Topi trip 4
Seal Rocks
The whales were delivered about 1 kilometre before we got to the lighthouse: we saw a lot of spouts and big splashes as they broached. I don't know if they were Humpbacks or Southern Rights ? these being the options - but they surely weren't dolphins! A young woman said she had had great views of them at the lighthouse so we took ourselves off there. Of course by the time we arrived at the lighthouse, the whales had passed by but we did see some spectacular scenery.
The lighthouse (at Sugarloaf Point which apparently is the second most Easterly point in Australia) is now automated so the keeper's cottages can be rented: $2,000 a week in winter and $4,000 in summer. Given that during the day you'd have a constant stream of tourists passing by to destroy the peace and quiet that seemed a tad excessive. It certainly made the $840 we were paying for total privacy seem even better value.
As the first visit was so successful we went back the next day. When we got to the lighthouse car park a couple of carloads of folk were milling about. As the cars had QLD plates they could be accused of being tourists. They looked a tad on the low socio-economic end of the ladder so when they started exclaiming about the potential pleasure of staying in the cottages I mentioned the rates. In response the largest male tourist ? who looked and sounded as though he knew a bit about Harley Davidson?s - said "Thanks. That would keep the riff-raff away!"
We walked out to the dunes next to the lighthouse and immediately started seeing whales. Some of them were clearly marked black and white, and they seemed to have humped backs so I guess that sorts the species out! My guess is that there were about 20 in the various groups.
The whales were delivered about 1 kilometre before we got to the lighthouse: we saw a lot of spouts and big splashes as they broached. I don't know if they were Humpbacks or Southern Rights ? these being the options - but they surely weren't dolphins! A young woman said she had had great views of them at the lighthouse so we took ourselves off there. Of course by the time we arrived at the lighthouse, the whales had passed by but we did see some spectacular scenery.
The lighthouse (at Sugarloaf Point which apparently is the second most Easterly point in Australia) is now automated so the keeper's cottages can be rented: $2,000 a week in winter and $4,000 in summer. Given that during the day you'd have a constant stream of tourists passing by to destroy the peace and quiet that seemed a tad excessive. It certainly made the $840 we were paying for total privacy seem even better value.As the first visit was so successful we went back the next day. When we got to the lighthouse car park a couple of carloads of folk were milling about. As the cars had QLD plates they could be accused of being tourists. They looked a tad on the low socio-economic end of the ladder so when they started exclaiming about the potential pleasure of staying in the cottages I mentioned the rates. In response the largest male tourist ? who looked and sounded as though he knew a bit about Harley Davidson?s - said "Thanks. That would keep the riff-raff away!"
We walked out to the dunes next to the lighthouse and immediately started seeing whales. Some of them were clearly marked black and white, and they seemed to have humped backs so I guess that sorts the species out! My guess is that there were about 20 in the various groups.
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