GateWAy Blog

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…)

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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Great Southern Wine & Food Festival

The Great Southern Wine and Food Festival has moved to April and teamed up with the Harboursound Music Festival to produce a festival that takes advantage of the mild autumn weather and quality entertainment available in Albany at the time.

The major tasting event on Sunday 18 April showcases twenty of the best Great Southern wineries, regional produce and encore performances from some of the international and national entertainment provided through the Harboursound Music Festival.

‘We’ve moved the Festival from December to April to coincide with Harboursound,’ said Great Southern Wine Producers’ Association (GSWPA) Executive Officer John Gates, ‘this should give both Festivals a better chance of sustainability and help to turn autumn in the Great Southern into a really exciting Festival season’.

‘With Harboursound concerts and workshops and GSWPA member satellite events scheduled over the whole weekend, this will be a great weekend to be in Albany’, he said.

The Festival will be held in and around a large marquee on the Grassy Knoll in central Albany on Sunday 18 April. Details are available from www.greatsouthernwines.com.au.

There is a designated area for dogs on Middleton Beach – a very generous stretch of sand – so please would dog owners desist  from using the beach close to where people swim and where they know that they can walk without the risk of stepping on a dog mess. (more…)

Do you ever stick to your new year resolutions for more than a few weeks/ days? I am hopeless but love hearing what other people plan for a fresh start from January 1 – or 2 or whenever….

The usual ones include losing weight, getting fit, more exercise, washing up breakfast straight after breakfast, making the beds every morning and so on. Nothing overly challenging really, but in my case, rarely achieved. (more…)

Christmas is just around the corner and everyone is busy with food, food and more food – and the prospect of expanding girths to attend to afterwards. I found this recipe for Stuffed Dormice ( from Apicius – a Roman Cookery Book) in the front of my well thumbed Kenya High School cookery book which was published in 1959 to raise money for the new school chapel.

Ingredients: Several dormice, pork, pepper, pine kernals, asafoetida, (a gum resin with an obnoxious smell)and  liquamen. (Does anyone know what liquamen is/was?)

Method: Stuff dormice with minced pork and the meat of whole dormice (minced), pounded with pepper, pine kernels, asafoetida and liquamen.  Sew up the dormice, place on a tile and put in the oven, presumably with a bit of fat. Very tasty!

Does anyone have any recipes to rival this one for sheer revulsion and age?

Get practicing for the Mount Barker Cherry Pip Spitting championships which are on throughout  the Community Fair on the 28th Nov at the Visitor Centre Stall.

The biggest spitter will win $100.00 for their nominated club or charity also $50.00 cash to keep.Should the winner make it to the 2nd round in Manjimup  then  another Mt Barker winner will be off to New Zealand again as a prize. Also collecting $50.00 for making the trip to Manjimup.
There will be spot prizes  on the day for  both adults and kids. The cost will be $2.00 per spit and any money raised will go to the Mount Barker Visitor Centre.
Ring 98531110 for more Information.

What would you like to see in York Street on a Saturday afternoon,
when the sun is shining and you have nothing much to do except window shop, scout for an elusive cup of coffee and dream of sitting Subiaco-style on the footpath for a leisurely hour or so?

Here’s one idea to think about. (more…)