Whale Watching

Good night sleep had and nice breakfast in the restaurant. All on the bus for our 7.30 departure, although I did have to go searching for one of my kittens, the one I set the alarm for, and I don't think she will keep us all waiting again.... On the Whalesong catamaran and out into the Bay we head. It is a beautiful day, weather perfect. No need for jackets. The staff are very attentive and soon after leaving our mooring we are offered trays of fresh fruit, and then shortly after that, trays of cake are offered. We can get tea or coffee at any time. Within about an hour, we see our first humpback whales. They are not overly active as the waters are so calm. For the next 3 or so hours, our captain takes us all over the place in search of more whales and we get to see many, perhaps about 20 in all. As luck would have it, the last pod we see has 3 'teenager' whales who get really close to our boat, and put on a lovely performance for us. Unfortunately due to sun glare on my camera screen, I didn't manage to get any really good photos of the whales so you just have to take my word for how good it was, or come here and see for yourself! It really was fabulous. At one stage some very cheeky Dolphins were swimming immediately in front of our boat, at about 14 knots. They were amazing and great show offs. Lunch onboard was chicken and salad, very nice and fresh. We then headed back to land, passing along Fraser Island which looked to me like nothing special at all, although beautiful white sands. Otherwise just lots of trees, and I mean heavy density trees. Back in the bay at about 1 pm so we've had a great morning. Can't think of a nicer way to spend my last day in SAPOL either!!! Our coach takes us back to our hotel and we girls agree to go down the street for a coffee. As it turns out we end up at EAT which is a quirky small cafe that is wonder by Dan and Steph. This meant nothing to me, but apparently they were previous winners of MKR. The coffe was good, but in checking out the food menu there were lots of 'odd' combinations that were just a bit too arty forty for my taste buds so can't see myself going back there for a meal. Then we all went our separate ways although I went with one of the kittens to a pub where I donated $10 to the pokies, found a bottle shop and bought supplies, then headed back to our hotel, having met another of my kittens in the bottle shop! Back in my room, time for a much needed cuppa and a chance to check emails and do the blog. Think I've finally got a decent internet connection so hope this saves and then posts. Am not going to chance adding photos at the moment as the whole thing is likely to crash without saving, and that would make me very sad... Time for dinner at a local hotel motel. There are 26 in our group and for the most part our little gaggle tend to stick together so we have dinner together and this has been a great opportunity to get to know each of them better. As I have been to the bottle shop and stocked up on supplies, I have invited the kittens back to my rooms after dinner to celebrate my retirement. So back on the coach we go, back to our hotel and all trundle to my rooms. Out comes the pink champagne and strawberries and a lovely toast from one of the kittens marks my transition to civilian life after 35 years 'on the job'. My response to the toast was that I couldn't think of a better group of friends to mark the occasion with... But wait, no, that's not true. I do have better friends, but they were all busy!!, As you night imagine, that brought howls of laughter... Anyway, lots more chatting, story telling and laughing. Finally they all drift back to their rooms and I head to my bed. Lovely day and a great start to our holiday.