Whale watching. Noticed that it did not start until July - so mentally put it on my list of things to do while I was here in July. Never really thought about it - remembered to get us tickets and Saturday was the day.
I must have had some sort of idea as to what was going to happen - I tightly french braided my hair in two braids - Pippi Longstockings style. So I had the thought that there might be some wind.
Wind. OK. How about boat, rocking, sun, lurching about as if a puppet with a very cruel master ... NO - none of those things went through my head. And I was EXCITED!!!
Got there a bit early and watched these birds do - whatever it is they are doing - for a bit ... then onto the boat: Eye Spy we went. Got a seat on the front row in the very top of the boat. Sure it would be a little cold and windy, but we had a 360 degree view - and it was a BEAUTIFUL DAY!
This bird decided to land on the boat while I was away from my camera. I got back and motioned Gary to take a photo of it before I scared it off:
Got to my camera and got another view - very pretty bird:
Saw some sailboats
And a lighthouse - on Moreton Island. We were heading north of Moreton Island to look for pods of whales.
We looked for some time without much but one or two. After we left the protection of the island itself, it was very rough water. We had purchased the sea sickness pills and taken them earlier - and hoped they worked ...
I was starting to feel - well - icky and when I get feeling icky - my photographing enthusiasm declines at a rapid rate. I kept my camera on full view of the ocean since you didn't know where the whales were going to appear.
I LUCKED OUT and got a shot (from very far away - so blurry) of a whale with a ship in the foreground to give it scale. These guys were huge!!
Feeling progressively worse and worse - I skipped lunch (a VERY good idea) and just let the boat throw me about.I did get a series shot - also it is far away - so not the best photos - but a fun series:
Then, I realized that I was in trouble. Needed to barf and no where to run (no side of the boat to puke over on the top level) so off I ran, down 3 flights of steps to the toilets. Barely made it.And, oh my was I sea sick! The captain was keeping a running commentary that was broadcast all over the boat, so as I heaved, I heard about the whales I was missing ... and SO DIDN'T CARE ...
Gary, being not as sick and much more photo savvy, was at the back of the boat watching a particular whale. He said he surfaced twice then would come all the way out - so he was able to wait - knowing where he was going to jump out of the water (called breaching / breeching ? - for what ever reason). Gary most definitely gets the BEST PHOTOS OF THE DAY award:
Glad I went. They were beautiful - even just to watch ... since I cannot claim any good photos ...
But very glad to be home, on solid ground - with a bed nearby!
But very glad to be home, on solid ground - with a bed nearby!
4 comments:
If you could run three flights in a seasick state, I'm impressed. NOTHING is worse. When I got seasick, I literally couldn't move. The boat crew would bring me barf bags and daub my forehead. They were great, but no amount of pictures would make being seasick worthwhile. It is the worst feeling ever.
Yes - I was probably in the early stage of being sea sick when I staggered off. Getting tossed about in the loo I SO wanted to just lay down there on the floor and die! It was filthy, but a handicapped bathroom so there was room ... decided to share the bathroom with the others and very slowly made my way back to where Gary was.
By that time we were on our way back and almost back to the protection of the island and the 'tossing about' would reduce drastically. Made it back to Gary and just sat on the bench and moaned - wishing I could lay down on the floor - but was too embarassed!
After getting off the boat - I felt like I had been hit by a train - I was surprised that sea sickness wouldn't just stop after getting off the boat. I also have been on many cruises and ferrys (some with rough seas) and never really gotten sick before so this was out of left field. Gary and I were so spent we went to bed at 8:00pm!
Ooooh...brought me back to my whale watching adventure in Alaska when we went on our cruise. So cool! But fortunately I didn't have to deal with the sea sickness. Just felt like I was rocking for a few weeks after being home. In Hong Kong we were told that the Chinese who live on the water in their San Pan boats get "land sick" when they step on land.
Beautiful pictures of birds, action shots of whales, barfing on the poop deck? Is there nothing this women can't do! Sorry about the Capitan Crunch, Chunks Ahoy. Hope things settle down in the tummy soon. AJ
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