G’Day

So, we arrived in Albany.  Interesting, right?  As you know, in New York State it’s our capital and we pronounce it “ALL-BANIE”.  In Australia, it’s pronounced “AL-BANIE” (like the man’s name ‘Al’).  Really, it makes more sense.

Albany is a small town in southwestern Australia with a total population of 33,000.  Albany is NOT typically a cruise ship port.  Due to the coronavirus issues, our itinerary has changed multiple times and Australia has been kind enough to host our ship in many ports on short notice.  We saw several people wearing matching blue shirts who were volunteers from town lined up to answer any questions and give us information.  They had buses (some of them school buses) as shuttles to take us from the ship into their town.  

We met some lovely people today.  I just love the Aussie’s!  And, it’s really evident they love American’s.  People were very interested in where we were from and what it’s like where we live.  They thought it interesting that our state capital is ‘Albany’.

We walked around this cute little town and did some shopping.  Keep in mind, $1 US = $1.53 Australia, so it’s basically all bargains, right.  We really enjoyed shopping at the small, ‘made in Australia’ shops.  The local artists are very talented and we were able to purchase a few speciality items for our future home.  We were able to go through a gallery with Aboriginal art that was very colorful and had beautiful design.  

There were several men from the ship that stopped at the local barber shop for haircuts, we hung out around the shops and talked to the locals.  Six of us stopped for a drink at an outdoor cafe and then proceeded down the hill popping in and out of shops.  

This area is also known for Sandalwood that is exported around the world.  Sandalwood oil is extracted from the wood and has a long history as a medicine.  Albany has the world’s largest distiller of sandalwood oil (over 654,000 square foot factory).  Other well known trees are the karri tree that has a smooth bark and can grow nearly 300 feet high, making it the tallest tree in Western Australia (one of the world’s tallest hardwoods).  The red tingle tree has a rough bark and can live more than 400 years, growing up to nearly 250 feet high with a girth of up to 85 feet. 

Albany was Australia’s last whaling station and closed in 1978.  Wow, I had no idea they were still whaling in the late 70’s.  Glad they are now protected.  We’ve been several majestic whales on our journey and very thankful they are not hunted.

Guess who visited Albany in January 1896……Mark Twain.  I’m not sure why, but read this today.  It’s such a small town.  I wonder what it looked like in 1896?

We hopped the bus and went back to the port.  We shook hands with the Aussie’s and thanked every single one for taking us in.  Lol!  They were all such a pleasure.

Bye-bye Albany.  It was a pleasure spending the day in your little town.