We recently spent a long weekend in Albany, which is the southern-most tip of Western Australia. The drive takes about four hours, making it a great distance to get away for a few days but not too far that you will spend the whole day in the car.

The drive follows the aptly named Albany Highway, which starts in Victoria Park and is a bustling main road throughout most of the southern suburbs hosting businesses, shops and houses. At Armadale, the road takes a turn left into the Wugong Regional Park where it very quickly becomes rural bushland as far as the eye can see.

We had left mid-morning and so we arrived at a small town called Williams around midday. When driving through Williams it is hard to miss the Williams Woolshed which is a large cream building that houses a cafe, restrooms, shops and a new drive through coffee window. The woolshed is always very popular so it was really busy when we arrived. We decided not to stop for lunch yet and just grabbed a take away chai. It was made traditionally with steeped tea which was delicious!

Another hour along Albany Highway gets you to Kojonup where there is a great rest stop near the Kojonup Visitors Centre called ‘The Kodja Place’. There is a playground with public bathrooms, the Black Cockatoo Cafe as well as a gift shop, museum and rose maze. We stopped in the cafe for lunch where I had a mushroom and caramelised onion quiche that is served with chips and salad.

After a little walk around to stretch our legs we headed straight to Albany which is another 1 hr 40 mins away. Half way between Kojonup and Albany is the town of Mount Barker which would make another great stop if you wanted to split up the drive even further.

Our accommodation was the Big 4 Middleton Beach Holiday Park, which is one suburb over from the centre of town, right on Middleton Beach. We had the most stunning views of the King George Sound right from our balcony!

After checking in and admiring the amazing view we drove over to the Albany Memorial Cemetery. A few years ago I researched my family history and it turns out I had some ancestors that lived in the area. I was able to find the resting place of a couple of great-great-great-great-relatives which was interesting! Even if you have no personal connection to the area, there are plenty of well-known Albany pioneers in the Memorial Cemetery.

We then headed to Coles at the Plaza Shopping Centre for a few supplies, drove down York Street to see the centre of town and then drove around Mount Clarence to see some more of the awesome views.

For dinner we walked along the beach to the Hybla Tavern. It was absolutely freezing, but the sunset was beautiful. Unfortunately due to the restrictions currently in place there were no tables available for us to have a sit down meal, but we were able to order take away. I got the most delicious wagyu beef burger and my husband got the spicy ribs. You can tell that everything is made fresh with local ingredients.

Our Beach House came with a bluray player and big screen tv so for the evening we settled in for a movie and Tim Tams.