GateWAy Blog

A perfect place for lunch is at the Pepper and Salt Restaurant in Denmark. Surrounded by beautfiul gardens, vineyards and water fountains all seen through the most amazing clean windows. The service was outstanding during the entire meal and the table visits from Chef Silas were appreciated and enjoyed. The food was delicious and the presentation meticulous. We loved the origin of the name of the restaurant and the pepper and salt grinder on the table. Chef Silas is Mr Pepper and his wife Ange is Mrs Salt.
We enjoyed the Pepper & Salt Regional Producers Platter and Blue Manna Crab Wontons,Scotsdale Marron in a Shitake and Bacon Hock Broth.

Without any prejudice could you please tell me if Albany is a windy place?

I know there is a wind farm down there so obviously there is wind but if you lived there would you say the wind is frustrating, hard to live with or excessive?

My husband and I would like to move to Albany to live and we get all these negative comments like -its so windy or its cold and rainy. We like cold and rain, its our first reason to choose Albany as we don’t like the heat and we like the look of everything about Albany and so will make our own decision from our own research not throw away comments from people who don’t really know.

So just want local opinion on the wind.  Please login to reply.

A Tree Top walk was first proposed in this area in 1994 to protect the tingle forest. Construction began a year later.  The construction consists of 60 metre lightweight bridge spans on seven pylons.  It reaches a maximum of 40 metres at the highest point.   It is a world most people never see.  The spans were especially designed to sway slightly as you walk to create the sensation of being in the canopy of the forest.  Well it certainly swayed brilliantly today.   The life of a Red Tingle is approx 400 years and they can reach a height of 75 metres.  They are some of most enormous trees in the world and can only be found in this region.  A distinctive feature of the Red Tingle is the large, hollowed out base.  These have been caused over a long period of time by fire, fungal and insect attack.  Most of the plant life is unique to this area and the tingle forest hosts an abundant food source for native animals such as quokkas, bandicoots, possums and the western grey kangaroo.  As most of these animals only come out at night we need to do a Forest by Night Tour.  Here you get to explore the forest by torchlight beneath a blanket of stars.  The Ancient Empire Walk meanders through a grove of veteran trees at ground level and gives another perspective of the magnificent giants
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As luxury accommodation providers, our aim is to give our guests the ultimate experience while in Albany.  We like to recommend places to eat, so we are trying the many restaurants in Albany.

Tonight we headed off to the ‘new’ Rustlers Steak House. The minute we walked through the door we were immediately impressed by the gorgeous surroundings. Rustlers have chosen their colours wisely and used the space well of what used to be a Health Club. (more…)

Mutton Bird Island

Yesterday I was educated that when the cows are lying down, the fish are not biting.  Well even the horses were laying down yesterday.  Did that mean that the whales were also not out? Mutton Bird Island is a favourite fishing spot approx 16km from Albany. Main species that can be caught here are herring, skippy, rock species, whiting, salmon, silverbream, pike, flathead, shark, queen snapper and sampson fish.

Awesome colours of the wild flowers

The Stirling Range National Park is about 80 kms north of Albany. The ranges rise abruptly from the lowlands which have been mostly cleared for farming. The ranges stretch for more than 65 kms, there are barren cliff faces, awesome views and brilliant coloured wildflowers. We walked along part of the Bluff Knoll Trail. (more…)

We went on long beach walk today from Ledge Beach to Gull Rock.Gull Rock Beach named of course, because of the large number of Gulls found on the rock just off shore, one of whom Captain Kalgan thinks might have been Jonathan Livingstone! Gull Rock is 26k East of Albany. The water was a turquoise colour and we were tempted to jump in. Albany has some of the most stunning and pristine beaches in Australia if not the world. There are beaches for fishing, snorkelling, swimming, surfing and body boarding. Stay at HideAway Haven while in Albany and enjoy some time at the beach. We have facilities for washing bathers and towels at the end of a day at the beach.

Ledge Beach

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Let’s debunk some myths about Albany here, and be clear how these myths started in the first place.

The weather in Albany, according to people who don’t know who live in Perth and who perpetuate the myth by telling everyone else what they think they know, is that it is always cold and raining in Albany. The strange thing about that is, on average Perth gets more anual rainfall than Albany does.

It is Wednesday 16^th June. Outside is a clear blue sky and both Princess Royal Harbour are silky smooth, with no wind. It isn’t hot, but it isn’t cold enough to put a jacket on either. Looking around the town, half the people I see are walking about in T shirts or at most, light jumpers. I am ‘working’ at a cafe table, with a latte and a bun.

And for most of the winter this is what Albany will be like. We will get colder days sometimes, and very wet days as well because it IS the middle of winter, but we don’t get many, and when the front passes over we’re back to clear blue days and cold nights.

I have had three phone calls this week with people in Perth presuming that Albany must be perishingly cold and pouring with rain. The myth is so well entrenched they just laughed when I said the sun was shining. So where does this myth come from?

It stems from the summer holidays we have here, when Perth folk come down in bucket loads to escape the blistering heat in Perth and find themselves in a cooler climate. One of the problems with this time of year, too, is that that for some reason our seasons are slight askew, so it is common for people to get cold and wet here during what are traditionally regarded as summer months.

So, when they return to Perth to warm up and dry out, they go with the belief that if the weather is that cold and wet in summer, it must be appalling during winter.

This is NOT true.

Albany people know the best time of year here is February – end of June, with a break for some rain at Easter when visitors come from Perth again. I don’t know why, it just happens that way, and helps perpetuate the myth.

Let me describe Albany to you right now. The sky is cobalt blue, there is no wind, the harbour and King George Sound are flat and reflect the extraordinary colour of the sky.

Café’s are full of people sitting OUTSIDE and people are happy, chatty and chuffed with their lot. Whales are swimming about in the Sound and we can go and see them now, either via a charter boat or by whale watching off our stunning coastline, a short walk away. There are dolphins flipping about, seals in abundance and whole flocks of pelicans showing off.

I am sitting outside wearing a jumper and jeans. I am warm, comfortable and there is no wind. It might rain for a while tomorrow, but not for long, because it is common to have four seasons in one day in Albany, certainly in one week, and we like it that way. We rarely get so hot we cant breath and rarely get so cold it’s unpleasant.

I will be posting photo’s of Albany – RIGHT NOW on a regular basis to give you a taste of what it’s like to be here, to live here, to relax, live and visit this extraordinary environment.

Sun, whales, dolphins, cafés, views, hills, six National Parks and one Natural Reserve, a lifestyle second to none and close to our wildflower season. And the weather – it’s a beautiful day, thank you for asking!