Back to Bushwalking!

 Tuesday 22 September - 182045

Again, I started the day with a swim at Middleton Beach. Today I learnt from some of the other ladies there about thermal swimming caps – apparently you wear the normal swim cap underneath and then this on top to keep your head warm, like a beanie for swimming.

Middleton Beach

Today’s physio visit resulted in an increase in the exercises I am to do, and a reintroduction to bushwalking. So, this afternoon we headed out to walk the Luke Pen Walk. This travels along the bank of the Kalgan River. I saw more wildflowers that I had not previously seen. I enjoyed having my SLR camera with me, rather than my phone camera. The walk was undulating, but not overly steep in any spots. My calf seemed to handle it well but was feeling tired when we finished. (Distance 11.53km, Time 3h 18m, Ascent/Descent 200m)

Trails WA Luke Pen Walk

Last up for the day was the Oyster Harbour Fish Traps. These need to be viewed at low tide. They were used until the end of the 19^th Century, but have since fallen into disrepair. Despite this it is still easy to visualize how effective they would have been.

Oyster Harbour Fish Traps

Lake Seppings (Tjuirtgellong)

 Monday 21 September – 182022

This morning I tackled the freezing water of Middleton Beach again, this time in a spring suit rather than togs. I also discovered there were warm showers in the surf club bathrooms. I took a thermos of hot water to drink straight after my swim. Between these things I managed to be able to get warm enough to drive myself home. In the meantime, Drew went for a long run, which I would very much have preferred to be able to do.

Today’s adventure was to explore Lake Seppings (Tjuirtgellong). This is a freshwater lake just behind Middleton Beach with an amazing quantity of water birds – thousands of them! It also is the home of Long-necked Tortoises – I didn’t get to see any of those, and King Skinks – saw lots of those. The water looks beautifully clean, probably because the reeds have been allowed to remain in place all the way around. I saw a variety of reptiles and insects, as well as some new to me flowers.  Lake Seppings/Tjuirtgellong

This evening we had an early dinner from an African takeaway – Fried Rice with Chicken Legs, Ghana Meat Pie and a Coconut Donut. Really enjoyed it! Moda Africa

Swimming, Markets and ANZACs

 Sunday 20 September – 181995

After a long sleep in we had breakfast and went to Middleton Beach for a swim. It was probably very entertaining for the locals watching two Queenslanders get into 16 degrees Celcius ocean water. We swam for about 15 minutes, although most of the time with our faces out as the cold made our sinuses hurt. I quickly lost all feeling in my feet and when we got out my toes were waxy yellow and I struggled to walk normally. We headed back to the van for hot showers to warm up.  Middleton Beach

Next up was the Albany Boatshed Markets which had a variety of lovely items, but were smaller in size than I had expected.  Albany Boatshed Markets  Drew visited the National ANZAC Centre in Albany this afternoon – he spent two to three hours in the main building, enjoying all the multimedia displays. He then explored outside, including the Coastal Gun Emplacement Magazine, the Naval Walk and the Convoy Lookout. We have previously visited this as a family and it is a very informative centre for all ages. National ANZAC Centre