Trip to Albany Region

This past weekend was a holiday weekend for Australia. In the same way that Labor Day unofficially ends summer for the US, ANZAC (Australia New Zealand Army Corps) Day does the same for Australia. It is essentially the same as our Memorial Day. While the holiday is actually on the Saturday, Monday is a public holiday and there is no school (although it didnt help me because I already have Mondays off).

We decided to use to the long weekend to head down to the Albany region. Albany is the oldest settlement in Western Australia, beating Perth and Fremantle by three years. It was founded so that the British could claim this half of the continent, as well as become a lucritive whaling station.

Bianca, Kevin's Australian girlfriend, lives in the region and drove us the six hours down south. We arrived in Albany that night after classes on Friday, and we walked around the town at night and ate a delicious dinner. We got to see an old ship The Amity, and walk around it. We explored for a little while, including heading to the top of the mountain to see the war memorial. We stayed in this little hostel by the beach, and the five of us were in our own room.

The next day we got up early and saw a lot of the sights in Albany. We saw Emu Point, where Albany's Bay connects to the ocean, we saw the great beach Middleton Beach, and the landmark Dog Rock. After a breakfast, we headed 2 hours west to see the Tree Top Walk. It is through the tops of the Red Tingle Trees in a national park. It is very similiar to the redwood forests in California, and is one of the oldest forests in the world. We also went through a walk around the forest.

As we drove back towards Albany, we stopped in Denmark (where the forests meet the sea) and also home to the Guiness Book of World Records Largest Barometer (three stories tall).

Back in Albany, we went through the Residency Museum, and headed out to two of the most known geographic landmarks of Western Australia- The Gap, and the Natural Bridge. They are very beautiful. We also went to Whale World. We grabbed some lunch and then drove another 2.5 hours east to Jerramungup where Bianca lives.

"Jerry" has only 600 people. We spent the Saturday night at the Jerry Athletic club where we watched the footy games on TV and had a bar. It was real small town Australia.

Bianca's family is awesome and they made us a ton of great food. That next day we headed south to Bremmer Bay and saw the Main Beach and Fisheries Beach. They were really nice and had pure white sand much like Siesta Key Florida. It was a really nice side trip. When we came back we watched Aussie Rules Football on Sunday with the family and had a boys time. That night we made s'mores and watched the stars at night. It was so clear there out in the middle of nowhere and it was great.

On Monday, we went back to the club and played the sport of Lawn Bowls. It is somewhat like Bocce Ball on a large field, but the balls are curved and weighted and the field long. Its a different game, but very popular in Australia. Following that, we stopped at a park in Jerramungup, and then hit the road. In Wagin we stopped at a park and saw the Giant Ram, a sculpture 9 times the size of a real ram. We then finished the long trip home.

It was a great trip, and a very different tone than the last set of trips. The smaller group was enjoyable and made certain things easier. I am working on posting photos from all of these, so you will have to hold on.