The Inside Cabin

Day 47 – Albany, Western Australia

by | Feb 20, 2018 | 2018 Grand World Voyage, Albany, Austrailia, Knitting, Oceania

  1. The Journey Begins – The 2018 Grand World Voyage
  2. Leaving San Diego for Fort Lauderdale
  3. Arriving in Fort Lauderdale and our first day
  4. Fort Lauderdale – Day 2
  5. Day 1 – The Adventure Begins
  6. Day 2 – Our First Sea Day – Abba Fabulous!
  7. Day 3, Georgetown, Grand Cayman
  8. Day 4, At Sea En Route Puerto Limon (San Jose), Costa Rica
  9. Day 5, Puerto Limon, Costa Rica
  10. Day 6, Transit the Panama Canal
  11. Day 7, Fuerte Amador, Panama
  12. Day 8, At Sea
  13. Day 9, At Sea
  14. Day 10, At Sea
  15. Day 11, At Sea
  16. Day 12, At Sea
  17. Day 13, At Sea – Enroute to Nuku Hiva
  18. Day 14, At Sea, Enroute to Nuku Hiva
  19. Day 15, At Sea – Enroute to Nuku Hiva
  20. Day 16, Taiohae, Nuku Hiva, French Polynesia
  21. Day 17, At Sea
  22. Day 18, Avatoru, Rangiroa, French Polynesia
  23. Day 19, Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia
  24. Day 20, Mooera, French Polynesia
  25. Day 21, Bora Bora, French Polynesia
  26. Day 22 – At Sea
  27. Day 23, Avarua, Rarotonga, Cook Islands
  28. Day 24, At Sea
  29. Day 25 – Alofi, Niue
  30. Day 26 – At Sea – Crossed Dateline – Jan 29th GONE!
  31. Day 27 – At Sea
  32. Day 28 – At Sea
  33. Day 29 – Auckland, NZ
  34. Day 30 – Tauranga – 3 Feb 2018
  35. Day 31 – Napier
  36. Day 32, At Sea – Super Bowl Monday
  37. Day 33, Port Chalmers, Dunedin
  38. Day 34, Fjordlands National Park – Milford Sound
  39. Day 35 – At Sea – Enroute Sydney
  40. Day 36 – At Sea
  41. Day 37 – Sydney, Australia
  42. Day 38 – Sydney, Australia
  43. Day 39 – At Sea
  44. 2020 World Cruise Possibilities
  45. Day 40, Hobart, Tasmania
  46. Day 41, At Sea
  47. Day 42, At Sea
  48. Day 43 – Penneshaw, Kangaroo Island
  49. Day 44 – Adelaide, South Australia
  50. Day 45 – At Sea
  51. Day 46 – At Sea
  52. Day 47 – Albany, Western Australia
  53. Day 48 – 21 Feb Perth
  54. Day 49 – Perth Yarn Crawl
  55. Day 50 – At Sea
  56. Day 51 – At Sea
  57. Day 52 – At Sea
  58. Day 53 – Benoa, Bali
  59. Day 54 – Benoa – Bali
  60. Day 55 – At Sea
  61. Day 56 – At Sea
  62. Day 57 – At Sea
  63. Day 58, Puerto Princesa
  64. Day 59, – At Sea
  65. Day 60, Manila, Philippines
  66. Day 61, Manila, Philippines
  67. Day 62 – At Sea
  68. Day 63 – Hong Kong
  69. Day 64, Hong Kong
  70. Day 65 – At Sea
  71. Day 66 – At Sea
  72. Day 67 – Phu My, Vietnam
  73. Day 68 – Siem Reap (ms Amsterdam at Sea)
  74. Day 69 – Siem Reap
  75. 2020 World Cruise – w/detailed dates
  76. Day 70 – Singapore
  77. Day 71 – At Sea
  78. Day 72 – Phuket
  79. Day 73 – At Sea
  80. Day 74 – At Sea – Enroute to Sri Lanka
  81. Day 75 – Columbo, Sri Lanka
  82. Day 76 – At Sea – Enroute to the Seychelles
  83. Day 77 – At Sea
  84. Day 78 – At Sea
  85. Day 79 – Victoria, Seychelles
  86. Day 80 – At Sea
  87. Day 81 – At Sea
  88. Day 82 – St Denis – Reunion Island
  89. Day 83 – At Sea
  90. Day 84 – At Sea
  91. Day 85 – At Sea
  92. Day 86 – Maputo – Safari Day 1
  93. Day 87 – Kambaku River Sands – Safari Day 2
  94. Day 88 – Kambaku River Sands – Safari Day 3
  95. Day 89 – Kambaku River Sands – Safari Day 4
  96. Day 90 – Cape Town, South Africa
  97. Day 91, Cape Town, South Africa
  98. Day 92 – At Sea
  99. Day 93, Walvis Bay, Namibia
  100. Day 94 – At Sea
  101. Day 95 – At Sea
  102. Day 96 -Luanda, Angola
  103. Day 97 – At Sea
  104. Day 98 – At Sea
  105. Day 99 – Crossing the Equator
  106. Day 100 – At Sea
  107. Day 101 – At Sea
  108. Day 102 – Banjul, Gambia
  109. Day 103 – Dakar, Senegal
  110. Day 104 – At Sea
  111. Day 105, Praia – Cape Verde
  112. Day 106 – At Sea
  113. Day 107 – At Sea
  114. Day 108 – At Sea
  115. Day 109 – At Sea – April 23, 2018
  116. Day 110 – At Sea
  117. Day 111 – San Juan, Puerto Rico
  118. Day 112 – At Sea
  119. Day 113 – At Sea
  120. Day 114 – Fort Lauderdale
  121. 2018 World Cruise Entertainers

Day 47, 20 Feb Albany, Western Australia

Albany sits on the south eastern coast of Australia about 250 miles south, south east from Perth.  This is as far south of the equator as San Luis Obispo or North Carolina are north of the equator, so the temperatures here today are what you would expect to find in those spots in late August.

The ship was cleared around 8 AM but we weren’t in any hurry to get ashore as we had no specific plans.  During my pre-cruise research for this port, there wasn’t anything that caught my eye, so we would just be taking it easy and spend our time ashore exploring Albany on foot.

Getting Oriented

Here is a map that shows where we were moored along with the locations for the following points of interest:

  • Free shuttle bus stop
  • Public Library with free Wi-Fi
  • Coles Grocery store
  • ANZAC Museum

The cruise terminal is nothing more than an empty warehouse which leads out to an area that was coned off with lanes for taxis and marking paths for the shuttle and tour buses.  There didn’t appear to be any restriction to walking out of the port if you were so inclined.

The Albany Cruise Terminal is rather sparse

Shuttle Bus for short trip to center of town

Walkabout

We left the ship around 11:30 AM and found the shuttle bus about ready to leave for the 5 minute ride to the center of town.  Helpful volunteers met our bus and were available to answer questions.  A shuttle bus that would take you to the ANZAC museum for $15 AUS round trip was parked right around the corner.  A taxi to the museum would probably cost about $12 each way so that would be the better value for more than 2 people.

After we got oriented, we headed north toward the center of Albany and the Coles’ grocery store.

Haircut

Along the way I spotted a barber shop with an open chair, so I decided to stop in and get my first haircut of the cruise.  Jenny was my barber and she was very nice and chatty, giving us some insight to life in Albany.  She grew up in Perth but moved to Albany years ago for the cooler weather and more laid-back lifestyle.  The haircut cost $25 AUS ($20 USD) as compared to about $29 USD (including tip) on the ship.

Pete with his barber, Jenny, who did a wonderful job!

Shopping

Coles was across street and a very close walk.  We spent about 1 hour there browsing around and stocking up on some Tim Tams, batteries for my flash and a few other items that we couldn’t live without.  A liquor store called LiquorLand is adjacent to Coles and we found a few bottles of wine that were difficult to get in the USA.  Later we discussed the pricing of wines at LiquorLand with some other guests who went on many wine tours and we learned that the prices charged by LiquorLand were always less than when you bought the same wine from the winery directly.

After Coles we headed back toward the shuttle bus stop but we would take a detour to see a local landmark called “Dog Rock” which, as the name implies, is a rock that looks like the head of a dog.  Virtually every business near “Dog Rock” seemed to use “Dog Rock” in their name.

This was the dress code for a nightclub near Dog Rock. Try enforcing this one.

Talking with a shop keeper

We always look for opportunities to interact with locals and when I spotted the Firearm and Archery store on York Street, I stopped in to see if they were willing to discuss firearm issues in Australia.  The store was empty, and the proprietor was friendly, and we spent about 20 minutes discussing the various Australian laws that govern the sale and use of guns and ammunition in Australia along with other issues.  Once another customer arrived we thanked him for a great conversation and continued on our way.  I won’t comment further on the specifics of our conversation to avoid getting sidetracked, but I offer this as an illustration of a method to explore a town beside visiting the normal tourist stops.

Icky Finks

On the way back toward the library we stopped by a store called Icky Finks, which was a smaller version of a Michaels that you would find in the USA.  The store is hidden behind the shops on east side of York Street and is accessible from Serpentine Road.  They had some acrylic and polyester yarn, plus a small selection of knitting needles and other accessories.  Near the front door, they had some security camera photographs of people who were banned from the store – probably for shoplifting, but there wasn’t any reason given.

No natural fibers!

Library

We brought our laptops with us to get them synchronized with various databases and get some updates.  Doing some of this aboard ship is almost impossible regardless of how long you are willing to wait.  The library offered up to 2 hours of free Wi-Fi and while the download speed was fine – the upload speed was about the same as the ship and worthless for my needs today.  If you only want to browse the web or sent a few emails, the library is close to the shuttle bus and would be a fine choice for that purpose.

McDonalds

We heard that McDonalds had faster Wi-Fi, so we walked back up York Street to McDonalds where we bought some lunch and used their free Wi-Fi until it was time to go back to the ship.

All aboard was 4:30 and we didn’t want to leave early to walk back to the shuttle bus stop, so I called the local taxi company and booked a cab to pick us up at 4PM to take us back to the ship.  The ride was about 10 minutes and cost $11.00 AUS.

Dinner

Popular Choices for dinner included:  Tri-Tip Asada, with cilantro, lime crisps and a chipotle demi glaze or the Caribbean `Jerk’ Whole Roasted Chicken with Jamaican peas and rice served with grilled pineapple spears.

Evening Show

DivaLicious was in the Queen’s lounge for their second show.  This performance featured more Opera Airas rather than the popular show tunes of their first show.  They have amazing voices and their show is very entertaining – don’t miss them if they are performing at a venue near you.