March 8 - Esperance
What a S-P-E-C-T-A-C-U-L-A-R day! Today was the kind of day when you think about going to Australia and having an "adventure" is what you envision. Yesterday in Albany was interesting, but it was like being a tourist in any city - just that it was in Australia :) But today was a real ADVENTURE! The first element that was different was the fact that our ship did not dock in Esperance; today was the first of only two days where we will drop anchor and then take a "tender" to the pier. See our boat at left. The waters appeared to be a bit choppy, but actually the ride over was pretty smooth. We arrived on the pier about an hour ahead of time, thinking we'd walk into town and then be early for our trip out on our catamaran. Well, the "walk into town" turned out to be about a 20 minute walk in a park-like area, as the "town" was pretty small and really not worth the time to walk there and turn around right away. So we figured we'd enjoy the view from the pier. I asked a guy about where to meet, he told us to simply go up and have a seat on the pier and they'd call us. About 45 minutes later we find out we have to have a sticker.....sigh, does anyone know what they are doing? But it turned out to be no big deal. The catamaran came, a little late, and we were on board ready to go. We pulled away and then the tour guide on the dock was hollaring "COME BACK!" Two late arrivals.....really? We were supposed to be there at 1:15, we didn't leave until 1:45 and you're STILL late?
We began to make out way out to the barrier islands in search of wildlife and see what the harbor had to offer us today. Now, the catamaran we were on in Alaska was a three tiered, air conditioned vessel that you felt like you were on a charter bus.......but this one was a larger version of the Jungle Cruise boats at Walt Disney World! It looks bigger in the picture (both the background and below where docked at Woody Island), but trust me, about a dozen people could sit side-by-side on each side and the same along two rows down the middle. It was man against the sea, and the sea was an "angry" sea my friend, much of the day (as George once said on "Seinfeld"). The name for the series of islands which are surrounding Esperance and farther up and down the coast is the Recherche Archipelago. After moving nearly 20 minutes out towards the open waters we encountered our first barrier island and our first look at sea lions. Our guide, Peter - who owned the boat, the business, and as we found out later, Woody Island, explained to us that there is a difference between a "sea lion" and a "furry seal." The sea lion, apparently, has quite a "mane" - much like a lion (the males) and they were originally called "lions of the sea." Where as the "furry seals" are just that - seals with fur. Peter pointed out to us the sea lions on top of the rock and then we went right up to the rock and he just looked at us while we all took photos. At this point it was also explained to us that the sea lions like the more rugged rock formations:seals like the smooth, flat surfaces - sounds to me like they are a little smarter in picking out their relaxation spots! Next, we found eagles!
The eagles we saw at first were reluctant to fly near us. That was in part, Peter said, because they had been fed earlier on the morning excursion. But he also said these were younger eagles and they had yet to "figure out" how the whole tourist thing works :) So as we moved on to the next barrier island we found the more "mature" eagles. Peter took a frozen herring (it is frozen because it floats and the eagles are very concerned about getting their feathers wet.....seems it weighs them down and they can't get back up in the air!) and tossed it about ten feet from the boat. Sure enough, the eagles came, one at a time, swooping in - see top photo - and then grabbed the fish. Right there by the boat. Very cool we got a close up of them. Amazing photography to capture them in flight so well don't you think? Not sure what the others got, but I used my high definition flipcam video camera and then was able to isolate the frame I wanted......I am just sooooooo clever! Off to the next spot and we passed through an amazing array of rocks. I know "it's just rocks" but to see how huge they were up close and the formations as they had been carved by nature over the eons was pretty cool - photo below........
Then we reached more rocks, but these were smooth! You know what that means........seals! As you can see in the second photo below they were all over the place. When we came upon a more isolated rock we found two of them lounging there. They were more than happy to accomodate our photo op session! Peter then battened down the plastic covers on our side of the boat and told us we were off for a 20 minute trip to Woody Island. On the way there he told many stories - one of which explained how the term "knots" came about for nautical speed......they actually tossed a board with a rope attached that had knots every so often. Then they'd measure the number of "knots" they'd traveled in a certain time with an egg timer to determine speed!
As we pulled up at Woody Island Peter explained that he leased the island for free and it was a camp ground facility. But to pay people to live out on the island and maintain it was cost prohibitive so he came upon the idea to ask for volunteers to manage the island. He said he was so surprised how many people were interested! When we'd landed and gone up to the vistor center the couple staying there had prepared coffee and home-made cookies for us. The husband, Bob, sat down with Kim and I and we asked how they happened to come to be the volunteers at the present. He said they were back-packing across Australia, and were 4 1/2 YEARS into their trek when they found this opportunity and thought staying here for 4 or 5 months would be a good "break" in their trek! The highlight of the day, I thought, came as we sat there. Our guide Peter sat down with us at our table and we drank coffee together for about fifteen minutes...... He had the most fascinating, and sad, life story. He grew up in England and studied to be a math teacher. He took an opportunity to join a two-year program to teach in Perth and came to Australia. Once he arrived they didn't have a position for him - even though they had promised him one! But they had an Art teaching position in Esperance.....so he took it. He said he quickly went through the stages of he liked it here; he wanted to stay longer here; and finally he could never leave here! From that 20 year-old teacher he has built two businesses, including this boat operation, and owns Woody Island. He also dives with foreign companies for documentaries; charts islands and barrier reefs; also takes part in counting of the wildlife on the islands, etc. So I asked him, "Don't you sometimes just shake your head and smile that you get paid to do this?" He smiled and then as the conversation continued he told us about his 21 year-old son. He, like his Dad, liked to ride motor bikes. One day, as an 18 year-old, the son went out to the sand dunes to ride and jump off the dunes - even though his father had warned him not to do that. You can imagine.......he was flipped off his bike and landed on his neck, instantly snapping the vertebrae. The son has movement of his biceps but can't move his hands or fingers. He's taught himself to type with his hands without the use of his fingers and how to use a video controller! Peter has a new boat coming which will enable them to hoist his son into the captain's seat and it comes equipped with a computerized steering system - just like a video game! So his son will become a part of the boating business, something he'd always dreamed of. It was just a very cool conversation and insight into a real Australian making his life by following his passion and overcoming life's obstacles. After the coffee and cookies Peter took us on a walk to the other side of the island. Along the way he pointed out a path, that while pretty steep was not that far to the "lookout" spot where you could see the entire island's beaches on this side. So after we'd reached the other side Kim and I hiked to the top. The hike reminded us of the mountain-side we had walked up at our best friends' Sue and Dan's home.....although it was not nearly as long of a climb; but there was very little talking between us as we went up the steep path. Peter had told us it was not too far, so if we felt like we'd walked for a while we might have passed it and headed to the very top of the island.....well, after what seemed like a long enough time we felt like maybe that was us! But luckily instead of stopping we decided to go to the "next clearing. And there it was. So we climbed the final fifty yards or so and had the glorious view. See what we saw below. There was a young couple - one of the few we've seen on the ship - already there and they were taking turns photographing each other, so we offered to take their picture together if they took ours. The result is at right. We headed back down to the visitor's center and within minutes it was time to board the catmaran and head back to the mainland to catch our tender back to the ship. But, before leaving we had our photo taken in front of the catamaran - see it below........
We had left a little after 1:30 pm and by the time we got back to the pier it was after 5:30 pm, but the day had flown past. It was just an awesome day we agreed. We were able to catch one of the last tenders back to the Radiance of the Seas and got back in time for dinner and the late show.......in bed around 11 pm, exhausted from a long, but wonderful day! For the next two days we are at sea, just relaxing!
We began to make out way out to the barrier islands in search of wildlife and see what the harbor had to offer us today. Now, the catamaran we were on in Alaska was a three tiered, air conditioned vessel that you felt like you were on a charter bus.......but this one was a larger version of the Jungle Cruise boats at Walt Disney World! It looks bigger in the picture (both the background and below where docked at Woody Island), but trust me, about a dozen people could sit side-by-side on each side and the same along two rows down the middle. It was man against the sea, and the sea was an "angry" sea my friend, much of the day (as George once said on "Seinfeld"). The name for the series of islands which are surrounding Esperance and farther up and down the coast is the Recherche Archipelago. After moving nearly 20 minutes out towards the open waters we encountered our first barrier island and our first look at sea lions. Our guide, Peter - who owned the boat, the business, and as we found out later, Woody Island, explained to us that there is a difference between a "sea lion" and a "furry seal." The sea lion, apparently, has quite a "mane" - much like a lion (the males) and they were originally called "lions of the sea." Where as the "furry seals" are just that - seals with fur. Peter pointed out to us the sea lions on top of the rock and then we went right up to the rock and he just looked at us while we all took photos. At this point it was also explained to us that the sea lions like the more rugged rock formations:seals like the smooth, flat surfaces - sounds to me like they are a little smarter in picking out their relaxation spots! Next, we found eagles!
The eagles we saw at first were reluctant to fly near us. That was in part, Peter said, because they had been fed earlier on the morning excursion. But he also said these were younger eagles and they had yet to "figure out" how the whole tourist thing works :) So as we moved on to the next barrier island we found the more "mature" eagles. Peter took a frozen herring (it is frozen because it floats and the eagles are very concerned about getting their feathers wet.....seems it weighs them down and they can't get back up in the air!) and tossed it about ten feet from the boat. Sure enough, the eagles came, one at a time, swooping in - see top photo - and then grabbed the fish. Right there by the boat. Very cool we got a close up of them. Amazing photography to capture them in flight so well don't you think? Not sure what the others got, but I used my high definition flipcam video camera and then was able to isolate the frame I wanted......I am just sooooooo clever! Off to the next spot and we passed through an amazing array of rocks. I know "it's just rocks" but to see how huge they were up close and the formations as they had been carved by nature over the eons was pretty cool - photo below........
Then we reached more rocks, but these were smooth! You know what that means........seals! As you can see in the second photo below they were all over the place. When we came upon a more isolated rock we found two of them lounging there. They were more than happy to accomodate our photo op session! Peter then battened down the plastic covers on our side of the boat and told us we were off for a 20 minute trip to Woody Island. On the way there he told many stories - one of which explained how the term "knots" came about for nautical speed......they actually tossed a board with a rope attached that had knots every so often. Then they'd measure the number of "knots" they'd traveled in a certain time with an egg timer to determine speed!
We had left a little after 1:30 pm and by the time we got back to the pier it was after 5:30 pm, but the day had flown past. It was just an awesome day we agreed. We were able to catch one of the last tenders back to the Radiance of the Seas and got back in time for dinner and the late show.......in bed around 11 pm, exhausted from a long, but wonderful day! For the next two days we are at sea, just relaxing!
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