Sunday...11 August 2013

Today I went on a whale watching tour. So glad I went. For the past two days I have been suffering with one of my funny headaches and everyone thought I would not be well enough to go but I said I was going even if I had to crawl onto the boat and have them lash me to the seat to stop me falling overboard.
The trip starts with a nice gentle cruise down the river to the ocean and then it gets really rough and hairy for about 30 seconds while the captain navigates through the mouth of the river and into the open ocean then it gets a bit calmer again. The rough bit is often called the washing  machine, the water is unpredictable and only a couple of weeks ago three people died trying to go through this passage, so I deserve a huge pat on the back for being brave enough to take the ride!
Once out to sea we spent more than half an hour looking for the whales and then we found two females and two calves with a chaperone. The little ones did their bit and leapt out of the water but the larger females only breeched a few times. A little disappointed that they did not splash their tail fins but still very pleased to have been out there and to see them in their natural habitat. There was even a couple of dolphins out there too.
Well worth the cost and the few shivers and shakes this non swimmer had when the waves turned rough or were seriously high.
The return passage into the mouth of the river was terrifying as the tide was coming in with us and the waves along the shore were huge and we had to turn side on to them to come through the mouth. Scary for me, thrilling for the boat people who like a bit of excitement in their day.