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…)

After delivering 14 Step 1 seminars of the Small Business Online program, it turns out that many of you already have a website. A lot of you have really good websites. So what’s next??

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The Magic of Wayne Maxwell June 4th, 2010 Wayne is a Maori living and working in Albany and, lucky us, staying at our new accommodation premises at 1849 Backpackers, behind the London Hotel. Wayne has been a singer/songwriter for more than 30 years and today shared a CD with me, with a little of his music. To coin a cliche … I was blown away! This track is dedicated to his mother specifically, and to all mothers everywhere. I don’t think it even has a title, I have listened to it only four times but it impacts and touches me every time I hear it, so I felt the need to share this with you. We have been privileged to listen to Wayne play us everything from Rock and Roll to Blues to Jazz, to playing covers and his own songs to improvising for hours and indulging in what is clearly, lucky for us again, his passion. This is an audio file only so have a listen while surfing and checking emails. I think you’ll be glad you did. The other nine tracks are superb too and I believe he deserves to sell a million of these. What do you think? Please click on the link below. Enjoy … Wayne Maxwell

If you have entered a photo, and cant see it on the site yet, it is because the moderator is a real person who is away for the weekend… and not online, but he will be back today, so it shouldnt be long now.

We have already received 86 entries in the competition which is fantastic, however it did cause a problem over the weekend because our mailbox quota did not allow any new entries to be received.

If you entered in the competition over the weekend and cant see your photo in the competition gallery, we have not received it so can you please re-enter it and we will add to the competition.

"Great Southern at Work" Winning entry taken by Colin Richardson

In April last year, the Great Southern at Work photo competition was hosted on Albany GateWAy.  This competion was held in partnership with the Great Southern Development Commission.  Click here to see all winners; “Great Southern at Work”

“Great Southern People on the Go” is the theme of this year’s digital photo competition.

Keen photographers in the Great Southern have a new opportunity to showcase their work and win up to $400 from a prize pool of $1000. (more…)

The Extraordinary Taxi Drive

Tourism WA in partnership with the City of Albany and Albany Chamber of Commerce & Industry is pleased to invite you (and your team) to The Princess Royal Fortress at 4pm on April 14 to welcome the Extraordinary Taxi Ride to Albany.

Commencing at 4pm, this welcoming event will incorporate a Mayoral welcome and will include local music and a showcase of local produce. Event festivities are expected to wind up at 5pm, with the taxi and its passengers spending the following day exploring Albany and surrounds.

As part of this extraordinary journey, the taxi will visit the Great Southern between the 14 and 16 of April, with Albany set to host the Taxi and its passengers.  This visit provides a significant opportunity to showcase the region not only to the participants but also to the significant national and international audience who will be following the campaign. In recognition of this opportunity, the City of Albany is planning a welcoming event for the Taxi Ride at The Princess Royal Fortress on Wednesday April 14.

This event will be open to the public and all entry fees to the Fortress will be waived by the City of Albany. As this is a significant opportunity to showcase the region, we would love to see the local industry at the Fortress to help provide a warm welcome for the Taxi and its passengers.

We thankyou for your continued support and encourage you to contact Tourism WA’s Regional Liaison Manager, Mr Brett Bylsma (bbylsma@westernaustralia.com or 9262 1700) if you have any questions about this event.  http://www.extraordinarytaxiride.com.au

There is a lot being written about weddings and wishing wells. I for one disagree heartily with the idea that you are asked/encouraged to give money rather than a present – ostensibly to help pay for the honeymoon! Hello!!! I know a lot of people are getting married for a second time and have  all the toasters and towels they need, not to mention property, assets and nice incomes.  (more…)

If you commit a traffic offence(s) and have your driver’s license taken off you, why should you be allowed to apply for  an extraordinary one? What was the point of meting out punishment in the first place?

A country magistrate has been recently quoted as wanting to ban extraordinary licenses so that people who commit offences on the road actually have to deal with the consequences of their actions and think twice about drink driving or speeding or behaving recklessly on the road. It appears that the law society opposes this, saying that it could impose unnecessary hardship on people if they were stranded at home and unable to get to work, take kids to school etc.  (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?