Tag 160 - speechless

07.10.19

- Jonna

The peacocks wake us up early with their cries, so we get up and have breakfast. Then we take a shower again to fully utilize the space and then we drive off to visit the botanical garden nearby. From there, we also call a company that offers whale watching, but they only have free slots for tomorrow because the sea is too rough today. Well, then tomorrow and now let's visit the botanical garden, which is nice but nothing extraordinary.

Then we go shopping again and then we actually want to visit a few second-hand shops, but unfortunately they are all closed because today is the Queen's birthday and that's enough for the Australians to have a public holiday. Okay, they can have it. We drive to the harbor, inquire about whale watching tours again and actually find a boat that sets off despite these weather conditions (which in our opinion are no worse than any day at the Baltic Sea). We have some time before we depart and have another coffee overlooking the harbor and then embark with a few other brave and sea-worthy people (I've taken two of my dubious Asian travel pills just to be on the safe side and I hope the side effects won't throw me completely off track).

The ship is quite large and we secure the best seats right at the front, downstairs. We enjoy the ride, which is actually quite rocky, eat sweets from the buffet, enjoy the view of Fraser Island, and the sun, which can hold its own against the fresh wind.

Soon we spot the first whales and we are incredibly impressed by the huge creatures. A mother with her baby pops up next to us from time to time. The baby is very playful and luckily very motivated to jump out of the water again and again. With its five meters, that's quite impressive. The mother and her companion, who is with another couple, are at least 15 meters long and it completely leaves you speechless; especially when they spout their fountains and you see the huge tail fin. We are always informed through a loudspeaker where to look, and there are also thrilling bits of information about the humpback whales, who raise their babies here at this time of year. We spend a good half hour next to the three of them and the fascination, which was already present even if you've never seen a whale before, intensifies immensely. We continue on and two more times we encounter whales and have ample opportunity to observe them.

(Alex: In that moment, I curse the burglar twice and thrice for stealing my 50mm lens; that's why only wide-angle photos)

On the way back it gets quite chilly, it's already late afternoon and with snacks in hand and the sunset in front of us, we return to the harbor.

All in all, it was absolutely worth it and it wasn't as rough as we thought it would be (maybe my pills are just very, very effective). Very impressed, we go to the car and drive a long way south to a free spot. There is another barbecue and we fry ourselves some burgers, quite hungry. After everyone has eaten their fill, we fall exhausted into bed.

- Jonna