Monday 21st February
We said our goodbyes to Harry and Elaine, Barney and Ingrid, and Sue and Bill. We set off for Queenscliff. It is a strange town, which I thought looked like a cross between old colonial and the wild west. The streets though are wide, clean and empty.
We got to the docks and the boat that would take us out. We were fitted with wet suits. Jenny was not surprised that she was not a standard wet suit size and that they did not flatter her figure, but that is not why we were here.
We set off with a couple from Holland and a family from Queensland who were taking 6 months off to travel around the country. We first went to some deserted fort foundations where we learned how to snorkel. We saw various fish and the kelp wafting in the current. The others had all snorkelled before which meant that we could be helped by the trip organisers. We slowly got a bit of a hang for it but we were definitely the novices of the group. We got the hang of it a little and it did allow you to see much better under the water even if I did seem to swallow too much. Jenny enjoyed it when her head was under the water. She said it was like watching a Jacques Cousteau film on the television - very peaceful. But she felt panicky when she brought her head up, as the wet suit had in-built buoyancy and she could not get her body to do what she wanted.
We then went off to a platform where male brown fur seals hang out for the summer to fatten up before they swim off to try their luck at a harem next breeding season. Whilst we were there we swam with the seals. They were wild so definitely no touching. We were warned against reaching out but even so they swam really close to us. On land they are so ungainly, yet they are so agile in the water. One of the guides was trying to cut some plastic tape that was around the neck of one seal. If it is not cut off as the seal grows it will strangle the seal. The seal knows he is being targeted and is being awkward. Hopefully in the next couple of days the tape should be removed.
Seals smell. There is a stink of raw fish near them. Again I seemed to swallow too much water which I thought might have too much seal … we won't go there!
When we got back into the boat we were told that the skipper had found out where we would find the prize of the day - dolphins. I think he knew all along really but was just wanting to wind us up. He said that they did not find them yesterday but today there were loads.
A line was put out the back of the boat and we were towed by the boat and the dolphins swam along. I was about 10 feet away from a dolphin as it swam along with us. It was a magical time. At about this time the lack of snorkelling experience let us down. We found that we could see more from the boat than in the water and Jenny felt a lot safer. Fortunately there was a boom off the side of the boat with a net on it. I climbed onto the net and the dolphins were only 2 feet from me as they swam by the net. I could have reached out and touched them, but again they are wild and you don't mess with wild animals. You are not allowed to touch. The boat crew did seem surprised at how long the dolphins played with us. We were then all back in the boat and as I sat at the bow 2 dolphins were playing in the bow wave for a couple of miles as we headed back to the port. Again they seemed to be just playing. It was a totally different experience to see them playing in a bow wave 6 feet away from you as opposed to on the television.
As we returned to port we saw a big container ship. The containers were stacked at least 7 high on the decks. I thought that the boat was huge. Some people want to dredge the bay for sand and gravel and allowing even bigger boats to use the shipping lanes. The fishing community, conservationists and the tourist industry offering dolphin swimming are set against it as they see the end of their livelihood. I am not convinced that the experiment of dredging off the Norfolk coast has had no effect on the coastline at home.
When we get back to Barwon Heads we have new neighbours. They are not family and the whole dynamic has changed. We met one family who are here for a birthday with a '0' at the end. She helped us out as we could not get the microwave to work. We were able to heat up our meal next door. No doubt we pressed the wrong button somewhere as we are not used to microwave cooking. Now we have to have a tea towel over the door to stop the light disturbing us.
We eventually do have our meal. It is on the veranda of the beach house by moonlight and only the 2 of us. Very romantic.
Barwon Heads by moonlight |
Then it is the not so romantic job of packing up for the next part of the holiday. We are heading off down the Great Ocean Road. Up to now we have known what we are going to be doing on any one day and where we are staying. We are now going off into the unknown. We might bump into some of the other couples who are also doing the Great Ocean Road
