Today we started our adventure along the Southern Ocean, driving through Manjimup and Pemberton with the huge Gloucester Tree, then on to Denmark. We stopped at the Millhouse Cafe at Pemberton for a late morning tea, before driving on to Denmark Here we met up with my cousin Tim Wither, his wife Meagan and their children Elih and Finlay for a delicious dinner at the Denmark Hotel – and I tried Marron for the first time – delicious!
The beautiful sights of Denmark were on the agenda for the next day including Greens Pool, Elephant Rocks and the beaches. My cousin had recommended that we try Forest Hill Winery for lunch – we were so glad he did because the food was delicious and the restaurant had views of the surrounding forests and the vineyard . We ordered the Tapas Taste Plate and desserts – exquisite!
We had lots to see the next day on our way to Albany, and didn’t stop for lunch until about 2pm at the Cosy Corner Cafe, near Torbay It had turned quite cool when the wind came up so soup and toast was a welcome treat.
It was then only a short drive to our destination of Albany, and we had time to look around the town after settling into our motel. That evening we had dinner at York Street Restaurant, steak for Pete and herb crusted salmon for me, all very delicious.
The next day we decided to explore the area north of Albany, drove through some beautiful country, and had a soup lunch (you can probably tell that the weather was a bit cooler) at Porongurup Tea Room.
We did lots of walking during the day and by the time we arrived back in Albany we were ready for a nice dinner. Pete’s friend had recommended the historic inn The Earl of Spencer, built in 1884. Pete had a juicy hamburger and chips and I ordered, guess what, fish! The meal, and desserts, were very tasty, as we listened to the pub band beating out their music.
The following day we visited the historic Albany Whaling Station. Toward lunch time it started to rain, so we decided to stay for lunch at Whalers Galley Cafe in the hope that the rain would ease and allow us a comfortable afternoon exploring more of Albany. It was a beautiful sight looking through the windows at the vista of King George Sound through the rain.
Then it was time to press on to our next destination, Esperance It was a long drive of about 480 kilometres, and as we discovered, many kilometres without seeing another car, or more importantly somewhere for a caffeine shot. We pulled in to the interesting little town of Jerramungup and found the garage with coffee shop and takeaway attached, and managed to buy a coffee and sandwich – finally!
We reached Esperance by late afternoon, and after a drive around the foreshore and town we settled in to our motel. On our drive we had discovered a Chinese restaurant a short walk from our motel so we walked there in t he evening and had a most unexpected and delicious Chinese meal of Mongolian Lamb and Beef Curry with boiled rice. I could not resist the chocolate cake for dessert, and Pete ordered Fried Icecream – delicious!
Very busy day exploring the fabulous beaches west of Esperance, and views across the Southern Ocean to the numerous islands of the Archipelago of the Recherche in the morning. During the afternoon we drove east to the incredible Cape Le Grand , and in between had breakfast and lunch at the Dome Restaurant in Esperance. That evening we drove in to town ad discovered the Loose Goose restaurant for a delicious meal of barramundi and prawns in filo pastry, and Pete had pork loin, both with vegetables – could not resist the dessert either!
On our last day in Esperance we spent some time in the morning exploring along the foreshore and the new construction being undertaken, then after lunch at Taylor Jetty Tearooms (tasty soup again) we set off to explore the very pretty Lake Monjingup Reserve. For our last meal in Esperance we went to Ocean Blues restaurant and had a nice dinner of Lamb and Aubergine lasagne for me, and Herb crusted Chicken for Pete.
