The perfect 10 things to do: Albany, WA
Explore wild beauty and Anzac history on our remote, faraway shores.
Explore wild beauty and the Anzac history on a remote WA coast.
01 For 70 years, from 1826, Albany developed as a strategic and principal trading port in Australia’s west. It’s fortunate, perhaps, for this city at the southwest tip of the continent, that it lost such a role and retains so much natural beauty. Take a table at Due South, on the waterfront of Princess Royal Harbour, and enjoy the flavours of the region. Sitting sheltered from the Roaring Forties, on a vast shallow bay surrounded by granite islands, turquoise waters and pelicans bustling about, you’ll resolve to check out real-estate windows. Sip a glass of Wignalls pinot noir or a local beer on tap, and share a leek and blue-cheese pizza (flour milled in-house) or go for the dry-aged rib-eye.
02 Magnificent walks radiate from Albany. Set off in the morning past the Victorian facades of Stirling Terrace in the direction of Middleton Beach. It’s Walk 1 on the 10 Great Walks of Albany. Shops give way to cottages, which peter out as grain silos dominate the landscape toward the port. This pram-friendly stroll then curves around the stunning coastline, with lookouts capturing every nuance of colour as granite shorelines meet the sea. Charles Darwin was here and plaques tell of the HMS Beagle expedition in 1836. An easy 3.5km from Albany, the aqua oasis of Middleton Beach opens before you. You have reached your destination. Dive like a porpoise.
03 Afternoons can blow cool in Albany. Time to take in the emotional experience of the National Anzac Centre. Set in a headland precinct dedicated to remembrance and pitted with defences, the centre’s architecture invites contemplation of King George Sound, where 40 transport vessels anchored to take the first wave of Australian and New Zealand forces, and their horses, to fight in World War I. The troops had gathered, 30,000 strong, in Albany. The sound of their boots in the streets greets you at the museum door, and the first image of the exhibition is a looping video of marching men. The exhibits are personal and heart-rending. Set aside two to three hours; more to explore the headland, its armaments and memorials.
04 There’s nothing like an isthmus to fire the imagination. Spend a day on the Flinders Peninsula with a packed lunch. Whether you do the walk to Bald Head (16km return), with spectacular views to wild Isthmus Bay on one side, calm Frenchman Bay on the other, or snorkel the stunning granite edges of Goode or Misery beaches, you won’t be disappointed. On the way back to town, turn left to The Gap and Natural Bridge for the thrill of standing on a viewing platform suspended on cantilevered beams from granite ramparts towering 40m above the churning tide.
parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au/park/torndirrup.
05 Sometimes in Albany, you could almost think you’re in Paris. On the ground floor of the London Hotel, a backpacker haunt on Stirling Terrace, is Liberte, a louche salon of assorted gilt and upholstery, all bentwood and mirrors. That said, there’s a hint of rockabilly in the bartender shaking that Roger Ramjet cocktail of mezcal, artichoke bitter, Gosling’s rum, chargrilled pear syrup, burnt orange and lemon. Striking Liberte-event posters designed by West Australian-based graphic artist Tim Waters paper the walls, and habitues wearing pretty fabrics drape themselves about. The food to share is a French-Vietnamese take on local produce by chef-owner Amy Hamilton. Bar manager Keryn Giles sources the region’s best wines; try the 2016 Frankland Estate Rocky Gully riesling.
06 Several wine trails wend around the city, but at cellar doors of the smaller vineyards that characterise the Porongurup Range you’re likely to meet the winemakers. Phone ahead when planning your visit, as tastings (and lunch) are sometimes suspended due to harvest schedules. Zarephath and Ironwood are two of the prettiest vineyards, with fine, cool-climate wines, and cafes featuring home cooking. You can earn your Ironwood pulled-pork, slaw and Swiss slider by making the Granite Skywalk part of your day tour. This uphill two-hour hike through towering karri forest is worth it. Engineering melds with mighty boulders in a circular viewing platform that offers views back to Albany , northeast to the Stirling Range National Park, and around.
parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au/site/granite-skywalk.
07 From January to May, the Southern Ocean is a favourite playground for whale species including sperm, long-finned pilot, rare beaked and the massive blue. From January to March, above a biodiverse deep-sea canyon 70km off the coast of the town of Bremer Bay, you can reliably encounter pods of killer whales or orcas. Bremer Canyon Expeditions offers whale experiences throughout the season. Meet the boat at Bremer Bay ($385 a person for an eight-hour day), or be picked up by bus from Albany ($485). As if whale families, spouting, breeching and snacking, aren’t alluring enough, you’re likely to see the likes of dolphins, sharks, sunfish, albatross and shearwaters.
08 Croissants, flaky and springy, are not the only enticement at Gourmandise & Co, a cafe among many on Stirling Terrace. Chef-owner Xavier Poupel coaxes a week-long parade of dishes, such as teurgoule Normandie (a spiced rice pudding) and cassoulet, from his wood-fired oven. A typical day finds earthenware baking dishes of clafoutis cooling on the long, irregular jarrah table; a winemaker and chocolatier chatting over excellent Peruvian organic coffee; a selection of golden pastries from hazelnut to apple; and Xavier ready to philosophise: “Our ships came here among the first. The French came with botanists, the English came with guns. Things could have been different.” Albany’s French connection flourishes in place names, hospitality and wood-fired bread.
09 The Noongar language groups of southwest Australia recognise six seasons, based on the types of food available and the weather. But the element common to every Albany season is wind. Albany Wind Farm harnesses that power to provide up to 80 per cent of the city’s energy needs. Visit the farm and walk among turbines at the very southern tip of the famous Bibbulmun Track, a winding 660km coastal walking path to Perth. At times the turbines are distant enough to appear like a whirligig on your companion’s hat; at others, they lunge giant tentacles over a near hillside. Muffled amid the seasonal tapestry of trackside flora, your ears occasionally discern the gentle swoosh of a turbine blade, but the dominant soundtrack is of roaring ocean as it pounds to lacy froth at the cliff base.
BEST BEDS
10 On the edge of Princess Royal Harbour, where seaweed undulates in the shallows, and ducks, cormorants and black swans bob, there’s a shipshape tranquil hideaway, Lilacs Waterfront Villas and Cottages (pictured). Sleep soundly under crisp linen and white pitched ceilings and wake in peace to see sun sparkling way out on King George Sound. Assemble breakfast from ingredients bought at the Albany Farmers Market (Saturday morning) and plan your day on the sunny deck. In the afternoon, it’s 10 minutes’ walk along the waterfront to Limeburners Distillery for relaxed, informative tastings that awaken your palate to the smooth slow burn of finely crafted malt whiskies. Not many cottages have a world-renowned distillery at the end of the garden.
To join the conversation, please log in. Don't have an account? Register
Join the conversation, you are commenting as Logout