A very early start this morning for what promised to be an exciting day. We were to be out the front of the caravan park at 7:35 am to be picked up for our half day whale watching tour. The inclement weather of the last couple of days seemed to be breaking with patches of blue sky. The bus dropped us at the Urangan Marina where we boarded the Spirit of Hervey Bay to head to Platypus Bay which is within Hervey Bay on the north west coast of Fraser Island. There were plenty of whales around and it didn't take very long before we were rewarded with 3 humpback whales swimming around and under the boat. This was repeated with 3 more pods of whales at various places in Platypus Bay during our trip and all up we saw some 12 or more whales not counting the ones we saw performing in the distance. The weather held and with the aid of radar the Captain was able to avoid the showers so we had maximum time on deck observing. The whales stay in Hervey Bay unlike other places where they are observed as they are migrating up or down the coast so it is a whale watching paradise. They are huge, gentle and inquisitive creatures, a pleasure to observe.
After the cruise the bus dropped us back at the caravan park where we had lunch and then we headed to the local Stockland Shopping Centre to catch up with some grocery shopping.
A good omen for fair weather.
A whale caught in the middle of a tail slap.