Archives for 2012

Baywatch style.

On our way back down the coast, Mike and I stopped in Port Macquarrie again. You might remember it as where we celebrated Mike’s birthday and the place I sighted a wild koala. We had a little time to kill before we needed to be back in Newcastle so we decided to go whale watching.

This excursion was one of the first “touristy” things we did. And by “touristy” I mean, fun-things-that-cost-money. We had considered whale watching in Hervey Bay, but the price tag turned us away pretty quickly. Tours started at $85 AUD for 2 hours on a large boat with 300 people and went up from there. In Port Macquarrie we paid $35 AUD for 2 hours on a snappy Baywatch-like boat with 12 people*. I think we made the better choice.

Before we even made it out of the river we spotted dolphins. That’s something I didn’t realize about Australia before. Dolphins are everywhere.

To be honest, I think I enjoyed the boat ride just as much (or even more so) than the actual whale watching. The ride is fast and exciting, and if you enjoy catching wake you’ll love it. I was always a bit disappointed when we slowed down so we could actually start looking for whales.

It look a long time to find one, but we finally came across a teenage humpback. He came right up to our boat and did a bit of showing off. Our skipper was able to identify the whale as one he sees often due to a scar on the whale’s back.

I’m sure a different tour on a different day would have resulted in spotting more whales, but that’s the nature of the activity. You never know what you’ll see. Personally, I was happy with the dolphins, whale, and high-speed boat ride.

xo, jill

*I don’t remember the name of the company we used but we booked via Ozzie Pozzie Backpackers.

“Yes…this is the show you have read about and seen on tv.”

Oh my goodness.

On our first run up the east coast, Mike and I went as far as Hervey Bay. We weren’t able to stay long because we were called back to Newcastle, but before we left we checked out the Shark Show.

How could we not? I mean, check this place out.

The vicious depictions of sharks on the outside should have given me a clue as to the perspective of the exhibition…but I was still a little surprised when I entered. The “museum” is dedicated to the “work” of Vic Hislop, a well known shark hunter in the region.

Basically, he has amassed newspaper clippings, home videos, and random bits of sharks or other animals for display.  All of this is with the aim of convincing you that sharks are mean monsters that desperately need to be hunted.

The tone of the place was a mix of hyperbole and fear mongering. Here are a few quotes from the pamphlet to give you an idea:

The highlight of the museum is the frozen sharks. I’m not lying. There’s what looks like a giant ice cream truck filled with frozen sharks. The only frozen sharks on display in the world. Kind of weird.

To be honest, the whole place was a bit comical to me. I’m not saying that all of his claims were false, but it felt like he was just gathering up facts to justify his desire to kill sharks. Naturally, scientists are wrong, he’s right. He did make the point that one reason sharks attack humans or other gentle prey (whales, dugongs, etc.) is because their original food stocks have been overfished, leaving the sharks to look for food elsewhere. That’s true. But perhaps instead of murdering sharks we should consider NOT depleting the world’s fisheries? Just a suggestion.

xo, jill