Day 28: Mon 15 Apr 24

Day 28: Mon 15 Apr 24 - Albany

April 15, 2024

Mon 15 Apr 24 - Albany

15 to 22 Deg, mostly clear with no wind in the morning reaching 28km/h in the late afternoon.

First up this morning, I set about hooking the car up to the van to remove the jockey wheel and replace the bearing. Until a few days ago, I didn't know the jockey wheel had a bearing, but when I dismantled it, it became very clear that it did have one, as mine had almost disintegrated, hence the recent difficulties i was having in lifting and lowering the van. Removing the pin took some effort but once stripped, cleaned and put back together, it worked like a dream. Spent $9.50 on a new bearing instead of $165 for a new Jockey Wheel - twas very happy with myself.

Having completed this small chore successfully, Noel and I decided to go out for breakfast which is a rarity for us - destination the Three Anchors Restaurant at Middleton Beach which I rode past it yesterday. It looked very enticing. Sitting in the restaurant out of the fresh sea breeze, the view across the Beach to King George Sound was stunning. I can report that breakfast, coffee and the vista exceeded expectations. After breakfast, we continued our drive for a short distance to Emu point. Here we watched a few fisherman cleaning their large catch at the boat ramp and a few fishing boats sail into the harbour followed closely by flocks of seagulls. It was a such a beautiful day, but the ever slight breeze was quite brisk.

From Emu Point, we drove a few km's to the Chainsaw Sculpture Drive which is on a private property. Visitors must remain in their cars when driving the 500m (or thereabouts) to see the sculptures. Darryl Ratcliffe is the artist, and he brings dead wood and tree stumps back to life using chainsaws. This man is a seriously talented artist and the exhibition easily worth the $10 donation we made. Here's an article about the Darryl and his work: Click Here!

From the Chainsaw Sculpture Drive we returned to the caravan park, then I set off for a short ride around town before returning to the van for an afternoon brew and a few phone calls. While I dismantled the awning and packed away the bikes and outside furniture, Noel was busy in the kitchen making Pumpkin Risotto which we had for dinner - very nice 👌.

Albany has been a very pleasant visit, and we both would have been happy to stay longer. There is so much more that we wanted to see and do, but not a problem - we will save that for our next visit. While the Tasman Holiday Park facilities are a bit tired, the sites are very generous (ours had 2 concrete slabs - one for the van and one for under the awning), and it was very quiet during our stay. Tomorrow we have a relatively short drive to Denmark for three nights.

Breakfast at Three Anchors Restaurant at Middleton Beach on a beautiful morning

Fancy Breakfast at Three Anchors Restaurant at Middleton Beach
(Smashed Avocado and poached egg on sourdough with semi dried tomatoes, feta, spinach and beetroot labneh)