Cruise - Day 19 - 21 Sep

We had a fantastic day in Albany today – great weather (again – we have been so blessed!), great sites and then a very special farewell as we departed...but more of that later.

We awoke this morning to the sight of land as we cruised into King George Sound, a truly beautiful natural harbour. The first passengers had disembarked by 9am and we were on our tour bus by 9.30am, setting off to enjoy the sites of Albany & its surrounds. Our bus was extremely iffy to say the least with the poor driver battling the gears every time we climbed a hill or even slight incline. We came to a complete standstill on more than one occasion mid way up a hill. The roaring of the engine was only dwarfed by the alarming hacking cough of the passenger who sat immediately in front of us. An inauspicious start to say the least!

We enjoyed our little tour of Albany which is a charming town/city of approx. 32,000 and is known, among other things as the last Australian land the ANZACs trod before they departed for Gallipoli in late 1914. There are many memorials that attest to this fact and the ANZAC Day dawn service is apparently legendary. There is also a famously dog-shaped rock, some lovely old buildings & churches, beautiful scenery, lots of wild flowers and some very friendly and welcoming inhabitants.

One of the highlights of our tour was the “Gap” and “Natural Bridge”, two well known landmarks of the rugged coastline found nearby. We had ample opportunity for photos and then headed off to “Whale World”, site of the last active whaling station in Australia. It closed in 1978 and now gives a very good depiction of the whaling industry as it was as well as some great whale conservation and general information. There were a number of exhibits, films, multi-media presentations etc. All in all it was very interesting and I'm glad we made the effort to go.

After being dropped off in town, we grabbed a quick bite to eat, wandered around the shops (OK, yes I did some shopping at a swanky boutique, egged on by Gary...promise), and then walked back to the ship which took about 25 minutes. We were back on board by about 3.30pm.

I spent the afternoon reading and generally resting up. I have only read 3 books since we left which is probably less than I would read at home! Must be too much to do... We have lost the satellite feed of the “Australian” channel so we have been without news from home for a number of days...Gaz is not happy!

Anyway, we set sail at 6pm and were amazed at the sight of camera flashes going off from the nearby hills above the port. On closer inspection we realised that it seemed just about the whole town had taken every vantage point available to wave us on our way – we certainly felt somewhat like celebrities. It had cooled down some and Gaz looked like Scott of the Antarctic as he watched from our balcony. As the sun was setting, and maybe 10 min after we had begun our journey through the sound and out to the ocean, I heard the excited cry from Gaz of “Whales, whales!” (I should mention at this point that he confessed later he was devastated to have failed dismally in not crying out “Thar she blows” or something equally appropriate). Anyway, I rushed out in time to see one, then two, then three whales swimming almost directly below our cabin on the port side. As if this was not enough, we then sighted another one slightly further away who rolled on his side and waved his flipper in farewell to us. Where are the shots, you say? Well, I have some but unfortunately they show mere shadows under the water due to the failing light and indeed the unplayful nature of these particular Southern right whales. It was exciting none the less.

So we are now off to Adelaide...across the Bight no less...but the captain has assured us that it is smooth(ish) sailing all the way. It has started to be a bit rocky already and Gaz is a little sceptical...but time will tell. More tomorrow.