7th Nov day 24 weather and whale watching

It was a cloudy and overcast start so I couldn't decide how to best spend the day. After doing some research reading I plumped for whale watching and the bridge climb, so wore warmer clothes and my walking boots. When the receptionist looked up the cost of the bridge climb I decided against it as it was over £100, especially as I had been reading about the 10 best free things to do in Sydney and that included a walk across the bridge. Had the main part of Sydney been hilly like San Francisco I probably would have done it but it's comparatively flat so I was sure I would get great views just walking it.

By the time I arrived at Darling Harbour the sun had come out and it was warm, I was beginning to wonder if my choice of clothes was the best. Having booked my ticket for the whale watching boat I just had time to walk around the harbour, take these Minnions and grab a coffee for on board.

By now the sun was hot. As I sat on the top deck I regretted dumping the expensive sun cream I had bought in the UK on my desperate 'must lighten my baggage mission' before I left. It had been such a bargain too as most of us know there hadn't been a stampede of shoppers for sun cream in the UK this year! Anyway I was only out in it for under an hour because as we left the harbour and entered the choppy waters of the Pacific it clouded over and became cold.

The trip was exhilarating as it was a fast boat and it was fairly pitching and tossing as we headed south to where whales had been sighted. After about half an hour we arrived where 3 other boats were waiting. Within 15 mins I had seen my first whale, well 2 actually - a mother and calf, how incredible and exciting. Firstly we saw their spouts of water and then their backs before they dived under water.

They were Humpback Whales who migrate each year from the Antartic which is their feeding grounds for Krill (schools of small fish that they take in just by opening their mouths), to the warmer waters towards the equator where they mate safely and their young are born. They come through the ocean by Sydney twice a year between April and Nov. The mothers and their calves particularly stay close to the shore away from predators. 

We saw them 3 more times, during one of them the calf gave a very impressive jump and dive we also saw the mothers tail as well. The captain told us they were probably going deeper for her to suckle the calf therefore it was unlikely they would show for some time. It's possible for them to stay underwater for as long as 30 mins but being mammals they do always have to surface to breathe. Sadly for me I didn't get a single picture of worth as I had to hold onto the side of the boat - and my iPad, for dear life. This is as good as it gets with the black mark in the sea being the end of the mother's tail. But on the up side I didn't go overboard and probably more importantly for me on this trip I didn't lose the iPad!

What a blessing we have memories and I will forever be able to see those magnificent wild animals in my mindseye. 

It started to rain and the wind blew as we headed north to other possible places for watching them. We saw lots of flying fish which I love and an albatross followed the boat for quite some way, all of which was fantastic. But we didn't see any more whales, so eventually headed back in the choppy waters, quite a few people were seasick but thankfully I am a good sailor so was fine.

However when we arrived back on land I was cold and shaky so opted for getting something hot to eat. I had missed lunch, just had a packet of nuts with my coffee when we boarded (Carol told me they are good for staving off Alzheimer's so am eating a lot more now) and by now it was 5pm. I had a very hot but tasteless spaghetti bolognese accompanied by a welcome, delicious glass of wine. Having read my book for quite a while I had heated up sufficiently to do the 40 min walk back to my hotel, stopping only to buy a cake for with my coffee later. 

I pass these statues each time I walk into the city, I find them really pleasing. They are a tribute to the Spanish and Portugese heroes and culture that has positively influenced Autralian life. My room felt cosy after the cold/damp outside so I happily curled up with coffee, cake and my good book, before retiring at 8.30pm - unheard of.