I headed back to my favourite Fitzgerald River National Park to do a spot of whale watching.
After several weeks of hideously cold and rainy weather, my drive into the national park was under clear sunny skies. The wind was out of the north, so it was an unseasonably warm day; I had to dig out shorts and t-shirt to wear!
Driving along the dirt roads into the park, I noticed something on the road ahead of me, so I slowed down to get a better look. It was an echidna slowly ambling across the road. I pulled over and jumped out to get a photo. When disturbed, echidnas curl up, hiding their little faces under their front paws. This is so cute and makes them look like they are having a “I can’t see you, so you can’t see me” moment, which does make me laugh.
Arriving at the park, I went straight to the coast at Point Ann. In the whale world, this is a popular hang-out and with a bit of patience, I saw many of these magnificent creatures just lounging. There are wooden walkways built out on the headlands to allow you to get great views over the water here, without the danger of falling off the cliffs, which is a nice touch.
I did go for a paddle and I thought the water was pretty cool. But I guess after Antarctica, the whales would find this quite pleasant.
Both Southern Right Whales and Humpbacks come here, but the Humpbacks tend to stay out a bit, in the deeper water. You can still see the massive splashes they make when the whack their great tails on the water, as I saw when I was here previously. Humpbacks are known for the haunting songs they sing and if they are feeling playful, they sometime will leap right out of the water, which I am still hoping to see.
The main image at the top of the page shows my best photo a Southern Right whale, which was sticking its head and tail out of the water. Right whales are about the size of a bus and weigh around 80 tonnes. They are blue/black on top and can be white underneath. You can see the white growth these whales have on their heads. Known as callosities, these are unique and can be used to identify individual whales.
The Southern Right Whales sadly get their name from being the ‘right’ whale to catch. They are pretty slow in the water, which made them easy targets for the harpooners. They come in to the shallower water near the beach to have a scratch on the sand, ridding themselves of barnacles. I was able to get a good look at these whales, just hanging out. It a real treat being able to see these wonderful creatures relatively close to me.
Enjoying my glass of wine on the beach that evening I could see a band of dark cloud moving in, that heralded the arrival of a cold front. Showers soon followed and overnight the blustery northerly that kept the day warm was replaced by a cold and howling gale force south-westerly.
The next morning dawned clear and sunny, but the cold wind tempered the pleasure of my morning wander along the beach. I was hoping to see more whales, but the wind made the sea really choppy and apparently the whales don’t like rough water, so none were playing that day.
However, although it was still cold in the evening, I did return to the beach with my wine. The wind had dropped away and the sea was now very calm.
Sitting on the top of a handy sand dune, I spotted a couple of Southern Right whales frolicking in the still water, which was fabulous to see and I was able to grab a few photos as well.
Then I saw movement close to shore a bit further along the beach and although it was a long way from me, I realised it was a mum with a calf! Wow, I was so excited; I nearly fell off the sand dune!
I grabbed the camera and zoomed in, but as it was getting fairly dark, the camera struggled in the poor light. Sadly the photo is not the best, but you can see the smaller fin of the calf to the right of centre, on the other side of mum, who is lounging in the shallow water.
When I awoke the next morning, the temperature was a sultry 20 C and there was the ominous rumble of thunder. Looking out, I saw very dark storm clouds heading my way, so I thought it might be prudent to head off; the roads in the park are dirt and are closed when it rains. I didn’t want to get stuck in this remote spot and luckily made it back to the bitumen before the rain hit.
My way led me to a part of the Stirling Ranges that I had not visited before, so I headed in to take a look. Bluff Knoll is a rather spectacular rock face that rises dramatically and dominates the view for miles around.
It had snowed on the Bluff earlier that morning and although the sun was nice and warm, the wind was from the south, so it freezing cold when I went for a short wander.
The local Aboriginal people believe the clouds that curl around the Bluff are a lonely spirit and people can be lost in his misty embrace. I could certainly appreciate that, as the weather closed in while I was there and a fierce rainstorm hit unexpectedly.
I had thought I might camp again in the lovely Stirling Ranges, but I learnt that they were predicting sub-zero temperatures overnight. I decided instead to head to civilization, where I could plug in my fan heater and keep warm and toasty in my camper!
