Matthew Flinders and Nicholas Baudin explored the South West coast of Western Australia in 1801 – 1803.
210 years later, following a week with Brindi, Luke and Paris in Fremantle (that included a beer tasting pub crawl, Anzac Day, museums, markets and cute shops), we took the opportunity to visit some of the places these explorers came across all those years ago.
Apart from Fremantle, we visited the towns of Margaret River, Pemberton, Denmark and Albany.
Highlights were:
Magnificent forests (Karri, Marri, Tingle)
Museums (Shipwreck museum in Fremantle, the whale skeletons at whale world & the museum in Albany)
The beaches and rocky coastline of the Great Southern region
Beer (especially some of the boutique beers such as Hop Hog from Feral Brewing & Luke Scrivens IPA) and wine tasting (Vasse Felix and Leeuwin Estate)
Bush walks Cape Naturaliste, Kalgan River and the board walk from Middleton Beach to Albany Centre)
Stunning drives (Caves road and the Southern Highway through the Stirling Ranges)
Albany and the generosity/friendliness of country people.
Post Script: Did you know that in 1914 30,000 Australian New Zealand soldiers and 7,500 horses departed in 38 ships from Albany for Gallipoli and the Dardanelles?
