Our family plus Mira headed off on Friday afternoon down to the sleepy coastal town of Narooma. We found a new and delicious spot in Bateman's Bay for dinner - pizza and pasta overlooking the bay and also randomly bumped into friends!
Barunguba Island is about 9kms from Narooma, is home to large colonies of fairy penguins and fur seals plus numerous bird species. Our interest was sparked by the lure of snorkelling with the seals and so we booked a tour with Montague Island Adventures for Saturday afternoon.
There was a request for a sunrise viewing session on Saturday morning. Despite the low lying cloud on the horizon, the colours were still pretty and the eventually the sun peeked above the clouds.
Unfortunately our tour was cancelled mid morning due to strong winds and large swell. We were disappointed and decided to book for the next day. With our plans changed, we were at a loss as what to do. After much discussion and indecision and sitting around playing Block Crush, we settled on a trip to Tilba Tilba for a spot of shopping and lunch out.
On the way back, we found the most sheltered beach for a spot is swimming and beach combing. The blue bottles were out but luckily no-one got stung.
With the tour being in the afternoon, Sunday morning was spent doing a long run (Andy, Ella and Mira) or a bit of a walk (Katy and I). Then it was a late breakfast at the nearby beach cafe all while waiting nervously for the tour company to give us the go ahead for the tour. Finally the text came through confirming the tour was on. We packed up our stuff and headed into town to peruse the local markets filling in more time.
Finally it was time to go to the boat shed but we were still early so we wandered along the boardwalk looking for starfish and stingrays.
Barunguba Island is about a 20min boat ride however it took Aus a little longer as we stopped when we caught sight of a couple of whales! Docking at the island is interesting, with the jetty significantly higher than the boat and thus involved a ladder climb.
Once on the island we spent the next hour in the baking sun listening to tales about the penguins, birds and settlement. We climbed the lighthouse for great views over the 1.4km Long Island. We all agreed it could make a great o map with the scattered bare rocks and topography of the island. Oh we can dream!
Glad to get back on the boat and all excited to finally to be heading for the seals, we donned our wetsuits, fins and had our snorkels ready. The seals weren't far away and you could smell them before you caudal see them. The skipper looped up and back on the north west edge of the island looking for the best spot and then dropped anchor. We all plunged into the ocean and were surprised about how cold it was even with wetsuits. The water clarity though was fantastic. Unfortunately for us many of the seals were more content with lying on the rocks rather than coming to investigate us! Ella was able to capture some of those who dared to come close!
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