Whale Watching

Our World is a Wonderful Place.
I'm watching, we're watching, them: southern right whales, four of them, out there splashing, gallumphing, walloping the water. A mighty spectacle, not seen before, not by us. It's dramatic, exciting, a rare moment as these huge creatures journey up the coast seeking new waters where they will spend the summer, breeding.
We've been called to find them by a brief mention on the radio. Excitedly we follow the vague information not knowing exactly where we should be heading. Eventually we track them down, minute splashes out in the bay, perhaps two kilometres away. But we can get nearer. Out along the track to the surf beach; lots of wetsuited surfies roiling in on breaking wave tops, black bodies splashing in foaming water.
And beyond them, not far away now, the black and white-suited right whales roll and frolic in their own surf show. They're close together, hard to count; maybe three, perhaps four; huge bodies, like submarines, up to 17 metres in length; giant tail fins hover above the water, disappear, surface again, spurt funnels of spray, plunge and roll revealing distinctive irregular white patches and enormous wide mouths encrusted with barnacles.
They are in no hurry to move away. "They've been there all morning," says a surfer.
Through binocular eyes we observe every movement. We're captivated - for an hour or so. We're enjoying this magic moment, this freedom to do what we enjoy, what we need to do; this life, this flowing beauty; these rare moments as we travel on, enjoying the freedom of ocean's roiling currents; the movement of companion spirits around us; waves of watery delights, nearby rocky shores, sandy beaches; our fellow travellers in this life; the people on the dunes over there watching us through their binoculars. Perhaps they think we can't see them because they're so small. We see everything every time our eyes rise above the surface. "I'm watching, we're watching, them. This world, our world, is a wonderful place."

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