4 Stray Katz: 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.