Being without transport was a new experience - we'd forgotten just how much we rely on "wheels". On Saturday, we had more fresh air & exercise than usual - we walked to the local food shop for supplies & carried our shopping back to the caravan. Fortunately, the weather was good.
The caravan park has an enclosed area, which we hadn't noticed before - it houses five kangaroos, an emu, some chickens & some ducks. We also enjoyed looking at people's gardens, which were bright with spring flowers. We miss so much when we drive everywhere.
Sunday was a quiet day, catching up with chores, having a brief walk & then relaxing.
On Monday, we got the car back! We had developed a bit of "cabin fever" & so we immediately went for a short drive. The car behaved well but we decided to stay in Albany for an extra day & give it a more severe test before continuing with our big trip.
On Tuesday morning, we set off for Porongurup, a very pretty area about 40km from Albany. Initially, we drove through gentle hills that provided grazing for sheep & cattle. Large areas were also wooded & strewn with wildflowers.
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| Middleton Beach Albany |
As we began the tourist drive, wineries became prevalent & the Stirling Ranges loomed large in the distance. Grass trees mingled with the gums & lovely homes nestled amongst the hills & woods.
We entered the Porongurup National Park & began our tour with a little walk to the "Tree-in-the-Rock Rest Area". It was aptly named for there was, indeed, a large tree growing out from the centre of a huge rock.
Much of our drive was steep & on an unsealed road that took us through wooded & rocky terrain, where high granite peaks showed through the trees. When we came upon clearings, the views beyond were stunning, revealing beautiful green valleys with vine-covered slopes. The flowers continued to delight us, as did the kookaburras that we heard as we drove along. What an idyllic area - it felt a million miles from taxes, mobile phones, political correctness & other such irritants!
As we sat in the woods, eating our sandwiches, with nothing more than a little blue wren to disturb us, I was almost able to understand why some people choose to become hermits. Only the arrival of a rather raucous red-tailed black cockatoo prevented our peace from being perfect!
Down a wonderful unmade road, called "Mira Flores", where all kinds of flowers grew profusely, a very large kangaroo suddenly appeared infront of us. Frustratingly, the camera shut down, as the battery needed charging (strange really, as someone had assured me that it would be OK). The kangaroo had escaped from being locked forever in the "My Pictures" section of our computer!
A few bob-tail skinks ran the gauntlet as they made their arduous treks across the road - one poor thing had already gone to the 'Great Reptile Centre in the Sky' but the others made it to the opposite verge. Why do they bother to make such treacherous crossings when the two sides of the road appear so similar?
We stopped at "Duke's Winery" to check on the quality of the wine & were tempted by a Shiraz for Bob & a fresh-tasting rose for me (can't persuade the computer to add an acute accent - can anyone tell me how to do that?)
We'd had a great day, in a beautiful area, & wished we could have explored it further. However, we needed to stock up the larder for tomorrow's journey & make preparations for our departure. Albany is a very attractive town, with picturesque scenery around it, & one that we would be more than happy to visit again.
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