When I woke up, I didn't realise I needed an adventure. It was another cold, windy and drizzly day. I thought I needed a coffee and a heat pack and a cuddle from my very smelly dogs who refuse to go outside when it's wet, and just a total sloth day. Pjs on. Netflix on. One of those days. But then 11am rolled around and suddenly I was pulling on my hiking boots and grabbing my camera and staring anxiously out the window contemplating the weather. And just like that, adventure time!
We hung around Bass Point for hours last weekend and missed the whales. We were't prepped at all, so had no snacks, no blankets, no chairs, no entertainment and pretty quickly got bored and headed to Maccas instead 😂🙄 Anyone who watches whales regularly understands that you need a LOT of luck and even more patience to get some good views but I was totally feeling it in my bones today so made the trek myself. And boy, I was not disappointed.
When I turned up, it wasn't raining which was a good start itself but then I looked out to the ocean. Oh.My.God. What a sight! Stormy, choppy waves, tinted in patches that incredible ice blue amongst the inky water and shearwaters, thousands and thousands of shearwaters, swooping and circling just out of reach of the waves. Perfection. I have had this lifelong dream of going to Antartica one day and I was getting a total Antarctic vibe today. That alone was enough for me...and then the whales came.
To get things started, a mother and her calf came in nice and close, not doing any acrobatics or such but close enough to appreciate the enormity of these animals and just how damn special the whole experience of seeing them is. The water washed over them as they slowly, very slowly, cruised past. And then later, just as I was about to leave, I saw a massive tail splash. There were a few people around at this point and we all headed down closer to the point to get nearer to the action, and after a few minutes a very curious calf started a series of head lunges, water pouring from its mouth on a couple of occasions. And the best thing? Everyone else was standing behind me initially and each time the whale surged up and out of the ocean, they cheered like crazy. I felt like I had my own personal cheer squad and who doesn't need that on a freezing, windy, Friday afternoon.
Humpback Whales
Bass Point
#basspoint #shellharbourcitycouncil #whaleon #wildaboutwhales Illawarra Mercury #backyardzoology #stormyseas
