The day started with a trip down memory lane as we visited Liam’s Primary School and old house. I made him pose outside both for the proverbial photos which he was most embarrassed about, but that’s what memories are made of. It was nice to see where he grew up and Christine and I could just picture him running around the fields and beaches in the surrounding area, creating adventures and exploring every rock, tree and bush.
Hoping to see sea mammals in the wild we then drove to St Andrews to do a whale watching tour in a zodiac with Fundy Tide Runners. St Andrews is a quaint little fishing village and after chatting to the cruise operators, I was not that hopeful that we would see much. However, after a 45 minute run out into the Fundy Bay, I spotted the first baby Minke Whale.
We are spoilt in Hermanus as the visiting whales are breeding and mating and therefore exhibit very different behavior to the whales here. In Hermanus they are actively fluking and breaching or lolling around in the kelp beds and easy to see as they spend much time at the surface. In these waters they are feeding and therefore always on the move only coming up to breathe. They spend much less time on the surface and travel greater distances between breathes. However, we were lucky to see several Minke whales feeding in the area we were in. We were also treated to sightings of harbor dolphins and harbor seals as well as a Bald Eagle which I have been dying to see all trip.
After watching these activities for a while, we headed out for the rougher, deeper water hoping to see a Fin Back Whale. I didn’t expect to see the blow in the wind and rough seas that we were experiencing, but suddenly the skipper shouted the famous “there she blows” and we were blessed with several sightings of a Fin back Whale. This gentle giant is the second largest creature on the planet, reaching some 25m long!
Heading back to shore in the choppy cold sea I was grateful for the survival suit they had kitted us out with to protect you from the wind and 10 degree sea – should you end up in it! It was a fantastic trip and we saw everything that they advertise as sightings on their trips.
We decided that it was now time to have a lobster dinner which this part of the world is famous for, so we found a simple local restaurant and ordered 2 lobster dinners to share between the 3 of us. They were served complete with lobster crackers and Liam had to give Christine and I lessons on how to get at the meat. It is a lot of hard work to get at. Christine was sampling a few pieces until Liam mentioned that they are cooked alive and then she was off her food! So she sampled so prawns instead.
On our way home we stopped at New River Beach, one of the many picturesque coves and beaches along this shoreline. Liam recognized it as a beach he used to come to as a little boy.
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