Albany travel guideBuy travel tickets for a holiday in Albany and you'll be visiting one of the few regions in Western Australia with a European nuance of steep rolling hills, cool weather, stunning scenery, tall forests, secluded bays, an awesome coastline and even the occasional pod of whales. The City of Albany is built on the shores of Princess Royal Harbour within King George Sound, one of the world's largest and most spectacular natural harbours. Fantastic views can be enjoyed in different areas as your holiday travel lures you through the Albany region. |
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Albany holiday guide Albany is located on the south coast holiday playground of Western Australia overlooking the Southern Ocean and is 409 kilometres south of the state capital, Perth. If you travel to Western Australia and holiday in Perth, it's easy to get to Albany via a car or bus journey that takes a leisurely five to six hours along the picturesque Albany Highway (Route 30). If you travel from Perth to Albany in a small car, you'll use about US$40 worth of petrol at local prices. Tickets for domestic flights from Perth to Albany normally cost from US$75 to US$150, dependent upon return or one way bookings and the availability of occasional cheap ticket specials. Albany Airport features 1800 metres of sealed runways that can accommodate aircraft up to the Boeing 737 300, and is about 11 kilometres north of the city of Albany by road. Albany is about 50 minutes flying time from Perth International Airport. Albany has plenty of suitable holiday accommodation for both budget travellers and wealthy tourists, offering bed and breakfast lodgings, caravan parks with cabins, chalets and cottages, camping grounds, lodges, guesthouses, houses, motels and hotels up to 5 star. Budget accommodation can be found in Albany for less than US$20 per night, often including breakfast. In mid 2004, a backpacker in Albany could find a cheap price dormitory bed for US$16 per night or a twin private room in a backpacker hostel for US$21 per night. Albany's regional hinterland is a menage of harbours, estuaries and rivers offering numerous quality locations for a holiday of sailing, canoeing, diving and/or fishing. The natural environment is in many areas unspoilt while Albany's dramatic coastal topography boasts towering granite cliffs and white, sandy beaches. The Albany region has an abundance of sheltered waterways and its coastline is among the most spectacular in the world, creating an ideal environment for a relaxed yet interesting coastal holiday in Western Australia.
Just an hour's drive north of Albany are the Stirling and Porongorup mountain ranges, a rare sight in the otherwise flat to mildly undulating landscape of Western Australia. The mountains and surrounding forests of towering timber create a European holiday ambience enhanced by numerous world-class wineries and the heritage character of the region's architecture. Natural attractions within 20 minutes by car include The Gap (a dramatic cliff chasm which visitors can view from the safety of a steel cage), the Natural Bridge and Middleton Beach. A trip to the nearby Blowholes is a must during your Albany travel, particularly during rough seas when spectacular water spouts shoot from the rocks. Be warned, however, that it's usually cold, wet and windy. A popular nearby picnic and fishing location is Two Peoples Bay, which has a wealth of natural flora and fauna dissected by heritage trails. Locations worth visiting during your holiday travel to Albany include the Albany Residency Museum, Deer-o-dome, the Mt Romance emu farm and sandalwood factory, Vancouver Arts Centre, and The Old Farm at Strawberry Farm (built in the late 1830s and classified with the National Trust). Wildflowers in Albany's surrounding countryside are another strong lure for tourists during the flowering season from August till October. Before European settlement, the Albany region was inhabited by the Bibbulmun Aborigines of the larger Nyungar group. The harbour was originally founded in 1791 by British Captain George Vancouver and the first settlement was in 1826 by Major Edmund Lockyer along with 23 convicts and a military escort. This strategic military outpost was Western Australia's first European settlement and it came two years earlier than the Swan River colony further north which eventually matured into the capital city of Perth. The settlement was originally called Frederickstown. In 1832, Governor James Stirling claimed and renamed the southern colony as Albany, partly to ensure that French navigators who had been sailing to the area were unable to claim French sovereignty over any part of the Australian continent. The town relied largely on coal which was sold to service mail steamers sailing to and from the United Kingdom, and Albany quickly became the heart of commerce for pioneers who spread into the surrounding fertile regions to clear land for farming. A significant part of Albany's history involved the whaling industry, which closed in 1978. The WhaleWorld whale museum at Frenchman Bay provides a dramatic reminder of the whale slaughter at the Cheynes Beach Whaling Station that used to feed much of the area's economy. Alternatively, there are plenty of whale-watching boat tours that take crowds of eager tourists onto the high seas to watch pods of different whale species (mostly humpback and southern right) migrating north from July till October. Whale numbers have recovered strongly since the whale hunting industry closed down and the animals are becoming so numerous they might soon pose a hazard to shipping in King George Sound. It has become common to view whales from the shore as they frolic and play in the harbour waters (along with dolphins and the occasional seal). In October 2007, about 16 southern right whales were spotted in King George Sound. Albany was proclaimed a city in 1998 and the region's main industries nowadays are agriculture (grain, wheat, wool), fishing, aquaculture, woodchips, shipping and tourism. The city has a population around 32,000. Albany has a temperate climate suitable for year-round travel. The summer average temperature is 22.4 degrees Celsius and the winter average is 17.9. Most rainfall is during winter but light summer rainfall is common and should be anticipated when planning hikes or similar travel plans in or around Albany. Despite its reputation as a rainy city, Albany (average 932mm) receives just 63mm more rainfall per year than Perth, 400 kilometres further north. If you travel to Albany for a holiday, bring a wardrobe for mostly cool weather with some very cold winter nights. Most days are sunny with clear skies and summer is rarely very hot. The Albany Tourist Bureau can be contacted on (61 8) 9841 1088 for most necessary holiday information. As soon as you get to Albany, it's worth dropping into any newsagency to pick up a free copy of Andimap, the only local map with a grid-referenced street index. It's also a good idea to collect plenty of informative brochures from the Albany Visitors Centre, located in a converted railway platform in Proudlove Parade, accessed about 100 metres to the right from the bottom of York St. There is a multitude of nearby scenic drives including Quaranup Rd, Lower King Rd, Lower Denmark Rd and Scotsdale Rd. Nearby artificial holiday attractions include the Wind Farm of 12 massive electricity turbines powered by the region's strong southerly winds, and the wreck of the decommissioned 1965 missile destroyer HMAS Perth, which was deliberately sunk in just 30 metres of water at Frenchman Bay (part of King George Sound) in 2001 to create one of the best wreck diving sites in the world. Also on the city foreshore of Princess Royal Harbour is a 1975 replica of the Amity brig which sailed from Sydney in 1826 with Major Lockyer and Albany's first settlers. Many of Albany's central buildings date back to the early settlement years. Enjoy a stroll down York St or Stirling Terrace during your Albany holiday and you can view a broad range of building styles. Albany has about 50 buildings listed as having historic significance and these are in many cases used as museums, art galleries or restaurants. Architectural highlights include the Albany Courthouse, the Old Gaol (built in 1851), St John's Church, Patrick Taylor Cottage, the Vancouver Arts Centre, the Old Farm at Strawberry Hill, The Fort and the Town Hall. Albany's economy and real estate market have both experienced boom conditions with median house prices rising by 79% between June 2001 and June 2005 (AUS$255,000). House prices have flattened and fallen slightly in 2008/09. To book cheap flight tickets, hotels, car rentals, etc. for most Australian cities, visit our Travel Shop. |
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