Travelling Oz

25th May:
Albany is a very quant, picturesque little town built on and around undulating hills.
It has many claims to fame including the natural landscapes of The Gap, The Natural Bridge and the awesome bays, plus the historial:
Princess Royal Fortress, Whale World, the Amity and the Patrick Taylor Cottage.

Stayed at the Middleton Beach Caravan Park which is where the shark attack happened a few days ago. The sharks are back and swimming is once again prohibited.

Did all the recommended tourist drives and we had another awesome day experiencing the historical sites and the natural beauties of landscapes:

Then did some of the historical sites and exhibits. Never really had much interest in history before, coz I didn't really have time for yesterday, been too busy trying to keep up with today and what's comming tomorrow. Travelling Oz has given us a whole new perspective on life and slowing down has allowed us to appreciate all the amazing history behind everywhere we go, is what's allowing us to experience and see what we're seeing today. We learn't a lot at The Fort and Anzac memorial:

Then off to see The Brig Amity, another eye opener. How they ever managed to house 50 men on such a small ship along with 6 months provisions and some livestock is beyond me. Although the captain's quarters along with the next few in command are half reasonable, the sleeping quarters for the convict artisans are only 4 foot high and I pity those poor guys trying to get to their hammocks for a kip each night:

Whale World is also a recommended stop as it's interesting and certainly gives an insight into the history of whaling in Australia and the lives and hardships the whalers faced:

Life on the Road:

Went fishing today and all of a sudden the reel went off and it was screaming. Eventually managed to slow it down. To cut a long story short, after over half an hour and it emptying 300 metres of line off my reel twice, I had it to within 20 metres of the beach. The crowds had now gathered behind me to see what I've got onboard. As it's such a dead heavy weight, I'm guessing it's a ray. Then a local comes up and says "you've really got to put the pressure on before he digs himself into the sand" and he tightens up the drag on my reel. It surfaces and eveyone's gasping as the approx 3 to 4 foot wing span ray swins across the surface and fights light hell. Eventually get it to within 15 metres of the beach and it digs itself into the sand. The guy tightens the tension again and says "you have to pull like hell to turn him coz he's dug himself in." Suddenly, twang - the 30kg line breaks and it's all over. Shit, bugger, what a bummer.

Had to sit down on the beach for few minutes to recover. For those who haven't been there before, you cannot believe how much energy is required to hold all that tension and pressure for well over half of an hour. Your arms and back just burn and ache so much coz of all the tension and it's non stop, you can't have a break to rest or recover, it's just full on bloody hard work and you just have to persevere, there's no choice

I've always been a deep sea fisherman having owned a nice ocean going boat in the past and also been out on a few fishing charters, so i'm a complete novice when it comes to beach and river fishing, so still learning the ropes and know I've got a long way to go.

So that's my story of "the one that got away" but I do have some photos to back it up: