Another day rolls around , the clouds aren’t covering the sky completely , so there is some hope for some warmth from the sun today . It only got to 19 yesterday , and is forecast to be the same today , maybe get to 20 !!
Jeans and jumpers were selected based on yesterdays weather , and as it turned out , wasn’t a bad choice .
First port of call was just down the road to Naranup Beach , it’s a locality with only a few houses on Taylor Inlet . The parking area is lined with paperbarks and fine white sand , there is access to the beach for vehicles , several of which are already parked on the beach - people surfing and fishing . There was another group of school kids out for the morning , having a swim in the surf .
On the walk out to the beach , we found some cuttle shell , you would have to have a big budgerigar for this piece - they breed them big around here !! It was over 300mm long , wider than the 4wd tracks on the beach and bigger than my foot !!
Next stop was Ben Dearg Beach , in Gull Rock National Park . It’s an isolated beach , but there is vehicle access to it and wheel tracks on the beach - as most beaches in WA have . We stopped at the lookout above .
Back in the ute and around to Ledge Point beach . We parked and wandered down the track to the rocks where they fish . The view was over King George Sound to Albany , to the west to Torndirrup National Park . King George Sound is certainly a sight to behold , magnificent !! The water as normal is crystal clear and a beautiful green colour . The rocks on the edge away from the beach are multicoloured and added to the diversity .
Off toward Albany and around to Torndirrup National Park . There is a lot to see and do , several lookouts & beaches , walks both short and long - the longest being 16klm return , then there is the whaling museum , quarantine station , village of Goode Beach , The Gap and Natural Bridge . The Gap is to have a spectacular new observation deck stretching out over the cliff showing the cliff and the wild surf below - it’s opening in 2016 - sometime , but not today - it’s still closed for renovations !!
We stopped in at Goode Beach for a different view of the Sound , instead of looking at Albany , we were looking to the south and out to Flinders Peninsular .
On the way out we stopped in at Frenchman Bay and then on to Misery Beach - strange name for a beach , then on to Bald Head carpark . There are 2 walks to do here , one is the 16 klm trek , however the other is 1.6klm return .
We decided to do this one to the lookout - the sign said it was steep , it wasn’t telling fibs . Making it to the first exposed granite rock , we stopped and looked down on Salmon Holes beach .
Continuing on we crossed over the top of the hill and started going down the other side , meeting a couple coming the other way , I asked how far they’d walked , they told us about the views further down and how good it was , that tipped the scales for us , we continued on down the hill .
We found some flowers on the side of the track , some type of jasmine , after I took the photo I looked down and saw a couple of tiny white petals in a bush beside my feet and bent down for a look . It was the smallest orchid I’ve ever seen !!
The view down the track was amazing , the track zigzagging it’s way down the hill to a ridge line that was only a few metres wide . The views of King George Sound and the Southern Ocean separated by this peninsular is incredible - green waters on the left side , blue waters on the right , coastal scrub everywhere that wasn’t rock .
Bald Head was glowing in the sun, sticking out of the blue ocean .
This is the best lunch location we’ve had for a long time . It was definitely worth the hike up the hill - it was about 2klms up the track to where we walked - only about 200m was on flat ground , the rest was either up or downhill !!!
We spotted more orchids on the way back down - it was easy when you knew what you were looking at . There was another plant that looked like it was dead or dying , but was actually new growth , it also had a tiny creamy white flower .
Back to the carpark , we drove around to Salmon Holes and walked down to the steps that lead to the far end of the beach . One side of the track was green coastal scrub , the other side what was left after fires in January . It’s a very popular fishing beach - not so much the beach , but more the granite rocks on the peninsular side . There are anchor points that the fishermen can tie themselves to , so they don’t get washed away by rogue waves - the fish better be worth it !!
With that we headed back into Albany to get some internet to publish the blog - this one didn’t make it on Thursday because I hadn’t written it yet .
No comments:
Post a Comment