Cosy corner was our base whilst visiting Albany. We went for some great drives and stopped off at attractions such as Dog Rock - a rock which looked like a dogs head, salmon holes - an area on the coast which Josh had read about in his fishing book being a great place to catch salmon, however, what the book didn't say was that 14 people had been killed here, so we gave this fishing spot a miss. We also visited the blowholes which made a unexpected howling noise through the cracks in the rocks surprising us all.
Bluff Knoll - the highest peak in South Western Australia. Nick and I climbed it last time we were here, and Nick wanted to climb it again. We set out to the Stirling ranges on a 32*c day packed with a supply of water, snacks and first aid kit. As we arrived at base of the mountain the 3 younger kids were a little apprehensive about their climb ahead. We started off with the kids knowing that if they made it to the top and back without complaining there would be the reward of a cold coke back at the car. Although the hike took us a good 2 hours to walk up the steep 3.2km mountain and an hour to walk back we did all make it. Matt enjoyed watching the wedge tail eagles circling around when we were at the peak, Abbey counted the dams she could see below, Josh piggybacked Abbey some of the way, and Zach kept walking at the thought of a coke and lollypop. Within the last 500m I stepped awkwardly on a step and rolled my ankle, thankfully it was the last bit of the walk.
The Albany wind farm was amazing, the turbines produce enough energy to supply half of Albany's population with electricity. Standing underneath one listening to the propellors whirling around sounding like a aeroplane gave you a great perspective of how large they really are. Although the kids were reluctant to do a walk (still recovering from Bluff Knoll) we did do a loop around the wind farm which had information boards about the seasons of the Indigenous people. They have six seasons according to the food availability and temperature. And the information boards discussed each season in detail, which we all enjoyed learning about, leading to discussions about our own seasons.
On one of our drives we stopped in a boutique distillery. Nick thoroughly enjoyed sampling the whiskeys which had a starting price of $200 per bottle. During the sampling the kids went exploring outside. Abbey came running in and in her loudest possible voice announced to us all (including a very stylish older couple) "Mum, Dad you should come and see the goats they have the hugest balls you have ever seen". I think Nick almost choked on his scotch and I tried to encourage her to speak quietly only resulting in Abbey yelling louder and demonstrating with her hands the size of the goats balls.....kids!!!!
The whale centre was interesting to visit. We were able to climb on board the Cheynes IV whaling ship, which Zach particularly found a bit disturbing seeing how they killed whales. There were some interesting movies in theatrettes which were once the silos for holding oil, a museum with whale bones, and a tour. It was an interesting experience leaving us feeling upset at all the loss of whales but also intrigued by the industry. Abbey later told someone "I feel stressed and upset because the whales got killed and chopped up and put into the holes and cooked". There was also a small wildlife sanctuary there, and Zach thought this was the best. There were spotted quolls, white wallabies, tawny frogmouths, koalas, a big fat friendly wombat and quokkas. Zach decided that he wanted a "zoo" like this one, Abbey asked if she could help him look after the animals, and Matt asked if he could get in for free.
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