Seeing firsthand why Misery Beach currently holds the title of the Best Beach in Australia

Parry’s Beach and Albany

Monday 16^th – Friday 20^th January

Before Albany we spent 1 night at Parry’s Beach. We loved the spot last trip and wanted to spend a night there, even though we knew our van was too big to fit into the beach camping sites and we’d have to camp in the overflow carpark. The weather wasn’t great but the boys still went in for a dive and managed to find 4 huge brown lipped abalone- everyone who saw them were very impressed.

The next day we rolled into Albany about lunchtime and decided to spend the afternoon seeing some sites, as we would be without the car the next day (there have been a few unusual noises that Daniel decided needed to be checked out before we cross the Nullarbor). The first place on our afternoon ‘tour’ was Misery Beach, which currently holds the title of Best Beach in Australia. It is an absolute stunning beach – powdery white sand, turquoise water, a rock face along one side and a view out to a rocky island- but it has a not so pleasant past. It is called Misery Beach as it used to be the dumping site for the remnants from the nearby whaling station, so the sand and water was often stained blood red. Thankfully those days are gone and we can all enjoy the natural beauty of the place. Next up was the Blowholes- where the huge waves from the Southern Ocean roar up through some small holes in the rocks. Some of them were extremely loud – the first one gave me such a fright. It was quite exciting watching the waves then waiting for them to spray up through the rocks. Our final stop for the afternoon was The Gap and Natural Bridge, two stunning natural wonders. The Gap, so called because of the big gap between the granite cliffs where the ocean heaves itself against the rocks, was impressive as there is a platform suspended out over the ocean, so you are literally on top of the sea as it furiously crashes into the rocks. The swell was reasonably big so we got to see some impressive displays as the waves hit the cliffs. The lookout at Natural Bridge provided some more stunning views of the coastline, which is just incredible along this part of WA.

We didn’t do much on Wednesday as the car was in getting checked (turns out we need new injectors- a very costly job but apparently it can wait until we are back in March, it will be a bit easier to bear the cost once we are working!). We spent a bit of time at the skate park, but Jackson had a couple of nasty stacks so that outing ended prematurely. He learnt why we insisted on him wearing his helmet! He ended up with bruised knees and sore ankles, as well as a bit of a hurt ego.

On Thursday we spent an emotional morning at the National Anzac Centre learning about the First World War and reading and listening to firsthand accounts of the bravery and sacrifice of the ANZACs. More than 41,000 Australian and New Zealand troops left Albany on the first and second convoy of ships headed to war, with around one third of them never to return. The kids are at an age where they could really take in and understand the stories and information, although, like us, they can’t fully comprehend just how terrible the war was, nor the way in which the war impacted so many people. We all reflected on how grateful we are to be living in Australia at the present time. After wandering the grounds looking at some of the old buildings and weaponry we headed back to camp for a late lunch. That afternoon we did the ‘Chainsaw Sculpture’ drive and marvelled at the incredible workmanship of some of the pieces.

Albany is a really pretty town and we could have definitely spent more time here, as we missed quite a few of the sights, but we were keen to do some hikes in the Stirling Ranges so decided to move on.

The four extra large brown lipped abalone Daniel found at Parry's Beach (with Jackson's help). It was a cold day and the water was very cold so Jackson wore Emilia's wetsuit over his own (hence how broad his shoulders look!).

My first glimpse of Misery Beach from the trail- absolutely spectacular.

It was a bit chilly to swim so the kids climbed this rocky hill that borders the beach.

The kids are right near the top (very hard to spot).

It was a stunning beach (as you can see from these two photos) so we could see why it holds the current title of Australia's best beach.

Misery Beach selfie.

The 3 videos below are from The Blowholes- it was great to watch and try to predict which waves would cause the blowhole to 'blow'.

The Gap - the viewing platform allows you to stand right over the ferocious waves.

The wild Southern Ocean funnelling into The Gap

Natural Bridge

The swell was high so all along the coast we watched in awe as the waves crashed with such force against the rocks. 

Carving it up at the Albany Skatepark (before he had 3 falls and ended up feeling very sore and very sorry for himself).

Looking at some of the old army machinery and weapons at the ANZAC centre.

Some of the old ammunition stored in the underground magazine- the area where the ANZAC centre is used to be a defence fortress, built for WW1

Looking out to King George Sound from the grounds of the ANZAC centre. The first and second convoys of ships full of Australian and New Zealand soldiers left here at the start of WW1.

After we visited the ANZAC centre and explored the grounds, we went to the top of Mt Clarence to see the Desert Mounted Corps Memorial and the Padre White (founder of the Dawn Service) lookout. 

Below are some of the incredible sculptures that Darryl Radcliffe did with a chainsaw. We all enjoyed the drive around his property to see his work.

The octopus was my favourite.

We liked how there was a real cactus growing next to the cactus sculpture.

Abalone, crayfish and whiting - eating like kings at Peaceful Bay

Peaceful Bay

Thursday 12^th – Monday 16^th January

We could originally only get 2 nights at the very popular beachside campground at Peaceful Bay, but luckily for us someone cancelled so we could extend. We had a thoroughly enjoyable 4 days at this small beach town, there were so many beaches to explore and the actual bay just across from the caravan park was sheltered, calm and provided us with lots of yummy seafood. Our 4 days went like this:

Day 1: Arrived about lunchtime – the sun was shining. Spent the afternoon on the beach, swimming and exploring the rocks. Jackson and Daniel went snorkelling and Daniel got a crayfish not too far from shore. After dinner the boys went fishing whilst I watched the sunset with Emilia.

Day 2: We spent the morning at the surf beach - skim boarding, surfing and jumping the waves then the afternoon at the sheltered bay beach (as the wind had picked up). Jackson did well with his hand spear- he got 4 whiting and Daniel got another cray. Emilia and I enjoyed the water – snorkelling and swimming. A storm came in later that afternoon and Emilia and I had a great time swimming in the ocean in the rain. After our delicious dinner (crayfish and whiting) we listened to some live music at the local café.

Day 3: It was a cool day so we went to marvel at the huge Tingle Trees that make up the Valley of The Giants in the Walpole area. We did the Tree Top Walk and the Ancient Empire walk before visiting one of the biggest trees in the area – the Giant Tingle Tree. The afternoon was spent at Green’s Pool & Elephant Rocks, before ice-cream at the Denmark Good Food Factory. By the time we got back to camp we’d been gone for 9 hours- it was a big day, but a great one.

Day 4: After a relaxing morning we explored some of the nearby 4wd tracks that took us to a few remote beaches. At one beach, The Gap, Daniel went diving and got heaps of Roe abalone. While he was diving the kids and I explored the rocks and found a huge whalebone. By the time we got back it was lunchtime and, just after Daniel had inflated the tyres back up after the beach driving, I realised Emilia and I had left our thongs at one of the beaches we’d stopped at. It was a long walk back to retrieve them!! We had another swim and snorkel in the afternoon, then, while Jackson played with some boys he’d made friends with at the caravan park, Daniel took Emilia to fly her new kite – the wind was perfect on the beach and she managed to get the hang of it.

Daniel got this crayfish just after we arrived at Peaceful Bay - it was just in the rocks you can see behind him. An awesome find!

We all enjoyed swimming out to the rocks that protect the bay. The water was lovely. 

It was fun exploring the rocks just out from shore- both on top of the rocks, and snorkelling around them.

The boys tried their luck fishing on the first night - but they had no luck. They did much better when they were in the water.

While the boys fished Emilia and I did a walk around the rocks to Sandy Beach to watch the sun set.

Getting a ride back to camp after spending the morning practising on the surfboard.

Jackson with one of the 4 whiting he managed to get using only the hand spear - pretty impressive!

Crayfish number 2- we had an incredible dinner that night. Crayfish and whiting- freshly caught and on our plates only a few hours later.

The Valley of the Giants Tree Top Walk was just as great as we remembered. Here are some photos of videos of us enjoying the walk. We ended up walking through twice, but the first time was the best as we were there early so there weren't too many other people.

One of the 6 interconnected walkways- there are only 6 pylons holding the whole walkway up, it's a pretty impressive structure.

Even at the highest point- 40 metres up- many of the trees were still significantly taller

The next few pictures are from the Ancient Empire walk where you get to meander through the forest and get up close to (sometimes actually inside) some of the incredibly large and impressive Red Tingle trees (some are over 400 years old). The scientific name for Red Tingle tree is Eucalyptus Jacksonii- Jackson liked this!

This is Grandma Tingle- she is over 400 years old, 12 metres in circumference and 34 meters high

You could walk inside, and through, some of the trees that have been hollowed out by fire and/or insects. They have made boardwalks to protect the shallow root systems of the trees. 

I loved the patterns in the base of one of the fallen Tingle trees.

Emilia is easy to see, but can you spot Jackson??

This is a model of one of the biggest Red Tingle trees that people used to drive their cars in to take photos..unfortunately after so much attention and so many visitors it's shallow roots were compacted too much and it died. This is what prompted the Tree Top Walk - a way for everyone to enjoy these amazing trees without damaging them.

The Giant Tingle Tree near Walpole. It is 75 metres tall and has a girth of 24 metres! Over time it has been hollowed out by fire so you can walk right through it. 

The kids and I couldn't quite stretch wide enough....

...until Daniel joined us, then we could touch both sides.

There were so many large, interesting trees. This one, with its gnarled bump, took my fancy!

Elephant Rocks - so named as they look like a herd of elephants walking out to sea. I took two photos from different perspectives to see which one looked more like elephant behinds...I think maybe the second one does.

Instead of swimming (there was an icy wind blowing) we walked along the beach at Green's Pool and Jackson managed to make it to the top of this rock (after Daniel challenged him).

They tried to get Emilia up but skinny jeans are not the best climbing attire!

The stunning rocks and turquoise water at Green's Pool. 

The sea breeze was blowing hard- I had no hope of controlling my hair!

Ice creams on the way back to camp really topped off a wonderful day.

The whalebone we discovered at one of the remote beaches we explored on our last day at Peaceful Bay.

Mastering her stunt kite - she was so pleased.

After a walk along the beach on our last morning at Peaceful Bay. We loved it here and could definitely have stayed longer, it was such a great place.