Walpole to Albany

A short day in terms of km’s but we stretched it out and had an excellent day. After a nice breakfast at the local bakery we headed off on a backroad that Tomtom suggested. A nice easy road but we’d only got 5km up the road when I realised I forgot to get gas. So back to Walpole we went and then retraced the route through farmland and forest. Absolutely delightful in the crisp morning air. 

Our first stop was the treetop walkway. Worth every penny of the admission as we ascended to 40m in the canopy of the Tingle trees. 


One young lady was struggling a bit with the height so we gave her a pep talk and she completed the whole thing. Not only is it high it does move around quite a bit so it’s a challenge for some people.

Then onwards we went through similar countryside until we joined highway 1 again. About 10km further in Tomtom made another suggestion, this time about 20km of gravel road which was easy going except for one section which had recently been resurfaced. The surface was overlaid with small rocks which were very round in shape so the bike moved around like we were riding on marbles which was a bit disconcerting. 

Soon we were on tarmac again and meandering through forest and farmland and vineyards.

We emerged into the very pretty town of Denmark and stopped for a cuppa. The English lady who served us was very interested in our trip and chatted away seemingly oblivious to the growing queue of people behind us waiting to be served.

As we sipped our drinks we realised our diversions had caused us to miss a tourist attraction and Instagrammable photo opportunity. A quick check on the map meant we only had to return 20km on highway 1 to visit Elephant Rock and the Green pool.

After this visit we headed to our destination Albany. A really nice town, very picturesque and nice blend of old and new architecture.

We had a wander and took it all in. We visited the information centre and an art gallery, then home for a bit of forward planning before a nice drink and meal in a cool hotel.

Another lovely day in a lovely part of the world.

Comments

  1. JulesOctober 16, 2024 at 8:52 PM

    I would need that pep talk!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Robyn TootillOctober 16, 2024 at 11:06 PM

      It’s pretty high and wobbly- no good for people with fear of heights or vertigo.

      Delete

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