I finally managed to get myself organized the night before and then kick myself out of bed at sunrise to give the Azzurri road bike another taste of the tarmac. It’s been months since it’s left its perch above Bessie so it was well past its due for a ride. The sun was just rising as I made it to the open road and made my way up and down a series of rolling hills battling a gentle breeze and my lack of fitness. On the way out I encountered maybe one or two cars, while on the way back, felt like I was being engulfed by a Monkey Mia Morning Dolphin feed deluge of traffic. By the time I’d reached the caravan, Jen and the kids were already heading up the beach to catch the morning feed – a guaranteed visit with a host of dolphins who have been coming for a feed every morning for the past 20 yrs! As I trundled off to catch up I eventually found myself in the midst of a horde of eager dolphin watchers. For at least 100 meters along the beach, people were lined up to see the visiting dolphins and in some places it was 2 to 3 people thick. The older dolphins, the regulars, would swim less than a meter from our feet up and down the line, stopping at times to pop their head out of the water to have a good look at the new faces who had come to visit. The area was initially a secluded, off the beaten track refuge for fishermen. The local dolphins learned to visit the backs of the fishing boats as they would always get a feed. Finally, a woman took the initiative and gradually led them to shore for people to come visit and enjoy. More recently the operation has become guided with regulations not to touch the animals and only the guides feed a select few. Some of the regular redneck fisherman who still frequent the waters think it’s a bloody shame what these ‘greenies’ have come and done – back in the day 20 or more dolphins would come to the beach – you could swim with them, touch them and feed them buckets of fish – "it was so much better then" – now only 8 to 10 generally show up and you have to give them some distance. Truth is that the dolphins were actually becoming dependant on the feeds and were neglecting their calves. At one point there was a 99% mortality rate of the calves (if I heard correctly) as the mothers weren’t teaching them how to hunt for fish and feed themselves as a result of their own dependency on the feedings. Now only 5 of the female dolphins are fed by the local guides and predominantly because these 5 have been unable to kick their addiction to the hand-feedings and the guides/resort need people to keep coming - sort of a harm reduction scenario like methadone for heroin junkies with the added benefit of tourists and cash to continue to fuel the operation.
The guide was very informative and we learned a lot before having to head back to Gertie for breakfast. We’d organized a trip on the Shotover Catamaran sail boat and had to get aboard. The weather looked a tad overcast and windy but sun was still peaking through. Once out on the water we all had a go at hoisting the sails and the boys even got a chance to steer the vessel. The wind picked up during the trip and under wind-power alone we were able to get to 14 knots which equates to about 25km/h - not a bad clip, yet much less than the boat’s potential in its prime when it clocked up to 34 knots (63km/h). Unfortunately, we didn’t see too much marine life – a couple of sea turtles that skirted away quite quickly and the occasional dolphin closer to the beaches of Monkey Mia. After a feast at the local dining establishment – one plate was enough to feed a small tribe of pygmies and their cousins, - the kids and I hired a pedal boat and got in a little fitness while touring around the bay. The dolphins showed up just as I was giving Jen a go so I quickly threw on my flippers and snorkeling gear and chased them up the shallows. I eventually caught up and was within about two arms breaths and could quite easily see one just in front of me under the water – ‘twas very thrilling! Given it was a day for old, new and infrequent experiences, I managed to find time to pull out my guitar and have a strum – seems like it has been forever – and it was still in tune! Before dinner the kids and I had a chance to throw the baseball and practice our catching – which is slowly coming along. Cole seems to have an affinity for throwing himself on the ground everytime the ball comes near him and Aidan seems to be a magnet for having the ball miss his glove and pong him in the gut. After two consecutive episodes when we had just started he’d almost given it up but managed to buckle down and continue while I did my best to throw the ball to either side of him rather than the middle. For dinner, Aidan and Morfar made some stuffed cannelloni and bruschetta, so we again feasted well. Thus far, our trip has been far from hard on the palate - the candy-apple red hot dogs from the West Coast Eagles game being an obvious exception – and will hopefully continue as we head north with more ample fresh seafood.
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