GC Day 6 - Whale Watching

We woke up early on Day 6..6am..so that we could catch the 7.12am bus to Tweed Heads South to meet Carol from the Aquatic Blue Charter...we reached there about 7.50am and Carol was waiting for us across the street...she drove us up to the boat jetty...we got on the boat and parted with AUD85... but we told ourselves, it would be worth it...we were hoping to see the humpbacks do a 'free Willy' aka breaching...and we were expecting to see the whales up close coz Carol said the last 3 days, the whales have been very playful and friendly...since we were early, we hung out on the upper deck and front deck and took photos...i found a fake humpback and got trigger happy with my camera...

We departed at 9am...the waves were choppy today...but i loved the bumpy ride...lucky me, i don't get sea sick....i only get the floating sensation after i get off the boat onto solid ground..and it's especially bad when i'm lying on the bed...i think for the 1st half of the journey, we hardly saw any whales...there was a time when i was sitting on the front deck and the waves were getting a bit rough and splashed onto me...my pants were soaked...apparently, the humpbacks were shy or sleepy today...we were cruising for 3 hours and we only saw humpbacks about 5 times...sometimes alone..sometimes in pairs...and the males were definitely not trying to impress..no breaching...and the closest they came was probably about 10m to the boat...
But we saw dolphins in the wild!!! about 3 of them each time...probably the same school...following us...they were skipping on the surface..and swimming near or under our boat...it was so cool!!! they were even swimming with the whales..which apparently, is quite a rare thing...unfortunately, i couldn't get nice shots of the humpbacks..or the dolphins...i supposed i need a more 'canggih' camera with faster shutter to take moving objects...well, we got back on the land feeling satisfied...we saw the gentle giants..and the friendly dolphins too..

We asked Carol to drop us off at Coolangatta...Flora wanted to go to see kangaroos and koalas..so we took a bus to the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary...however, the admission fee was AUD44...and i didn't really want to go in...coz i've visited 2 wildlife parks in Melbourne and Sydney and they didn't cost that much...i only paid AUD20 the last time...so in the end, we didn't go in...instead we crossed the road over to a bee farm...they had free bee show...and after, we tried out some honey...yummy!!! we were told that honey actually has no expiry date...very lasting..i bought a small bottle of macadamia honey and a honey lip balm...

We went back to Coolangatta and asked the info booth about the bus to airport...then we walked around to look for a hotel/motel to stay for a night..coz we were checking out from Tamarind Sands the next day...we found Coolangatta Sands Hotel which provide dorm-style room..AUD30 per person for an 8-bedded room...common toilet..no towel provided...you see, we didn't bring our own towels..so that was a problem..we found another motel that cost AUD90 per night for a double room...eventually, we ended up in Tweed Heads and found the New Dolphin Hotel...looked a little seedy...but it's only AUD66 per night...well, we were not about to complain since it was only for a night..and the bus stop is just right in front of the hotel...

We shopped around at Tweed Centro..bought 2 blouses for AUD16...Thursday is late shopping day (my bad...i thought it was the day before)....so the shops were open till 9.30pm...but we didn't shop that late...coz last bus is at 7.58pm..we went back early...ate microwaved macaroni and cheese and lasagna for dinner..ok, it was like the worst dinner ever...though it wasn't burnt...we slept early coz we planned to get up early to watch the sunrise the next day...