So we filled up the water tanks and did our final load in the laundry ready for a stint of national park camps in the next few days. The kids and I went and fed the Alpaca's at the campground then Kai and I had a game of chess to let mum have a sleep in.
But first and foremost........we are going to Whale World...woo hoo!! It was the last whaling station in operation in Oz and shut down in 1978. It is still in its original form with most of the equipment there but they have added heaps of cool things with 3D cinema`s, heaps of whaling memorabilia including the whale chaser (boat) "Cheynes IV" onsite which still has its gear and rigging intact including the harpoon up forward. They also had real skeletons of whales including a 'Blue Whale' skeleton. The 'flensing deck' at the station was pretty creepy as this was where the whales were cut up to then be boiled down. The 'Head Saw' looked gruesome indeed!!
Interesting to see the old whalers thoughts on conservation back then too.....there was a picture of a white sperm whale (Moby Dick?) being hauled onto the flensing deck to be slaughtered....could you imagine if the Japanese whalers did this to our 'Migaloo', the albino humpback, down in Antarctia....we would declare war on them and start bombing the joint!!!
It was a great piece of maritime history preserved there and definitely worth the visit just in case you take a wrong turn on Pittwater Rd and happen to swing by Albany!!
We had lunch back in town, by an old wooden sailing ship called "Amity", then kept going on our trek east after having a last stock up on food (Lisa eats heaps!) and other supplies.
The countryside changed quite dramatically to a more drier look with lots of wheat fields (all of the fields look like wheat....could be anything for all we know really!). We are just heading to a free camp by a river called "Pallinup River".
It would have been a nice spot to go for a walk and chec the place out but omg...the flies were pretty bad. You now those nasty buggars that head for the corner of your eyes, your ear canal and nose....that a blow from your mouth doesn't even budge 'em'!! They didn't bite but they had perfected the art of annoyance.
So school work in the van was declared for this arvo to the delight of all!!
