This morning Amy and I got up early and drove to the water nearby the hostel where the sky was the most gorgeous colour all purples and yellows. We walked along the pier and spent a few minutes just taking in the fresh start to the day.

Then we drove to the Valley of the Giants tree top walk where we thought the Swarbrick Art Loop was too…we were too early however as it hadn’t opened yet so we went back to Walpole for petrol and a coffee.

At 9am we headed back to the tree top walk which was pretty cool. At it’s highest point it was 40m from the ground. We were above the trees and could see just how long the trunks were it was pretty impressive.

Then we went on the “Ancient Empire walk” – a walk through the forest that shows you some of the oldest trees with a small written commentary. The most distinctive tree was the Red Tingle tree, which had huge wide trunks, with hollows at the bottom from insects and bacteria. Some were so hollow you could practically stand inside it! There was a Grandma Tingle, predicted to be about 400 years old, that looked like it had the face of an old lady watching over the forest. Very cool!

When we asked the staff there where the Swarbrick loop was, we were told it was back near Walpole!! oops! Very annoying as we could’ve done it at 7.15am as planned!! As we had already driven to and from Walpole twice today and needed to be making our way to Albany, we decided we would have to leave it behind us 🙁

Nevermind, we made the most of the extra time on the journey to Albany! First stop was a fudge factory, where we tried different flavoured fudge, preserves and cider – yummyyyy!

Then we stopped in a place called Denmark where we visited the Green Pools, Elephant Rocks and took a very quick glimpse at Madfish Bay.

The Green Pools were beautiful, such clear water and such a gorgeous turquoise-green colour! The Elephant Rocks were equally impressive! I couldn’t believe how much a group of natural rocks looked like a herd of elephants! Amy and I walked down to the beach near the rocks where you had to walk on the sand thorough a gap between two rocks…the tide was pulling in and out meaning we (stupidly wearing heeled boots) had to tactically run past when the water flowed out!

Then it was onwards again! Our next stop was at a cheese farm and winery, after doing some wine tasting of course, we bought cheese and a white Reisling wine for later – very tasty!!

As we continued our journey, Amy pointed out two beautiful rainbow lorokeets on the side of the road, I watched as they flew off together! Once again Australia your wildlife amazes me!

Our final stop before Albany was at a bushfoods factory, where they sold products all made from native Australian ingredients like lemon myrtle and Davidson’s plum. We tried a plum jam which was delicious!!

Then we drove the last half an hour to Albany. We fired popped into the discovery centre to get a map and check if there was anything particularly worth doing there.

Then we headed to the natural rock forms. However at this point I realised I had left my phone somewhere!! After a crazy rush and a lot of stress I got it back from the discovery centre! Thank goodness!!

Attempt 2 at seeing some natural rock formations! First stop – the blow holes. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t bad enough, so the holes weren’t blowing but they were still very noisy!!

Then we headed to see the Natural Bridge and The Gap. These were both really cool, created by water erosion. I think the photos will illustrate it better than I can explain them to you!

We then drove to our accomodation and checked in to the Albany Backpackers. This was the most backpacker accommodation we had stayed in not just budget – there were two kitchens, a heap of communal rooms, a laundry room and multiple floors and areas! Definite maze! Our room was ok it was a private twin again with a bunk bed inside. The walls of the hostel were painted by people who stayed there. Our room had a poem by the girl who painted it written on the door. She stayed there in 1997. It was quite cute.

It was at this point Amy realised she had left her $100 hat in the lodge in Walpole!! Oh dearrr! So after a call to the lodge and some logistical discussions, we decided we would leave super early tomorrow and drive back to Perth via Walpole (an additional 1 hour 40 journey time). We then relaxed and ate our cheese, salami and crackers with wine.

We went for an early dinner to an Italian restaurant. I had a penne bolognaise which was huge and pretty tasty 🙂

Well we have a very early start tomorrow so I will be heading to bed shortly!! Night!