Denmark & Albany 30.09.2016 - 07.10.2016

We arrived in Denmark and booked in at the Ocean Beach Holiday Park for a week and with this in mind, we decided that we would set up the awning and annex on the caravan so that we could get a little more space and give the dogs more room to move about without being tied up.  As we were putting the awning and annex up, we did notice that it was a bit windy but never thought too much into it, and went to see the sights close to the caravan park.

See photos below, some you can see the dark clouds rolling in.

However, as night fell, the wind had picked up and when we woke up on Saturday morning, I went onto the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) site to see exactly what the weather was doing, and much to my horror the prediction was not good – Expected gale force winds averaging between 65 – 110 km per hour.  We decided that we would take the annex down and pull the awning in, and let me tell you it was not much fun trying to do something like this when the wind is fighting you.

We decided to go to the lookout that we visited yesterday to see what the sea was like with the pending storm and gale force winds approaching.  I think the photos below are self-explanatory.  Very windy, cold and the sea was so rough and treacherous. 

As the day progressed the weather deteriorated with the wind speeds peaking anything above 50 km/ph.  We lost power in the afternoon, but as night fell the wind gusts got worse, we were almost in a cyclonic situation, we believe the wind speed peaked over 100km/ph and it was bitterly cold.

The caravan rocked and rolled when the wind gusts would come around and this continued right through the night.  Needless to say, I was stressed to the max, never slept that night.  I was so anxious on Sunday morning that all I wanted to do was put the caravan and car on a train and fly back to Brisbane, however the reality of this is, we had to weather the storm as there was absolutely nothing we or anyone could do. 

As the weather improved slightly on Sunday morning we noticed that most of the caravaners and campers had packed up and moved on or went back home to Perth.  We looked around the caravan park and they had roughly 180 caravan sites available, but due to the bad weather there was roughly 6 caravans that remained in the park and naturally we were one of those 6 vans.

The weather was so severe that South Australia was without electricity from Saturday until roughly Monday as the major wind gusts had knocked some of the electric pylons over and shut down their windmill farms.  The south coast of WA did not fare any better as we also had no electricity or mobile phone service from Saturday afternoon until Sunday midday.  So, to try and boost our spirits we ventured out even though the weather was still quite unpleasant.  

We drove into the little town of Denmark which is a beautiful quaint little town where forests of towering trees give way to a beautiful coastline and white sandy beaches, a lot of the locals here are retirees.  

We then went to visit some local little businesses and tourist attractions which consisted of a leather factory and a chocolate factory.  We bought some much needed chocolate and a chocolate wine, then landing up at a dinosaur museum and animal sanctuary, (see the photos below).

See below, information and photos of some of the Dinosaurs that roamed the earth.

The museum was very small but it was a nice break from the caravan and wind.  They also had birds and reptiles at the sanctuary which was rather interesting.

The photo below is of a male red tail black cockatoo.

The photo below is of a female red tail black cockatoo.

The photo below is a pair of Eclectus parrots.

A monitor lizard.

Me in my element with the birds, however looking rather frazzled.

These birds were really friendly and interacted well with humans.

Bernie with his mate “Skippy” surprisingly they were very tame.

Once we had seen all that there was to see around Denmark, we then travelled to Albany which is around 56 kms east of Denmark.

Albany is a beautiful town with so much to see, on our first trip to Albany we went to Discovery Bay to visit the Historic Whaling Station, the only museum of its kind to be housed in a former whaling station.  This whaling station closed at the end of 1978 and now creates a safe port of call for the migrating humpback, southern right and blue whales.

See photos below of our very interesting visit to the whaling station.

As we entered the whaling station we went through a room full of beautiful shells kept in glass cabinets.

The last whaling ship no longer in use – Cheynes IV

Below are the blubber holding tanks.

Information of a Sperm whale captured, 

This photo shows the carcass of this sperm whale.

Information of this pygmy blue whale that beached itself, photo after this showing the carcass of this enormous whale.

Photo below of the humpback blubber

Carcasses of whales that were killed when the whaling station was working.

After our information overload on how a whaling station operated in those days, we then went on to discover the stunning and very treacherous coastline of Albany.

The whaling station was on the same road to the Torndirrup National Park, see below information on this stunning place.

At Torndirrup National Park, windswept coastal heaths give way to massive granite outcrops, sheer cliffs and steep sandy slopes and dunes. The Southern Ocean has sculpted a Natural Bridge in the coastal granites and formed The Gap, where the waves rush in and out with tremendous ferocity. The Blowholes, a crackline in the granite, 'blows' air and occasionally spray. The noise is quite impressive.

The photo below shows the granite outcrops at one of our stops.

We then went to The Blowholes see below information on them.

The Blowholes are crevasses in the granite stretching down to sea level far below. With each wave the 'holes' blow air and water up the channel and out the top creating a burst of spray and a loud droning whoosh!

The photos below show the bursts of spray from the Blowholes, and can I add the wind was so strong here that you had to be very careful when walking close to the blowholes.

Coastline views walking back from the Blowholes

Our next day of adventure we travelled back to Albany and started our sightseeing at William Bay National Park, see information below on this stunning place.

William Bay National Park in Denmark, Western Australia, is an extraordinary National Park. The centrepiece of the park is Greens Pool and Elephant Rocks where rounded granite boulders create a reef stretching a hundred metres out to sea.

Our first lot of photos are from Madfish Bay in the William Bay National Park.

Madfish Bay and Madfish Bay Beach are beautiful locations to visit on the eastern end of William Bay National Park. Madfish Beach is a secluded little beach surrounded by rock formations which offer a unique view over Wilson Head and the Denmark Community Windfarm.

At low tide, it is possible to walk directly across to the small island in Madfish Bay, but at high tide the island is completely cut off from the mainland. This island is known to house snakes. The waves at this beach come from two different directions around the island and make an incredible sight when the waves collide, especially during high-tide.

After visiting Madfish Bay we made our way to Elephant Rocks at Elephant Cove, here is some information on this stunning place.

Elephant Rocks looks exactly like a herd of elephants, paddling in the shallow waters.

These huge cracked oval boulders make a stunning sight as they gaze out upon the Great Southern Ocean.

View of the coastline as we made our way to the Elephant Rocks.

Elephant Rocks below

Bernie making his way down to Elephant Cove.

Granite boulders we had to walk through to get to Elephant Cove.

Me at Elephant Cove with all the beautiful granite boulders behind.

Selfie of the Elephant Rocks in the background.

Next stop was Greens Pool at William Bay National Park, the photos below show some of the flowers growing in the area.

Greens Pool is one of the most beautiful locations you will ever see. White sand, turquoise water, rocks jutting from beneath the water. Green’s Pool is surrounded by gradually sloping rock formations cut with small crevasses and pools.

Below photos show a panoramic view of Greens Pool, note how clear the water is.

Notice how the pool area has been created by these boulders making it a safe swimming area.

The following day we returned to Torndirrup National Park with our first stop being Cable Beach.

In the middle of the Cable Beach is a giant boulder which was lifted by the force of the waves and placed onto the stones. Looking at this boulder sitting in the middle of Cable Beach, again we were reminded of the power of the Southern Ocean.

Here are photos from this beautiful place and while we were here a Whale with her calf was swimming in these waters.  This was such a treat for us to witness.

If you look closely at this photo below you can see something in the water, unfortunately my phone camera could not zoom any closer.  

After spending a long time here watching the whale and her calf, we made our way to The Gap, here is some information on this absolutely amazing but such a treacherous natural wonder.

The Gap is an impressive rugged granite channel carved by the waves of the Great Southern Ocean crashing against the granite coastline forming a spectacular sheer drop of almost twenty-five metres.

Rainbows are frequently spotted in the spray from the ocean's torrent.

View of the Gap as we arrived showing the platform that you stand on to look down into The Gap

View below as we walked to the platform 

Photo below The Gap 

After watching the oceans ferocity at The Gap, we walked to the Natural Bridge, below some information on this natural wonder.

Natural Bridge is a granite formation that looks just like a giant rock bridge! This 'bridge' is caused by the gradual wearing away of the granite rock by the Great Southern Ocean.

The natural bridge formation is a reminder of the power of the ocean. It is incredible to watch the waves roll across the ocean, crashing into the granite cliffside and rushing under the bridge.

Scenery as we walked to the Natural Bridge.

Below The Natural Bridge.

After spending some time here, we then went to Stony Hill and once again the scenery was just as stunning, how great mother nature is to make such beauty.

Information on Stony Hill

Stony Hill has a delightful 500mtr fairly level circular walk which offers spectacular 360 degree views of Torndirrup National Park.  Stony Hill looks out over native heathland which is a popular destination in wildflower season. These stone giants stand impressively surveying the entire coast.

Bernie “On top of the world”

Scenery as we walked back to the car.

On this occasion, we were very fortunate to have clear skies that made this trip to the Torndirrup National Park absolutely stunning and us getting amazing views with beautiful scenery.

On our last trip back into Albany we went to visit The Princess Royal Fortress which is one of Australia’s best outdoor military museums and site of the National ANZAC Centre, the views from here were also stunning, however this time the weather had turned and it was rainy and overcast.

Bernie in front of the National Anzac Centre

View to the right of the entrance, overlooking the Vancouver Peninsula through to the Torndirrup National Park.

And this photo is to the left of the entrance, also overlooking the Vancouver Peninsula

This photo taken further to the left of the Military Entrance overlooking the Vancouver Peninsula

This photo taken from the footpath ramp

This is the information for the photo after this.

Here is Bernie observing the torpedoes and artillery that was used during World War 1.

The Convoy walk lists all the ANZAC convoys that gathered there before departing for World War 1.

The three photos below shows King George Sound and basically where the first convoys would have been waiting prior to departing out to sea.

Photo below of the Guard House and a close up on the Information about the Princess Royal Fortress.

Bernie standing guard duty.

The monument below is in memory of all the Anzacs.

This trip to Denmark and Albany was amazing and I don’t think that I will forget this experience for a very long time. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking and Albany is such a beautiful town situated with so many stunning natural wonders around it.

However, the experiences and weather conditions that we endured on this leg of our trip was extremely hair raising, and I have never felt so vulnerable as we did during the bad weather system that came through the lower half of Australia and stayed with us for such a long time.  It was bitterly cold with Antarctic winds, and the heavy down pour of rain.  I am very grateful that our caravan stood the test of time, and kept us safe and warm.  A joke was once said to me that these winds came straight from a polar bears bum, but I must say, this polar bear was sending us snow balls this time round.

Or next port of call was to Hopetoun and then on to Esperance.

Map of our trip