Yesterday morning was a working morning. At the caravan park we were up early and spent until 10.00 a.m. getting ready to leave. Or that is how it felt. We headed towards Mt Barker for shopping and a coffee afterwards. We had emptied the cassette at the caravan park, but their water was a bit dicey (according to the manager) and we took advantage of Mt Barker’s facilities to fill up with water. I am a bit cross that they closed the free overnight parking, but not enough to deter me from shopping there. It was easier than going to a supermarket in Albany.

The drive down wasn’t too busy and we bypassed the city centre to take the road to Frenchman’s Bay. We had found a cheap place to stay on Wikicamps. The public golf course, about 9 kms from town, offers overnight stays by self contained vehicles for $15.00 per night. There are old, but passable, public toilets available 24/7, and that’s it. We’ve paid for two nights.

After booking in we drove out to Frenchman’s bay to have our lunch. Because of having morning tea we weren’t hungry until about 3.00 p.m. We found a beautiful place overlooking a very sheltered swimming area. There were people camping a bit further along the road above the bay and when I checked on Wikicamps found that this was not a formal camping area, but people do camp there. There are ‘no camping’ signs at the beach parking area, but nothing where we were. There are public toilets and outdoor showers available as well.

We spent a peaceful afternoon enjoying being in the lovely location. I took photos when we went for an evening walk, but am feeling a bit disappointed as they don’t convey how lovely it was. Only the fact that we had already paid to camp at the golf links made us go back there for the night. It was quiet overnight and we had a good night’s sleep. This place works out well for people with caravans who have a safe place to leave them during the daywhilst they tour around in their cars. The car park is very large and a few caravans on the edge don’t make much difference for people wanting to play golf.

It was another lovely day. I enjoyed the drive into Albany from Mt Barker because it is much greener here, indicating that they have had sufficient rain, unlike the rest of the southern area of the state where it’s now very dry.