Love To Wander - A Travel Blog

We woke early and enjoyed a hearty breaky (pronounced brekkie) at the Three Anchors in Alby. (Hey – this learning the lingo is a real breeze!).  A group of other early risers were lifting weights with big grins on their faces outside the cafe.  Middleton Beach has a net line set up for swimmers (large marine animals can’t pass through it, but small fish can) and there were half a dozen of them braving the cool morning to have a dip in the ocean.  They all came in to the cafe to warm themselves against the roaring log fire – standing in bare feet to sip on their flat whites and long blacks.  No-one opted for a London Fog (a very sweet coffee, apparently) – we didn’t try it either.

​It was interesting to see that a 3 bedroomed house the same as the one we were staying in was on the market for $299,000 AUD (about £165,000).  The news in WA this morning is that the euthanasia is on the brink of being approved by the WA government in response to public pressure.  Same sex marriage is definitely nowhere near getting to the statue books though.

We pulled in at a garage in Albany (Alby) and were surprised to find that our car was filled up for us – the garage is proud to declare that it is 100% locally staffed.  It’s a long time since that happened in the UK.  The drive to our next stop near Bremer Bay was about two and a half hours straight, so we took a short detour via the Stirling Range National Park, which allowed us to climb Buff Knoll and enjoy the panoramic views of the surrounding countryside.  The propensity to change colour through blues, reds and purples is captivating.  The Park has over 1,500 species of wildflowers with more than 100 different species of Orchids including renowned Queen of Sheba Orchids and Stirling Bells. The hike up to the Bluff Knoll (6km return 3-4 hrs) is well graded tourist track and the view from the top is spectacular.  We decided to get to the half way point (2 hours return) as we had a fair drive on gravel roads in too country ahead of us and didn’t want to risk arriving after dusk.  The path was very steep, but decorated with many pretty wildflowers – many of them white, interestingly.

Tip for Future Travellers
Many of the National Parks do not allow dogs or any other domestic animals.  They are treated with poison to deter anything that may prey on the indigenous wildlife (possums etc.).

The road passed through changing countryside as we drove past large fields of wheat en route to our next stop close to Bremer Bay.  A powder blue sky opened out before us – a sky so big you felt like you were right in the centre of the world somehow (rather than at the end of it!).  The sky was filled with whips of fluffy white clouds all around us – as if someone had spent the night tearing strips of a humungous cotton wool ball and let them go in the breeze to float away.  You just can’t do this sort of landscape justice with a single photo.  We stopped to refuel (never miss an opportunity!) at the Boxwood Hill Roadhouse – the last fuelling stop before we hit the wilderness of the Fitzgerald River National Park.  I’ve heard that Roadhouses are nicknamed a “chew and spew” here – this one didn’t serve any food though, so I suppose it wouldn’t count as one of those (unless you include mint flavoured Tim Tams, which I couldn’t resist purchasing.

Click on READ MORE (under photos) to find out what Quaaluup Homestead – our Wilderness Retreat in the Fitzgerald National Park was like and see more photos…