But at the
moment (2014) there
is no working pearl farm
even though that may well change in the near future.
There is a
nice and well marked walking
track which takes you to the other side of the island and
back.
The most
famous thing along the track is the
Kennedy expedition graves,
and they are not far from the beginning of the walk.
In May 1849,
the only two bodies that did
not go missing after the
disastrous Kennedy
expedition, were buried here - they were the remains of Thomas Wall and Charles Niblett.
The funeral
service was read by the Somerset Police Magistrate at the
time, Christopher
Hay D'Oyley Aplin, who himself was buried here 26 years
later, after he died at Somerset from an epidemic disease. His grave is
the one with the cross,
right next to Wall and Niblett.
After the
graves the walking track continues across the highest rise on the southern
Albany Island.
The
vegetation is dry and gets more open as you come out on the other side.
The views
over the blue waters and surrounding islands are beautiful.
After a while
on the top of the island, the
track descends,
... until you
come to the
first beach.
The Albany
Island walk
goes along the
beach,
... until a red marker
where it turns in again.
Then it continues in the
bush for a while,
... until it
descends to the
second beach -
... which is
longer and even
more beautiful than the first.
The walk again goes
along the beach,
... past a beach hut,
... on the
beautiful white
sand,
... until a blue marker
where it turns in again,
... and
crosses the island, taking you back
to the southern side.
There is a lookout point
where you see all the way to Somerset Beach (not quite this close -
photo taken with a zoom-in lens).
Back on the
southern side of the island there are hammocks
to relax,
.. or enjoy the campfire if you stay over night (along with drinks on the beach and a three course dinner plus breakfast included),
...
or a lunch with views
(included in your day tour),
The fish and chips with
salad was
very nice, a good restaurant standard, almost unexpected in remoteness
and definitely a great change from camping food :-)
Hamish is a
nice guy who runs all the different tours
including
fishing,
... and all
prices, contact and
all other details are in the Destination Guide.
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