Gone Snerklin'

Despite how busy we may get with school/work, Justin & I are working hard to take advantage of our time in Australia. To really make sure we enjoy the experience and don't just get sucked into our daily routines. So when some friends asked if we wanted to go snorkeling with seals we of course said yes.

Despite not feeling like it, Melbourne is a coastal city. It is also a very large city. There is all kinds of cool ocean activities in the area, but most are about an hours drive away. While this is a barrier for Justin & I, most of our friends have cars. So a few Saturdays ago we all piled into someone's car and drove out to Queenscliff, where the seal snorkeling tour boat was docked.

You might recall that it is spring in Melbourne. Its definitely warmer than spring at home, and while we have had some truly beautiful days that Justin & I would categorize as 'summer weather', the ocean is still quite cold. More on 'spring' weather in Melbourne later. The person who booked the tour had sort of forgotten how cold the water would be. When she mentioned it to me later, I assured her that we would be fine, we were used to cold water. We are Canadian after all.

The snorkeling place provided all the gear, including masks & snorkels, fins, 5mm wetsuits and wetsuit caps. There are very few things in life you can do that are less flattering than putting on a wetsuit. But somehow we managed. After gearing up, we all climbed into the little zodiac and we were off! It was a short trip out to where the seals were. They all congregated around a gazebo structure that had been built for them to lounge on. The structure is called Chinaman's hat. If I'm being honest, I'm not sure how I feel about that name. The guy running the boat tour told us that's what it was called, but I didn't know if that was just the local slang. As I was writing this post, I googled it, to see if I could find a picture. Turns out the structure is actually called Chinaman's hat. There is a wiki about it, and a Parks Victoria page.

On the way there, we slowed down to look for dolphins. We did find some that were on their way to some fishing boats that were further out. Fishing boats = food for them, so they couldn't be bothered to stop and hang out with us. Can't say that I blame them. As we got closer to the gazebo, we started to smell the seals. It wasn't exactly pleasant, kind of like wet dog combined with fish. But it was pretty fleeting.

The boat stopped maybe 10 meters away from the seal gazebo, maybe less. There were all kinds of seals around. The gazebo is on stilts, and sits a couple of feet above the water. As we got closer, we could clearly see a bunch of seals just lounging around, occasionally barking at each other and rolling into the water. There were also lots of seals in the water all around us. They swim near the surface and put their flippers in the air as a way to cool off. Obviously these actions have nothing to do with humans, but its undeniable that it makes it look like the seals are waving.

The tour guide gave us some final pieces of guidance: don't touch the seals, try to keep about 2 meters between you and them at all times, and don't get too close to the gazebo. Despite not looking very big, the seals can be up to 300 kgs. If they accidentally roll into the water and land on top of you, it will do damage. He also told us if they play or interact with us and you feel overwhelmed, just ignore them. Apparently seals are like the Labradors of the sea - they get bored really fast and move on when you stop paying attention to them. Importantly, this group of seals is all males, both young and old. Because there are all the same sex, there is no competition or aggressive mating issues. The pups are pretty energetic, but the older ones were very chill.

The water was too shallow for us to roll into, so we all slipped down the outside of the zodiac and into the water. It was COLD! The wetsuits were a huge help, but we could all feel it in our hands and feet. Later we found out that the water temp was only 14 or 15 degrees. As soon as we were all in the water, the seals were suddenly all around us. They got surprisingly close, I felt like I had to work to make sure they they were at least 2 meters away. They seemed to enjoy swimming under us. There were multiple times when they were swimming underneath me towards the surface. I thought they were going to run into me, but would divert at the last second. Justin had one come up to him and blow bubbles in his face. I'm glad the tour guide warned us about how overwhelming the seal play can be. There were times when we were surrounded, and it was quite intense.

The seals definitely lived up to their reputation as Labradors of the sea. Not just because they were playful, but also in their mannerisms. Turns out they curl around and scratch their ears with their back flippers, the same way dogs do. It is absolutely adorable. I'm not sure how long we spent in the water with the seals, but the time flew by. We got back into the boat and when to check out a second location. There were no seals in the second spot, but there was still lots to see in the ocean. We found quite a few banjo sharks (which actually look a lot like rays), and some puffer fish (which were super cool). The second location was right near an island that was full of birds. Justin and I saw pelicans for the first time. They are massive! We were both super excited about them, while everyone else was shocked to learn that there are no pelicans in Canada (seriously).

We've come to discover that its way more fun to check out the local flora & fauna with Australians. They legitimately have no idea about how crazy and exotic looking all the birds here are. There is a flock of pink cockatoos (called Galahs) that hang out on the lawn of the psychology building. I still can't get over how cool they look, and take pictures of them at least once a week. The other fun part of swooning over nature with Australians is that they can tell you what everything is called. I learned a few weeks ago that the birds I referred to as 'rainbow budgies' are actually called lorikeets.

We didn't have too much time at the second site before it was time to head back to shore. When we got back to the marina, we all stripped off our wetsuits (only a slightly more flattering activity than putting them on). Thankfully, the marina was clearly designed with boat tours in mind, and there were free, public showers with lots of hot water. After we warmed up and dried off, we headed out in search of some food and drink. Turns out rural Melbourne has a lot of wineries. We found one with a brewery attached, and feasted on pizza and beer (except for our DD). It was still pretty early in the day, and it was turning into a beautiful sunny Saturday. On the way home we stopped in Geelong (pronounced jih-long, accent on the second syllable) to walk along the water front and get some ice cream. After swimming in cold water + beer + sunshine, we were all exhausted. We headed back to Melbourne and all slept very well that night.

One of the people we went snorkeling with had a water proof go pro. So we have some fantastic shots of the seals. Here you can see one of them coming over to say hi, and one of them scratching their ear. And I included a picture of the galahs I see in the mornings. Because I'm so enamored with them.