Christmas In The Van For A Travelling Family- Albany
Christmas time is always a busy time of the year for everyone and I would say it still is when travelling on the road. The shops become busier, the caravan parks are full, small towns become filled with travelling families either coming to visit family and friends or to go on their annual Christmas holiday.
We were in Albany Western Australia for our Christmas, and this was our first Christmas away from our family and friends back in Perth. In usual Christmas spirit the van was decorated in Christmas decorations, the children had their chocolate count down calendars and I even found a caravan Christmas themed tea towel off Ebay! So all was well in the West-Coast Cruiser house on wheels!
For Christmas Day we all went to the PCYC to volunteer for the annual Christmas Day Luncheon. This was something we all wanted to contribute to this year and on Christmas Day we headed down to volunteer our time in preparing the community Christmas lunch. This was such a great day and we met some other travelling families. The free luncheon was for all members of the community who wanted some extra company on Christmas Day. It was such a wonderful event that is organised by Steve and Karen Marshall and a big shout out to all the local businesses big and small who donated food, supplies and entertainment for the day.
As Christmas passed, we started to think about what we were going to do for New Year’s Eve. We chose to go to the fireworks on the foreshore. This really was a great night, the fireworks were right above us and our youngest little rugrat Cayden seen fireworks for the first time. We enjoyed dinner from the food stalls and danced in front of the live band. One awesome way to bring in the new year (even if it was at the 9.00pm timeslot)
Over the Christmas break we spent two weeks here in Albany and found that there was so much to do and see. We never realised how beautiful Albany’s coastline really is. We spent many days at the hidden bays and secret beaches that often enough we had all to ourselves.
Here are some of the attractions that are good to see with or without the children. Albany has plenty of history and has done an amazing job at showcasing this for tourists. We learnt so much and so did the kids as all of it was provided in an interactive way.
- The Brig Amity Replica
- Frenchman’s Bay Tourist Drive- along this scenic drive is plenty of stop offs which include- the blowholes, The Gap, Misery Beach (our favourite beach) plus lots more.
- National Anzac Centre
- Middleton Beach
- The Whaling Station
As we were here during Albany’s peak season we chose not to stay at any caravan parks. Instead we stayed 12kms out of town and low cost camp called ‘Lois and Nev’s driveway camp’ with power and water hookup for $20 a night. This was located on a large gravel driveway. We met lots of travellers here and made some life long road friends that we have continued to catch up with on the road.
When you arrive in Albany be prepared for all four seasons of weather. Bring a jumper, bathers and a raincoat. We had nights that went down to 10 degrees, with rain and then the next day it was 35 degrees with clear blue skies. This was in the middle of Summer!!!
On those hot days we headed down to our favourite beach ‘misery beach’. Despite the name, this beach is beautiful. On a blue sky day with no wind the water here is a vibrant bright blue and the water is flat with no waves. The sand is white and as soft as talc. I would even call this a bay, it is a small beach which is closed off by a rock wall. Let’s keep this our little secret and the next time you go to Albany hopefully it will still be a private beach.
Kylie and Dan
Fearlessly Living and Exploring