I took a stroll to the Skillion (The headland at the southern end of Terrigal beach) for a spot of whale watching yesterday. I wasn't expecting to see anything, but took my binoculars with me on the off chance that there would be something good to look at. It was a glorious day of around 17degrees with blazing sunshine and a surprisingly calm ocean.
Was there anything to see? There certainly was! I saw a group of about 3 humpbacks slowly cruising northwards on their annual migration to the warmer waters off Queensland for their mating season, evident from the regular blowing of water as they surfaced, and the occasional flick of a tail as they returned into the depths.
Then came the best bit. One was obviously feeling playful as it suddenly breached, launching itself out of the water to what I would guesstimate was a height of 20-30ft. I could see the white underside of the whale and the outline of its enormous mouth before it fell back to the sea with an almighty splash. As you can imagine, 36 tonnes of whale splashing down from that height created a huge splash, the location of which was still evident some 5-10 minutes later!
I didn't take my camera with me, just my bins, so I have no piccies of this amazing sight, but I think that the image of that whale will stay with me for a lifetime :)
Cracking day!
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