Whale Watching

Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore: feeling the salt spray out on the open ocean

A flash of grey and white under the water. We hung over the rails of the catamaran, pointing, gasping, laughing in awe and excitement as two smooth, sleek dolphins appeared suddenly off the bow and raced with us. Then they disappeared just as quickly, leaving us breathless and on top of the world.

Vikki and I went whale watching on Friday. We bought the tickets back in July, and lucky thing we remembered! It cost a pretty prenny, but it was soooo worth it. I can't write about it now, since I have tons of work to finish before the end of the semester (that would be the end of the month), but I'll give a really short synopsis:

Pickup about 8:30 from the Uni, 5 of us total from Sydney. Rest of the bus from NSW and UTS. Stopped at the Sand Dunes at Anna? Beach. Pretty awesome. Stopped at a lookout and saw where we'd be going on the boat that afternoon. Had lunch at the marina. Hopped on the catamaran, headed out to sea. Passed Cabbage Tree Island, the only place in the world where Gould's petrel (nominate race) breeds. The island was used to test the effect of the myxomyotosis virus on rabbits. This involved introducing rabbits to the island. And then killing them with the virus. Except some rabbits are resistant. Brilliant. Destroyed the understory and almost wiped out the petrels that nest in it. The rabbits have now been elimated. Saw an Australian fur seal (actually a sea lion). Saw bottlenose dolphins (breeding group! lol). Found that waterproof jackets are only helpful if the water doesn't come up from underneath you through the grate on the bottom of the catamaran. Saw short-tailed shearwaters, or mutton-birds, so called because sailors used to collect and eat the chicks. Saw common dolphins. Spent a lot of time trying unsuccessfully to find migrating humpbacks. Vikki donated a sandal to the Pacific Ocean when a wave splashed over her feet. Spotted some spray but never caught up to it. Turned around to head back, rather disappointed. Met up with a mother and calf on the way back. Returned happy (understatement).