Albany

Tuesday the 10th of November we pushed on to Albany. It is quite a big town. We stayed out at the Big 4 at Emu Point. The water is so crystal clear on this south coast and it is another place that would be good to stay at for longer in warmer weather. Views around Emu Point.

We went into town and checked out the CBD.We then had a look at the historical precinct. Firstly there was the ship, Ámity', which is a replica of the ship that was sailed to Albany by Major Edmund Lockyer in 1826, I think it was, where he established a settlement. It was interesting having a look at this replica and seeing how things were done. We then went into the Albany Museum.

Next morning we went to the whaling station where saw the grizzly and sad history of whaling in Australia. We were blown away by the size of the skeletons of the Blue Whale. Apparently that was not a big one.

As happens occasionaly we ran into a couple who we met months earlier on our trip. It would have been about late May that we met them at the Temple Bar Van Park in Alice Springs, about six weeks into our trip. It is incredible when you think about it how it happens. They are on a similar trek to us but they went to other spots as we did, and yet we then meet up in the same place at the same time. We had a good chat to them and will no doubt see them again somewhere.

After the whaling station we went to Heritage Park where the Australian ANZAC Centre is located. Apart from the centre there are several buildings, big guns and gun emplacements that was set up around 1890 for defence of the area. In the buildings there are photos and stories of the World War 1 and 11 diggers. It was very moving and a lady who had been into the ANZAC Centre said it was overwhelming. I did not go in for that reason. It was emotional enough just reading some of the stories of the diggers.

Albany was the location where the First and Second Convoys were assembled that took our WW1 diggers off to war, so many never to return. The ships assembled in King George Sound and on the hill above the ANZAC Centre there is a chart showing the position of the ships in the convoys. The views of the area speak for themselves. The first two photos shows Emu Point where we were staying, just this side of the channel entrance.