Falling back into old habits – and what a way to jump back into the coast than with some whale watching.
I took a quick day trip to do some whale watching yesterday. There are so many places along the coast here offering trips out to indulge in some good old cetacean-staring. It’s not until you get up and close that you appreciate just how enormous these mammals are.
It’s been over 18 months since I’ve indulged in a post around Marine Biology (my other love.) There wasn’t a lot of opportunity when I was living in Melbourne, and now on the Sunshine Coast, it’s on my door step. A Freshwater natural spring on my property and the coastline a 20 minute drive away… it’s about time!
I caught up with Philip, an old friend from my JCU days who has some contacts with diving and tour establishments locally, and did some light cajoling to get me on a cruise. It’s been over ten years since I’ve been on open water, and forgotten just how much I love it. I was also roped into some manual labour to get the vessel ship-shape before cast off – and cheeky Philip pulled me up to share some knowledge on Humpbacks and what other great marine animals were present in the area. Boy did I have to dig deep having been away from the coast for so long.
We were treated to some curious visitors and rewarded with a few breaches, mind you, you’re out on the water for half the day and the encounter (if you are lucky) may only last 15 minutes.
We also used a hydrophone to record some whalesong too, which Philip collects and sends to one of the Universities. Someone there is trying to decipher whale language. The whole day had me melancholy for my research days.
At least this time out I didn’t trip, or fall, or manage to clumsily do something to embarrass myself – I’m famous for landing on my backside at least once an excursion. The closest to a mishap was narrowly avoiding some spray from a motion sick passenger.
All in all a magical day!
I’m going see if I can do some volunteering with Dugong or sea turtle tagging later in the year; or maybe venture out on my own and do some diving if I can borrow or hire some equipment.
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Casey Carlisle 