A trip to Albany isn’t complete without visiting the spectacular natural tourist attractions at Torndirrup National Park. There’s The Gap, The Natural Bridge and The Blowholes.
There are manmade lookouts at both The Gap and Natural Bridge, which provide stunning views of the Southern Ocean, where you can see right along the coast from Bald Head to West Cape Howe.
The raised pathway begins at the car parkmaking it stroller and wheelchair friendly. It’s a very short stroll to both The Gap and Natural Bridge through the exposed granite boulders. It almost looked like we’re on the moon, the landscape is so barren.
At The Gap, you can see through the pathway, making it exciting to walk on when the lookout goes out over the rock edge. The grated floor gives glimpses to the sea crashing below.
The viewing platform is 40 metres directly above the surging seas at The Gap, where the massive waves crash against the cliff wall as the surging tide of the Southern Ocean shows all of its fury.
If you walk for 2 minutes in the other direction, you’ll come to the lookout point for the equally stunning Natural Bridge rock formation. These rocks were formed many millions of years ago when Australia and Antarctica collided.
For a busy tourist attraction, I was surprised to find there are no public toilets. The closest toilets can be found nearby at Frenchman Bay.
Another spot to check out is the Blow Holes, a short drive up the road. These are quite impressive, but not for young children, as the walk is quite long. It took us around 15 minutes from the carpark. There are lots of steep steps, and there is no safety fencing at the blow holes either. I’d recommend standing on the upper side of the blow holes and not get too close.
On the day we visited the sea was a little rough, so every few seconds there was a rush of water into the rock cavern below us and we heard an eerie hissing sound and a rush of wind through the holes that would knock your hat off! On very rough days you’ll be lucky to see a jet of water shoot up into the air. The blowholes can spray water over 3m high.
Also in the area is Discovery Bay, a brilliant attraction that is about Albany’s whaling history. At Discovery Bay there are also Australian animals and beautiful botanical gardens.
It is $17 for a day pass for Torndirrup National Park, payable at the ticket machines found in the car park.
Find Torndirrup National Park on Frenchman Bay, Torndirrup, Albany.
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Amanda Carlin has her own food and travel blog. Established in 2013, “The Chef, His Wife and Their Perth-fect Life” has enjoyed an exciting name change in 2021, as “The Chef’s Ex-wife” embarks on new adventures with Simply PERTHfect. Amanda loves getting out and about in Perth and WA, as well as brunching, tapas or something a little fancy in equal measures. With her son “Little Chef” in tow, Amanda always has plenty of family friendly eating options to recommend too! Be sure to check out Simply PERTHfect.
