Albany
28 - 30 November 2022
On Tuesday we visited the Anzac Memorial We got several recommendations to be sure to see the Anzac Memorial. Anzac stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corp. On November 1st, 1914 2 convoys of ships left Albany WA carrying 41,265 men and women (and roughly 6000 horses) to fight in WW1. Only a third of the people and maybe 5 of the horses returned.
On a lighter note, Anthony and Julie went to the memorial intending to only spend maybe an hour or so there. As we were putting sunscreen on, an older gentlemen came over and told us his tour was starting in 3 minutes and we would not want to miss it. So we joined Brian’s tour, which took 2 hours. Very interesting, and he had many stories to tell about the guns and such. He reminded Julie of Anthony’s dad, Charles. We went back to the memorial the next day to visit the museum, since we did not have a chance to do it Tuesday. You get a card representing a person in the convoy, learn all about the horrors of Gallipoli, Africa and the Western Front, and find out if your person made it home or not. Julie pretty much cried through the whole thing. It was VERY WELL done, and we would highly recommend it to anybody.
Next we drove to the Valley of the Giants. Anthony and Julie had read about this place in Bill Bryson’s book about Australia (A Sunburnt Country) and wanted to make sure we saw it. It was awesome. The platforms took us 40 m (120 ft) into the canopy of the Tingle trees. It was a bit windy, so the platforms and walkways were swaying a bit.
On Brian’s recommendation, we drove out to an overlook that included The Gap and Natural Bridge. We first walked to the Natural Bridge. The power of the waves coming under the bridge was mesmerizing. The Gap was even more dramatic. You will see what we mean when you look at the pictures.
It is so beautiful. Here are photos of the country side on the drive from Hyden.
Her are a few views from Albany harbor, outside of our hotel room.
The driving contest continued. Julie made it all the way to Albany without touching the wiper once, then JUST BEFORE getting to the hotel, she hit it instead of the blinker. Rats.
Random thoughts: WA has done a wonderful job with its tourist attractions. Julie had decided she could live in Albany.