Whaleworld, Albany, WA

Albany another beautiful town, WA seemed a larger version of Esperance. In fact many of the people we spoke to in Esperance said they loved Albany. Again on the coast, Albany has a long history of whaling, which only stopped in 1978 due to decreased demand for whale oil (because of improved technology), the cost of upgrading equipment and logistics. In fact, Tara had visited the whaling station back when she was very little and it had just closed. 

 A bit of corporate sponsorship.

The actual visit to whaleworld was disappointing. Having paid $58 dollars for the privilege, we spent maybe 30 minutes on the grounds. Walking around one of the old boats was fascinating and hearing stories about all the people who worked the vessel equally interesting. We love boats. But joining the tour, and hearing first hand an unapolgetic account of the mass devastation of the whale population was too much. Tara found it too confrontational, and by the time we reached the flensing deck (where the whales were "processed" or torn apart) Amelia was asking some tough questions. Having to explain to a four year old, how people now know so much more about conservation and the importance of animals and the environment and that technology has now advanced considerably so that we now longer slaughter whales was a hard task. The tour was graphic, especially as the tour leader then put on a soundtrack that explained what life was actually like during the activity. The sounds were disturbing for all of us. We promptly left the tour, disappointed that the tour leader hadn't given true justice to the value of these majestic creatures and how far we as humanity have come, we briefly explored the grounds. The 3D glasses went unused as we skipped another exhibition. The saving grace was the new wildlife park they are developing alongside the old whaling station. At this point we saw another example of inhumanity, beautiful animals holded up in enclosures that are way too small. The wombats were hastily eating their way through bare enclosures, uprooting the few bushes. The owl was surprisingly awake and the white kangaroos melancholy in a corner. Only the bats were happily occupied. There were no staff members present, so we showed ourselves around and left.

Apologies for the rant but I personally was appalled that whaling was almost glorified, even though I understand that for many many people it was their livelihood and without it Albany as we know it may not have developed. I believe that the tour guide could have been more sympathetic to the young children on the tour and possibly indicated an approach more in keeping with modern sensibilities.