MARGARET RIVER to ESPERANCE via WALPOLE and ALBANY

From Margaret River we were able to visit areas south of Cape Leeuwin, down to Port Augusta and Cape Naturaliste.  The two capes are at either end of the bit of land that juts out in WA's south-west corner.  The coastal strip remains in a fairly natural state and, while hardy souls can do the seven day walk from one Cape to the other, we contented ourselves with walking bits of the track from various locations.



Margaret River alongside our picnic lunch spot



At the southern end is Cape Naturaliste:


Cape Naturaliste with Indian Ocean on the right (west) and Southern Ocean on the left (east)

On the drive between Margaret River and Walpole, we took a detour to check out one of the last remaining remnants of Tuart Forest  - very little left in this area.

WALPOLE

The main attraction of the small town of Walpole was its proximity to the Giant Tingle Forest and, a little further down the road, the 'Valley of the Giants' and the tree top walk amongst the giants.  Our camp ground turned out to be in a delightful bush setting with kangaroos wandering about and a view of the ocean.





Karri tree

Base of giant Tingle tree

And, as always, the flowers:

One day we did the  tree top walk which allows you to get nearer the canopy.

At Circular Pool:

Coastal flowers:



ALBANY

Albany was lovely, placed at a site of natural beauty.  Hills run straight down to the harbour with its many bays, coves and small islands.  It was the first European settlement in WA in 1829, three years before the Swan River Colony was established.

There is a military museum at the old fort, dating back to the 1890s, on top of a hill overlooking the bay.  It was in Albany Harbour - King George Sound to be precise - that the Anzac fleet was assembled before sailing off to the Middle East and World War 1.  We didn't realise that so many ships were involved - I counted more than 30 on one diagram.  On the hill, in various sections, are items of equipment from the various wars and branches of the defence force.

A tour of the old whaling station about 20 kms west of Albany was surprisingly interesting, though also horrifying.  It only closed down in 1978.  According to our guide, after years of protests, Green Peace came in and shut it down and that was that.  I recollect that a novel of Tim Winton's (was it Shallows?) re-created the goriness of the operations at this station.

Whaling ship

Further west along the coast, the wind farm supplies 80% of Albany's electricity requirements.



ESPERANCE

In contrst to Albany, the next largest town on the south coast, Esperance, is fairly flat, though there are fine views to had from a hill top lookout just west of the town.

Looking out over the Bay of Islands:

In December, 1792 two French ships, Recherche and Esperence took shelter in the lee of Observatory Island:



Observatory Island



East of Esperance, Cape le Grand National Park consists of low hills, granite outcrops and coastal heathland.  The coastline here is just gorgeous - white sand, torquoise water and the ever present flowering shrubbery.