Creation Pulling Out All The Stops…

If yesterday involved reflections and wonder in the vast landscapes through which I travelled; today that wonder was focused on other creatures with whom we share this planet ~ starting with the wallaby sat by the side of the road, looking at me, just after I set out this morning!

It was an early start, and the ‘usual’ routine ~ shower, pack, load car, leave property. The Hub, where I stayed, has an arrangement with the very good Blue Edge Bakery next door. Following a yummy breakfast, I headed off, just a 30 minute drive to Coles Bay.

En route I made a very brief detour to a lookout over the interestingly-named ‘Friendly Beaches’. Then on to Coles Bay to meet with others booked onto the Wineglass Bay Cruise.

We left at 10am and were due back at 2.30pm ish. The crew were wonderful ~ 5 young men who really looked after us all and were so knowledgable about all we saw. Given its late autumn, the boat was not full, which was really lovely, lots of space to wander around and see all there was to spy.

The focus of the cruise was to head around the south of Freycinet National Park, out into the Tasman Sea, and on Wineglass Bay ~ a stunning, sheltered bay with a huge arc of white sand beach and crystal clear water. 

It is beautiful… the photos don’t do it justice. We reached there, dropped anchor and the engines were turned off ~ it was so peaceful and calm. And there we were served lunch. I don’t usually take photos of food, but given this was served on board, it was amazing, including local fish, oysters and wine!

It’s called the Wineglass Bay Cruise, and it’s gorgeous, yet the real highlight, for us all, was the wildlife we shared our day with; and the reason we were over an hour late back to the jetty.

Even the crew were amazed by the sheer variety and numbers we were privileged to see today. They were all buzzing themselves, despite doing this every day ~ one of them described today as 1/1000!

So what did we see? Here’s the highlights…

1. Sea eagles ~ which sit 1m tall and have a 2m wingspan! We saw one in the air, and later a pair on their nest. It’s hard to determine scales and sizes when you’re on a boat looking at huge landscapes, and apparently the next is the size of a king-size mattress!

2. Lots of other birds ~ cormorants, gannets, a pelican…

3. A group of seals, some basking on low rocks and some in the water doing ‘seal yoga’! Apparently they put themselves in these strange positions to help themselves cool down… see I was listening!

4. Lots of dolphins! First a school of Common Dolphins who ‘played’ with us, surfing in the wake along side the boat, and then behind us, just delightful to see. Later we also saw Bottlenose Dolphins!

5. But the real, real highlight, and why the crew were so buzzing, was that we saw around 20 humpback whales!!! They are currently on their migration north, but never normally are so many seen on any one cruise. We saw single whales, pairs, threes, larger groups; we saw adults and also calves; they were basking, swimming, resting, diving. It was amazing!! 

Of course, impossible to photo, though I tried and I will add some of the seals, dolphins and whales ~ you may need to use your imagination, enlarge etc. They were so close to the boat, just 150m plus, and wonderful to the naked eye. See if you can make out their fins, and even a tail flip!

A rich and sumptuous feast of the wonders of the natural world… and it made me even more concerned when I then had to drive two and half hours to my next stop, because quite a lot of it was in the dark. There are huge warnings everywhere to slow down and not drive after dusk of you don’t have to because of the risks of killing the nocturnal animals. And sadly you do see a lot of roadkill… Thankfully, despite such a long drive in the dark, nothing untoward!

It did take a little longer as I avoided a ‘short cut’ on a gravel road in the dark!  I arrived safely at my next overnight accommodation in Dunalley, grabbing a quick seafood chowder at the local pub before they stopped serving!