the pool. It’s a big pool and there’s also a spa which is only tepid but we’re just so glad to be swimming. The beach is just over the dunes but the wind is whipping up the whitecaps and the kids opt for the pool. Once we’re all dried off we go to explore the playgrounds, there’s two here and a jumping pillow, it’s a kids dream.
Late in the afternoon we wander down the street along the blustery waterfront where we find a neat looking pub which just happens to have delicious food so we decide to stop for dinner and a beer. The huge glass front keeps out the salty wind so it’s pleasant sitting outside in the last of the days sunshine.
We enjoy our two nights in Albany, the girls loved watching their sandcastles get demolished by the surges of the incoming tide and spotting a bandicoot. We swam lots and April made a friend who she swam laps around. We jumped the bouncy pillow and ran around the playground for hours.
The campground was busy and so we had to move sites but we use the interlude to pop up the hill to the war museum. They have huge guns still in place and Ben enjoys seeing these, there is still one which they fire on occasions - the sound must be massive. They’ve captured an immense amount of military history here on the hill. There is a huge museum here but we skip this and do the small buildings and outside displays dotted around as the kids aren’t really into it, they’d rather unicorns and fairies over guns and war any day.
We enjoy two days of beautiful weather and then in true form of the South Coast we hear the heavy rain start in the night. We’re away at 7 to get Bens coffee and hit the road. It’s bucketing down and the road is wet but there’s no one else out so we’re making good time.
It’s still bucketing rain when we pull into a park, we hunt through the cupboards for what little wet weather gear we have. We head left at the first fork to Elephant rock, the track keeps going down, down then further down a wooden structure of stairs to the worlds smallest beach. To reach the water you pass through a passage one person wide between two giant boulders. Then we head back up a ways to loop back passed Green Pools which are unbelievably beautiful and despite the torrential downpours there’s at least ten people swimming and snorkeling at 9am. It’s tempting but the kids are wet and cold. I really wish we had a day here exploring. We’re soaked through but luckily we have dry clothes on hand and now the camper is strewn with dripping jackets, sodden tees and soggy socks.
Further on most of the roadside is browning off like Autumn but the the blackened trunks and singed ground only demonstrate the damage of huge fires which have ripped through here. We stop in Pemberton to brave the weather once more, this time it's not far from our front door to the immense Gloucester tree. This mammoth tree was used as a fire lookout and metal pins poke out to create a spiral staircase. We take turns climbing a short ways up. There’s no rules so you can climb to the top if you wish but there’s no safety harness and the rungs are wet so we don’t climb far.
A little way in the other direction is Hidden River Winery tucked in a valley of avocado trees and grape vines. We rumble slowly up the sloped driveway under the archway of trees wary of low branches, two beautiful horses stand with their backs to the rain. The food is delicious.
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