Today we bid Margaret River a fond adieu. We drove down south to Augusta to see the lighthouse, where two oceans (Indian and South) meet. Then we headed to a vineyard at Pemberton for lunch. After which we stopped at Walpole to see the Valley of the Giants – an invigorating tree top walk, 40 metres in the air.
Here’s a photo of a tree called ‘Grandmother Tingle’, estimated to be over 400 years old. Can you see her face? 🙂
We drove through Denmark via the South Coast Hightway towards Albany, and that was when the sun went down. Here’s a picture of the setting sun, brilliant pink, from the rear window of the car.
We continued the journey in darkness, guided only by the beams of our headlights, occasional signage and very sporadic street lighting. There were also a few dodgy-looking bush fires. One of them gave me the creeps because it was in the middle of nowhere and I could swear I saw three white robed figures, looking like that of a mother and two daughters, one being carried by the adult, facing the flames. *shudder*
We finally located our motel along the Albany Highway, and realised it wasn’t quite as four-star as they claimed to be. It was very old, and our room had a rusty stove and a shower curtain that stuck onto itself. All in all, it was rather dodgy to me.
We had dinner at Kooka’s, another Gold plate award-winning restaurant. My lamb balti was very tasty, and Vicki’s laksa wasn’t quite authentic what with the eggplant and peas, but she ate it all up anyway.