This is going to be the first line of my autobiography: 'It had been an enjoyably challenging and interesting week at work'. I'm going to call my book: 'LIAR'. 😂🙄
So when work gives you lemons...you take yourself on a late afternoon jaunt to look for whales! As soon as I pulled up I started that slow scan you do, looking for any sign of life, a puff of spray, a big splash or two. There were sea birds everywhere, including Australasian Gannets dive bombing for fish and loads of white caps as the waves began to build up. I did catch one big calf breach out of the corner of my eye and then nothing. The season is really on its last legs now.
But today turned out to not be about whales at all. Now I'm a HUGE seal fan - the true doggos of the sea - so it's always a total treat to see one just being a seal, rolling and lolling about. And lucky for me, I spotted a sleek body twisting and turning right off the rocks near the car park. Even better I watched as it grabbed a super unfortunate fish and threw it around wildly before chomping it down in three big bites (rest assured there's photos but they suck). In fact, I had kind of admitted defeat part way through - I really couldn't get my camera to focus. Too much water movement, too much sun glinting off of the seal's body, too little skill from yours truly.
But I hadn't spent the week feeling like crap to not enjoy this moment. So I stood and watched as the seal laid back, one flipper in the air, popping up for breath regularly. And then, just like that, it woke up and porpoised towards me, as in right at me!!! I actually said out loud "oh shit, this is happening" 😂😂😂 I need to work on both my gutter mouth and my poise but what's done is done and this seal came up right to the rocks that I was standing on. It popped it's head up and looked at me. I mean, looked RIGHT at me. It dunked its head under and moved in closer and popped up once again and had another long hard look. And then another and another. I heard the short sharp wet exhalation of its breath. I don't know what it is about animal breath, but if I hear an animal that I normally don't get close to breathe, I practically lose my mind. So that kind of totally made my afternoon. The seal then ducked back under the waves and headed towards the rocks where a mother and daughter were standing and proceeded to stare at them. Such intelligent, curious animals.
So that was my day. Both annoyingly rubbish and totally brilliant. I'm sure people at work think I'm a bit of bitch but you know what they say? 'Bitches get pictures'. Or at least they will say that because I'm totally using that as the title of part 2 of my autobiography 😂🙌
Fur Seal
Bass Point
