We were reminded again how beautiful Sydney is as we were taken, by the light of dawn, to a little harbour just down the road from us that we did not know existed. We have so much exploring to do.
Our first stop on the boat was to look for whales - apparently sighting whales is relatively recent as they were hunted very aggressively for many years that their numbers were so low. Someone on board was looking to record whale sounds but they were obviously feeling shy today as they did not show.
As we headed out to see, the boat was tossed to and fro and those who had poor sea legs started to feel very grim.
At about 18km offshore, we stopped to look at birds and I was looking back at the city. It is remarkable how flat Sydney is - all you can see from that distance is the high rise buildings of the city. No Table Mountain in the backdrop!
After admiring the albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters, we started to head out further and I was thrilled when I spotted dolphins swimming alongside the boat. They love to play in the waves alongside the boat, especially at the front. The boat creates a pressure wave which means that the dolphins can surf it and go for a ride. And they certainly weren't shy about having fun. You could see their colourings they were so close. Every so often one would do a backflip and crash back into the water with a huge smile on its face. This was the highlight for me as I have never seen dolphins so close despite all my travels.
We landed up about 45km offshore and by that time most people had fed their breakfast to the fish and I am sure the fish were grateful. But then it was time to attract the attention of the albatrosses. So I watched in fascination as a crew member prepared tuna oil, vegetable oil and a bucket full of beef fat that they threw out to sea - apparently the birds love it. I have been blessed with excellent sea legs but even that made me feel queasy. Graeme promptly lost his breakfast. Violently! Well to cut a few hours short of the story only one albatross showed up and did not stay long and I can't say I blame him!
On our way back the captain caught a tuna fish. I was full of admiration telling him it was a huge fish as he placed it in a cooler box the size of my freezer! But he just shrugged his shoulders and was unimpressed. Clearly I am no deep sea fisherwomen. At the end of the day the captain gave us a piece and so we will eat it tonight sushi style with wasabi and soya sauce. I have to say it looks very different to the tuna in a can :)
What a great day out!
The Halicat - our boat for the day .
City skyline from out to sea
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Wilson's Storm Petrel
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Wedgetailed shearwater ..
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Wandering Albatross
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Crested Tern
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Cape Petrel
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Bottlenosed Dolphin.
Giant Petrel
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Interesting facts about the Wandering Albatross
Interesting facts about the Wandering Albatross
- The Wandering Albatross is the largest of the albatrosses and is the living bird with the greatest wingspan, measuring almost 3.5 m
- The wandering albatross is named for its flying ability - in non-breeding years they sometimes fly around the entire world! The wanderer is the stellar flying bird of the Southern Ocean and much of the marine folklore and poetry about albatrosses that developed in the era of sailing ships can be attributed to the wandering albatross.
- There are only approximately 15,000 pairs of Wandering Albatrosses in the wild. They are found exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere.
- Wandering Albatrosses don't wander aimlessly. Each bird has a specific territory of the ocean that it stays in until breeding time.
- An albatross can glide for up to six days in mid-air without beating it's wings, and it can take a nap while doing so.
- They spend most of their life in flight, landing only to breed and feed. Distances travelled each year are hard to measure, but one banded bird was recorded travelling 6000 km in twelve days.
- Pairs mate for life and breed every two years. Breeding takes place on subantarctic islands and commences in early November. The nest is a mound of mud and vegetation, and is placed on an exposed ridge near the sea. The single egg hatches after two months and the chick remains in the nest for approximately nine months. During the early stages of the chick's development, the parents take turns to sit on the nest while the other searches for food. Later, both adults hunt for food and visit the chick at irregular intervals.
- Albatrosses are slow fliers, averaging 15 mph. They continue to fly throughout the night while their brains are half asleep. Altogether they spend more than 90% of their lives in flight.
- Albatrosses are long-lived, many live into their 40's.
- An albatross brain contains a compass and a clock. The clock is necessary so the absent parent can return in time to relieve the one sitting on the nest. They have extremely good senses of smell, used to find food in the ocean. They also have excellent night vision, almost as good as an owl's.
- Wandering Albatrosses are endangered due to long-line fishing. The birds try to eat the fishing bait and impale themselves on the hooks and drown. The lines are a danger to many different species of albatross. Fishermen try to keep the birds away by tying streamers to the lines to scare them. Using bait that sinks fast also helps.
New birds seen
- Shy albatross
- Wandering albatross
- Cape Petrel
- Wedgetailed shearwater
- Wilson's storm petrel
- Austalasian gannet
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