As we went back over our photos from our trip, we realized we didn't do much between Esperance and Albany. Our photos for December 9th start with our arrival in Albany.
Albany is the oldest colonial settlement in Western Australia, predating Perth and Fremantle by over two years. The Albany settlement was founded on December 26, 1826, as a military outpost as part of a plan to forestall French colonial ambitions in the region.
During the last decade of the 19th century, Albany served as a gateway to the Eastern Goldfields. For many years, it was the colony's only deep-water port, having a place of eminence on shipping services between Britain and its Australian colonies.
Today as a city it is the southern terminus for tourism in the region, which is known for its natural beauty and preservation of heritage sites. The town has a role in the ANZAC legend, being the last port of call for troopships departing Australia in the First World War. An auxiliary submarine base for the US Navy's 7th Fleet was also developed in Albany during the Second World War.
After stopping at the Visitors Center, we learned that Albany has a number of bike paths. We picked up information on bike rentals and returned to our bed and breakfast. The little balcony on the left hand side of the building leads to our room.
December 10th dawned bright and clear. We woke early and walked into the local restaurant sector to grab a latte and proceeded on our coffee walk. We made a stop at "Church Rock" to pay our respects before heading back to the B&B for breakfast.
We packed up the car and drove down to Middleton Beach to pick up our bikes. The bike trail parallels the beach from Middleton Beach to Emu Point. The first part of the trail twists and turns through a coastal forest.
We soon broke out of the forest into the dunes.
We had great views back toward Albany.
With such beautiful weather, it didn't take long for the beach to begin to fill up.
After riding the trail out to Emu Point and back, we decided to pedal up the hill overlooking Middleton Beach to get a better view.
After days and days of driving, it felt great to get outside and get some exercise.
The morning went by too quickly. Before we knew it, we were returning our bikes and starting our drive to Margaret River. We were only on the road about hour before we were hungry for lunch. We got lucky and found a wonderful little wine bar and tapas restaurant right on our route.
The rest of the day found us driving through a series of national parks and forests protecting the Karri forest, a tall open forest of Eucalyptus diversicolor, one of the tallest hardwoods in the world. It was a hot sunny day, so driving through the tall trees was very pleasant.
Time to relax and prepare for another day of adventure around Margaret River!
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