Albany and Esperance

Once again we got off early and headed for our next caravan park in Albany, it is a little way out of town but it has got very good reviews. We were given a spot next to the river and when we eventually parked and levelled the van we set off on another sight-seeing trip. Our plan was to find the "Gap" and "Natural Bridge"  the Gap, being a very new tourist attraction overlooking and overhanging magnificent cliffs. It was some way out and we passed the Whalers Station and this is a must too, if we have time!



Our shadows on the cliff side, opposite



Looking down

Natural Bridge

Our next drive took us back into town and to Mount Clarence, which is near Mount Adelaide, we will visit the National Anzac Centre tomorrow but for now here are a few views from the top of Mt Clarence. The view of the large expanse of water is St George's Sound this is where the 1st troops from New Zealand and Australia left on their journey heading for Europe and WWI.....

Monday 18 April and the weather has changed its chilly and raining. Our visit to the National Anzac Centre is a must for us and what an amazing place Western Australia has built here overlooking the Sound, its a stunning area and must see if you are ever in this area. Once in the Museum itself each person is given a large pen-like implement and a card with the picture and name of someone who served in WWI. The implement is a device that enables you to listen to all the stories of the exhibits and to find and see where your designated person went to in Europe and which boat/ship they sailed on.

 

The beautiful St George Sound

A stunning sculpture dedicated to the role of the horse in the war

 

 

 The picture above is a plaque, denoting a manufactured water flow, with the names of every soldier who travelled on these convoys, moving continuously under the water.


In the lead up to Anzac day, these men were firing a field gun every day at 1pm

Very noisy!

Oyster bay

We had a really good time here, this place is really well organised and dedicated to the terrible losses incurred in the war.
Esperance WA
Our next stop will be Esperance, a 400+km journey.
We decided to go to a farm stay site for $5 per person per night, which would be donated to the Royal Flying Doctor organisation, by our convivial host "Tom".
This man , we found to be such a charitable and pleasant Aussie bloke. He owned a pastoral property with several hundred head of cattle, which he duly butchered and sold the meat to local businesses and also us campers! Beautiful sausages and steaks!
Wednesday saw us take a long drive out to the Cape Le grande National Park where we managed to take the ute on the pristine beaches of the cape and also Lucky Bay. These areas are outstanding in their beauty and it is good to see the National Park management providing some fantastic camp sites here.

Driving onto the beach at Cape Le Grande

This is the life!

Pristine

Kangaroos on the beach at Lucky Bay

What ya doing Skip?

Our first attempt at a panoramic shot using the iphone



 We enjoyed our stay just outside Esperance, some of the people we meet on our travels are really interesting and very friendly. We met a nice guy on the farm who had the same model caravan as ours, always good to swap caravanning notes! Sadly, we had to say our goodbyes and head on towards Norseman and The Nullarbor plains.