6th January

Today, Chrissi had to head back to Wagin around lunch time so we arranged an easy morning visiting the convict goal and the replica of the Brig Amity, this was the ship that arrived in Albany in 1826, bringing the first party of military & convicts to establish the first colony in the west.



The Brig Amity



Below decks for "passengers"

Bunks for "passengers"



Crew Accommodation


The below decks part was good, Cilla & girls are sitting on a bench where a couple of hammocks are slung for crew, the rest of that part of below decks is for wooden bunks. Note the lack of head room in this section.
The last photo is one of the crew cabins, not a lot of room, but at least they could stand up straight.

Once we had finished this, Chrissi headed off to Wagin. Cilla and I wandered through town for a while, both had a haircut and after a nice lunch returned to the resort.
After a short break we finished the day with a casual stroll down the beach at the end of the resort

January 5th

Today we headed out to Denmark and then the Valley of Giants and Dinosaur world.

Tree Top Walk

Tree Top Walk

Ancient Empire Walk

Ancient Empire Walk

The Tree Top Walk was very good, in fact I walked it twice, Chrissi however didn't like the height and the way the walkway could sway.

 Dinosaur World was a disappointment, the dinosaurs were plaster replicas, set  up with dim, coloured lighting. There was no reference to actual dinosaur remains being found in the area and no genuine fossils.

Shortly after Dinosaur World it started to rain and so put a stop to any other attractions.

January 4th

Chrissi & girls decided to spend morning down the beach and play equipment.

We headed back to Whale World to finish the tour of the old whaling ship.

We decided to take the scenic drive into town and ended up getting sidetracked at the memorial to the mounted forces and the Princess Royal Fortress. Both were very interesting and well worth seeing

.

Then it was back to Whale World to check out the Cheynes 4.

On the way back to town we also stopped at the Gap & Natural Bridge, two rock formations.



The Natural Bridge



The Gap



Monday 3rd Jan

This morning we headed off to Albany.

 

After an uneventful trip we checked in to the Emu Beach Holiday Park and then back in to town for lunch at a little cafe before going to Whale World.

Whale World is very interesting and we will be back tomorrow to continue checking it out as we ran out of time today.

Jan 1st & 2nd

Well the new year started quietly with 2 days of rest & relaxation.
The only activity I had was a walk up Puntapin Rock, a large rock outcrop just out of Wagin which is used to collect runoff for the towns water supply.



Puntapin Rock



rock wall to capture runoff



view from top of rock toward Wagin

 This is the last quiet day as tomorrow we are off to Albury and then the Margaret River area.

Fri 31st Dec

Today we headed off to the Apple Park in Donnybrook, about 1.5 hours drive from Wagin.

It's a large playground which is entry free.

Apple Park

Apple Park



Cilla & Olivia on a slide



Olivia



Sophie & olivia at the Apple Park

The girls had a great time and we got to see a bit of the countryside.

29th, 30th Dec

Couple of quiet days, part time babysitting and quiet stroll through Wagin on the Wednesday checking out some of the older buildings.

Thursday was a quiet morning with Chrissi & girls and when James finished work we all went to the Wagin Historical Village.

This proved to be a most enjoyable experience with lots of old photos, farm machinery and buildings from the Wagin area.

Cilla thought that apart from Sovereign Hill, this was the best setup she had seen.