Trip to Albany and Denmark - Labour Day Long Weekend

Feb. 28 - Mar. 3

Labour Day came early for us this year because it is in March in Australia. We took advantage of the long weekend and headed to the south coast! Suzie was even able to take the Friday off work to give us a 4 day weekend.

We started Friday off by going to the kids school (Charthouse Primary) for the first assembly of the year.  The assembly took place in the "undercover" which is basically an outdoor gymnasium with only a roof.  It was a sea of blue as the 650 students all wearing their school uniforms crammed in.  Around the outside were teachers, parents, and grandparents.  It really was quite a crowd!  Noah was receiving a Certificate of Merit Award for "an impressive start to Year 7 ... working with a positive attitude and displaying fantastic organizational skills."  We were very happy for him, and frankly a bit shocked because Noah isn't normally known for his organizational skills. As a parent, it is reassuring to know that your children act a certain way in public when you are not around, even if they don't always act the same way at home.  We were very proud of him, and Ellise too because both kids have made a great transition into their new school and are doing very well.

After Noah received his award, we snuck out of the assembly early and headed south to Albany. Along the way, we stopped at the Serpentine Dam. We hiked around for a bit, and had the whole place to ourselves, which was pretty cool.  It was very scenic.  A great place to stretch the legs.

We had a nice picnic lunch in a riverside park in Williams Town, and then stopped in Kojanup at the Kodji Place Aboriginal Centre.  We toured the Rose Maze which featured an historical journey of the Aboriginal people of the area.  Inside there were other exhibits and air conditioning, so we spent some time here to cool off.

Wall Mural of Aboriginal artwork. 

Aboriginal hunting weapons.

The kids at the meeting place, where important discussions were held.

We had a fantastic drive down and our next stop was at the Granite Sky Walk on Castle Rock near Mount Barker. It was a steep hike up to the mountain top which has a steel walkway precariously bolted to the stone peak. It wasn't that high of the mountain, but it sure seemed like it when we were standing on the cliff edge in the wind and looking down with nothing underneath us for hundreds of feet.

 Noah on the Granite Skywalk (above and below)

Noah climbing the 7m ladder up to the Granite Skywalk.

This trip was especially fun because we met up with our fellow Exchangee's, Sean and Krysten Rennie (from Collingwood, Ontario). Along with their two sons, Matthew and Kade, the two families always have a great time together. 

A popular swimming spot called "Green's Pool".

Beach at Green's Pool

Elephant Rocks

Boogie Boarding at Ocean Beach.
The premier surfing beach in the area.

Noah riding the waves.

The waves may not look like much here but they were plenty strong enough for a nice long ride into shore.  The bigger waves were breaking out a bit further where the surfers were hanging out.

After hangin ten, and it was time to find some food.  We met up with another couple the Rennie's knew, and we all had ‘take away’ fish and chips down at Middleton Beach.  It was greasy, but delicious.


Sunday morning found us heading to Torndirrup National Park to do some more hiking and 
sight seeing.

"The Gap"

"The Natural Bridge"
(Rogue waves have been known to sweep tourists right out into the ocean if they stand on the bridge-

no thanks!)

Georgeous coastline scenery along WA's south coast.

Just east of Torndirrup N. P. was Whale World, a museum dedicated to the history of whaling in the Albany area.  It was the last whaling station operating in Australia and closed in about 1982.  

(Remember all those news reports of crazy Green Peace activists on little aluminum boats risking their lives? This is it!) 

It was a very somber and gruesome tour, leaving you wondering why humans would do such things, but it was very informative and full of important lessons for the kids. 

Cheyenne's II Whaling Vessel.
The kids loved touring the boat, especially because there were plenty of places to hide from their parents.

Ellise in front of a Blue Whale skeleton (over 30m long).
This was actually classified a pygmy skeleton, because an actual adult Blue Whale would be
about 10 m longer, and would not have fit in the building.

More whale and dolphin skeletons.

To finish off the day we drove to a very secluded beach quite a long way from civilization. It turned out to be well worth the drive; the body surfing waves were amazing and the stunning turquoise blue water was brilliant!

Ellise enjoying the white sand at "Little Beach".

Wayne's board was sucked out from underneath him on the biggest wave of the day (about 2m) and was thrown onto the sand bottom. OUCH!  But you can tell from the smile that it was worth it!  
The best boogie boarding yet!

All knees lost some skin when the waves took us right into the beach!

We swam at Little Beach until nearly dark and then braved the drive into the Kangaroo-Zone as we headed into the country to have dinner with The Rennie’s friends and some of their family. Along the way, we came across several kangaroos along the road.  Fortunately we didn't hit any.  The house was on a cattle farm with great home cooked food, and friends that treated us like family!  It was a great night!

The entrance to the farm.

New friends.

On our way back home on Monday, we made a few more stops at some secluded beaches and the Walpole Tree-Top Walk through the Valley of the Giants, an ancient forest with towering Tingle Trees.  The walk was a series of suspension walkways that raised 40m above the ground.  The views were great, but very unsettling for those with a fear of heights, especially when the bridge kept swaying under your feet.  Noah sprinted ahead with Kade and Matthew undaunted, while Ellise and I held back with sweaty palms and made our way along very cautiously trying not to make the bridge move 

underneath us.

Once we got back down on solid ground, we toured the Valley of the Giants on a beautiful walking track amongst the enormous trees giving you a new perspective of how big these trees really are.  

Noah, Kade and Matthew climb into the tree tops.

40m above the ground, in the canopy of the tree tops.

Ellise putting on a brave face.  This was not her favourite experience.

A lot of the trees were hollowed out at the bottom.  It's a wonder how they are still standing.

Where's Noah?
Like Where's Waldo, Noah liked hiding to see if we could see him. 

Where's Noah #2?

Looking up from the ground.

The last stretch should have been a straight shot back home, at least until we went through Donnybrook and found the best playground ever!  We couldn't drive by without having the kids play for a bit.

Here is the largest outdoor playground in WA.

Wayne spinning around like a kid.

Ellise excited to try out the new playground.

The park in action. 

If it hadn't been for the sun setting, and still having a 2 hour drive to go, we would have stayed longer. We also were getting very hungry, and every town that we went through seemed like a ghost town because absolutely everything was closed, so we couldn't find any dinner.  We managed to get to Bunbury just as Subway was closing, so we pleaded our case and told them that we would take whatever they had left, because by that time we were desperate, and the only other thing open was Macca's and we weren't that desperate.  Fortunately we were able to get some wraps, and ate them in the car before finishing the last stretch home to Waikiki.   It was a full weekend, but full of fun and new experiences.