If you’re visiting between July and October, take the opportunity to experience a magical marine encounter in one of Western Australia’s top whale watching spots by joining a half-day boat tour from Albany. Alternatively, head for the coastal heathlands of West Cape Howe National Park – just a 45-minute drive west from Albany. Here, you can follow the scenic gravel road (suitable for 2WD) to the clean white sands of Shelley Beach, looking out for banksia, dryandra, hakea, myrtaceae and the insect-trapping Albany pitcher plant along the way. In less than an hour’s drive from West Cape Howe National Park, you can be enjoying the flavours of Denmark with an afternoon of wine tasting and dining on fine local produce at the wineries and restaurants along the Scotsdale or Mount Shadforth tourist drives. Be sure to visit Ocean Beach, just south of Denmark, to see many varieties of orchids that bloom in spring, before heading to one of the accommodation options on the coast or in the rolling hinterlands.