Day 36: Down to the SW tip!

Up early this morning for breakfast in our rooms and then on the road at 8am. What a lovely ride down the coast to Augusta. Through national park the whole way with treelined roads. We're kept buttoned off partly because of the cold but also because of the wandering stock. Especially huge kangaroos.

Augusta is on the south-western tip so as usual we went right out to the lighthouse - hoping also to see some whales which are supposed to pass by this corner of Australia in great numbers at this time of the year. Today was an off-day! Still great scenery and a while coast rather like Makara. Only bigger - as everything in Australia seems to be on a giant-scale.

Then turned east for the first time and worked out way along the coast to Albany. An uneventful trip. Checked in at the visitors' centre and found a self-contained apartment in Middleton Bay that sounded good. We had planned to save a few $$$ by cooking our own dinner that night. Arrived at the Dolphon Lodge Apartments and were directed to our unit. Mmmmm. that's a funny thing we said - the beds haven't been made. I went back to reception and asked if we were expected to make the beds before we slept in them!! The receptionist did a double take and then realised she had put us in an aprtment where the previous occupants had only just checked out.

She was very embarrassed especially when she realised she had just let the only apartment left. As a result she put us in "the house." So for $89 for the night we had a three-bedroom house with separate dining room, lounge and garage. Tres choice! We walked up the road to the local deli and bought some dinner and a bottle of Margaret River Red and got ourselves sorted.

That night was cold. Aussies don't cope well with the cold. Even though the house had two huge heat pumps there seemed to be no insulation and both of us found the night to be chilly. I ended up going to the third bedroom and taking extra blankets from one of the beds.

Tomorrow to Esperance!