Note: This post is a very long post with tonnes of pictures. I thought of dividing it into 2 posts but I think the place is so interesting that it's worth putting it all on one post. So please bear with me. I'm sure you'll find reading this interesting and worthwhile (I hope so)! :)
The very most interesting place that we visited while we were in Albany was the Whale World, located on the Old Cheynes Beach Whaling Station, overlooking the Southern Coast of King George Sound. This whaling station was the last whaling station to be closed in Australia, in 1978, and was since then used as a tourist as well as an educational attraction for people to learn more about the whaling process.
A cute little whale that I ought to have a picture with it! :)
A bigger whale!!
There are many things to do and see in the Whale World. The staff recommended a 2-3 hours visit around this place, but we spent close to 4 hours! Entrance to the Whale World, includes a free guided tour where the tour guide brings you back to the days in 1800s where whaling was one of the lucrative trades in Australia. The tour guide explained the process from when the whales are caught, to when they are cut up, also known as flensing, to the part where the bits of whales are processed and boiled.
One of the many weapons they use to catch the whales and sharks and kill them
The whales are brought in from the sea to the wooden plank, the chopping board
Standing on the flensing deck, or the so-called chopping board
How they cut the whales on the chopping board
One of the many machinery gears to pull the whales up to the chopping board
The head saw. Reminds me of Bao Qing Tian. Gee
One of those boilers/processors to harvest the good bits of the whales
During the guided tour, there is also an audio tour where a tape is played to create the scene of the yesteryear. It's really a pity thinking of how those innocent and defenseless whales being cut up and I'm glad that they have now stopped whaling. One of the many things and specimens they take from the whales are:
Whale lice?! Yuck!
Whale ear drums?! And they even painted on them!!
The oil they processed from the blubber
A whale embryo from the mummy whale. Poor little fella
Humpback steak, anyone?
There is also a large skeleton exhibit in Whale World. As we entered the exhibit, we were shocked to be told by the tour guide that the bones at the entrance were actually the jaws of a whale!! Freaking huge compared to a human..well obviously!
Me so short~
Eat Chin Fei whole! Haha
The tour guide showed us a skeleton (behind Chin Fei on the top picture) to which we were like, "Wah, so big' and then the tour guide said, 'If you think this is big already, let me bring you to see a bigger one' and we were led into another room and Holy Moly, that was GIGANTIC!
The small skeleton
The gigantic one
The other smaller skeletons
Poor little baby dolphin washed up to shore
We also had the chance to go up on board the Cheynes IV, one of the ships used for whaling.
No..not this one :P This is one of the small boats they used in olden times
This one!
Up on board!!
The spear they use to catch the whales
Now let's shoot the little naughty kids. Tee hee hee
So many more spears lying on the boat floor
Aye aye captain. Looking for whales
Oh look, there's one! Gee...
The emergency steering wheel
We even went inside and explored the ship and that took us like an hour or so because it was a very big ship. It was like a maze inside.
A narrow corridor..or a fat me. Which one? :P
The kitchen
One of the many discussion rooms
One of the many tiny bedrooms
So short bed. I wonder how the men can fit
The view from the room. So sien
The disgusting toilet. :P
The radio room
There's also a hut someone stayed last time so that it was near to the workplace. LOL.
Inside the hut
The entrance to the Whale World also includes a free entrance to Walk in the Wild where we saw a few marsupials and some birds and mammals etc.
The Whale World is a must-visit place when you stop by Albany. Allocate about 4 hours for this place and you'll find that your visit is rewarding. Unfortunately, at that time, the souvenir coin machine ran out of the souvenir coins so that means that I'll be back again next time! Tee hee hee. :)
The whale world coin
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