Day 9: South Coast Highway to Manjimup

After cranking up the room's pedestal fan to level 3, shoving in the hotel's complimentary earplugs, and drinking several cans of stout before bed, I slept reasonably well. But I woke early, with my body clock still set to Nullarbor time, so I went for a long walk.

I paused for a selfie at the old Albany Train Station, where I had disembarked with two mates from Perth for the best holiday of my teenage years in the 1970s. Then, I trekked uphill through the Heritage Park and Anzac Memorial to Mount Clarence, a place of reflection offering stunning views of Albany and the surrounding bays.

Fortunately, I found a shortcut bush track back to town and arrived at the hotel in time to meet my son. He seemed distant and reserved. The night with his friends may have reminded him of the freedom of not travelling with his dad. (And maybe he'd had a big, late night with them?)

We had a hearty brunch in Albany and then drove to Monkey Rock, near Denmark (where he'd camped last night), to go rock climbing. It was a short, steep track from the car park to the rock. I enjoyed walking in the bush. But I noticed more flies in WA than elsewhere on our trip, and I soon regretted leaving the Aeroguard in the van!

Bush track to Monkey Rock (click for larger image).

A mum and dad with two young kids arrived as my son was setting up for a "sport climbing" run (clipping onto bolts into the rock face, rather than "trad climbing" as he'd done at Arapiles). They were also planning to climb themselves and with the kids. I explained I was only belaying my son. "Why?" they asked. "Because I haven't got a head for heights," I told the mum and dad and then looked at their kids. "But don't let that stop you guys from having fun!" 

(The family was from the Hunter region, north of Sydney, and travelling around Australia. When they got to the road sign in Port Augusta, they'd turned right, headed north to Darwin and would return home across the Nullarbor - my son gave them tips for abseiling off the Bight!)

My son climbed a few routes, including a vertical "crack". I made a few stuff-ups belaying him but didn't get yelled at (too often!). He scrambled up a boulder to retrieve his rope (stuck by friction on the rock face) and made it look easy. "Could I try that?" I asked. "Yeah," he replied, "but I'll lead belay you for safety."

I made the climb look difficult, grabbing plants as "aids" to haul myself up the rock face. But then we scrambled up another boulder to the top of Monkey Rock, and it was well worth the effort for the windswept coastal views — and another prized dad-and-son selfie from the summit!

Summit of Monkey Rock (click for larger image).

The tide was surging, and the waves were too rough for a swim on the coast, but we had a refreshing (freezing!) dip in a sheltered shallow pool to wash off the sweat from our climb. Back on the road, we had decided to skip Margaret River for now and head to Perth instead but hadn't settled on where to spend the last night of our revised road trip.

And then I remembered a caravan park in Manjimup where I'd stayed with my father and brother in my pre-teenage years. It was close to the southern forests and would be a good base for tomorrow's 3 to 4-hour drive to Perth. Serendipitously, as my son and I pulled into town, I spotted a Tall Timbers Brewery pub and restaurant across the road from the caravan park, perfect for our last dinner on the road.

Dinner at Tall Timbers Brewery in Manjimup (click for larger image).