Day 28 – Albany Perth

May 1, 2005. After a short, but good’s night sleep in the Comfort Inn in Albany we were on the road just after 8 for another day of discovery. Our objective was the village of Walpole and the “Tree Top Walk”. This is a valley full of tall mature gum trees. Across the valley they have suspended a 40 meter high walkway, so you can walk over the trees and across the valley. What a fascinating experience.

After that short stop we headed for the town of Augusta and just to the south, Cape Leeuwin. This is the point at the Southwest corner of Australia, where the Indian Ocean meets the Southern Ocean, We walked up to the century old lighthouse to enjoy the view and see the waters of the two oceans mix.

Next, we headed straight north towards the Margaret River wine region. On the way Neville stopped to show me the cathedral of trees. This is an area where the gum trees grow straight and tall. We walked a short distance into the trees to enjoy the towering view. It was totally quiet, except for the birds. Standing there watching the sunlight shine through the leaves high above us it was remarkably like being in a cathedral.

An hour later we were in Margaret River. The wineries in this region produce a wine with a distinctive character and produce some of Australia’s premier wines. We stopped at the Leeuwin Estates vineyard for a tasting. I tried two Chardonnays and they were excellent. So good, that I bought two bottle to bring home for my modest wine cellar.

We then drove the short distance to the Town of Margaret River and stopped at an Aussie pub for a late lunch. We weren’t very original; Neville had a “BLT” and I had a real hamburger and fries. They were excellent.

Now it was time to head back to Perth, so Neville wound the van up to 65 mph, put on the cruise control and we started the three hour drive back. We had great weather the two days we were away, except for the last 20 minutes or so. As we were driving past downtown Perth the rain came down and it lasted for most of the night.

After an excellent Chinese dinner and one final beer with Neville it was sleep time again.

The pictures today show me walking across the tree tops in the Valley of the Giants and Cape Leeuwin, where the Indian Ocean meets the Southern Ocean.

Stay tuned for Day 29 in my “Around the World in 30 Days” saga.

Alan Salmon
eClub One