Jan went out for a walk this morning before I even woke up. She found some Enamel Orchids. So before we left here, she took us to see them. How beautiful.

 

We passed a pond that had more pelicans than I had ever seen together.

Before we left the area we went to see the Green Pools. They lie on the edge of William Bay National Park and are famous for their turquoise green waters and pristine sandy beach. There are large granite boulders surrounding the pool which protect it from the might of the Southern Ocean.

It was just beautiful. I just couldn’t capture the color of the water in my photos.

There was a small bird that landed right below me. So here is the bird for today.

Jan took a photo of Rose, Lyn, and me.

I just had to climb up on the rocks that were along the pristine sandy beach.

It was low tide. I went out on some rocks to see into the pools of water. These creatures were swimming below me. I have no idea what they are.

Jan took a photo of me leaning against the rocks.

We stopped in Denmark once more. Jan and Lyn needed something else from the OP shop. So we went out for coffee and, and this time I had an iced dark chocolate drink with ice-cream in it. Delicious.

Our drive to Albany went very quickly.  We stopped in the visitor center to get information and then drove out to the GAP.

I read the sign that said, “Welcome to Torgadirrup” and explained that the Mirnang people are the traditional custodians of this country.

The Mirnang people are descendants of an ancient culture in which storytelling is used to convey important knowledge, values and beliefs. Dreaming stories have been passed down through generations of Aboriginal people. These stories explain how the spirits of the ancestor beings were passed on to their descendants and confirm the deep spiritual connection of the people to this land and sea.

The following story was written on the information board.

“Two Mirnang brothers had their differences and were fighting over a young woman. The elders became tired of their squabbling and sent them to a place near The Gap.

They made one stand on one side of The Gap and one on the other side. One brother was good at throwing spears, while the other was good at throwing boomerangs. As the first brother threw a boomerang, the second threw his spear.

The first brother was struck by the spear. The other brother was struck in the back by the boomerang. Both warriors fell into the water.

The brother who was struck in the back by a boomerang turned into a shark. The fin on the shark is the boomerang. The brother who was hit by the spear turned into a stingray.”

The Gap is an iconic tourist destination where ocean and ancient rock collide. We ventured onto a lookout over a precipice that was previously inaccessible.

The design of this lookout is amazing. The most important factor in the lookout’s design was the rock foundation. The gneiss beneath the lookout is incredibly strong but the rock contains natural faults and joints near the cliff face. Behind this unstable area is solid, stable rock that provided the perfect foundation for the lookout. Supported by 5 slender beams, the lookout is anchored securely to the stable rock. The cantilevered beams trace the rock surface and rise up over the cliff face.

This is a photo of the design.

It was impossible to capture the power of the water coming into the GAP, but here are a couple of photos.

This was a beautiful place in the GAP

We had our picnic lunch at the GAP and saw the Cable Beach Lighthouse on the way back into town.

As Jan was trying to get the lock on our house called the Castle opened I saw this black skink just before it went under the porch.

This afternoon Rose and I took a walk. We found the Mount Clarence Circuit. It was a lovely walk with a very varied paths…

… including steps to climb.  We had to keep following the signs that said “Circuit” on them because paths went off in several directions

We could see water from parts of the walk.

There are many paths off of the circuit that we may get to explore another time. It was a very nice walk above the city.

Jan made a great dinner tonight and I spent the rest of the evening finishing this post.