Cliff Head. Flat sea, high overcast sky, warm, calm. Perfect dolphin conditions. I'm sitting on the beach having my sunset cocktail (a Wagatini - vodka, cranberry, lime, chips) chatting with Mark (lonely cattle farmer from Mudgee) when Michael (grey nomad bloke from next door campsite) comes over with his binoculars. "I think I've spotted your dolphins!"
Sure enough, SOMETHING is surfacing way out in the bay. My turn with the binocs. "Those aren't dolphins. No fin. I think they might be whales." Mark squints from under his Akubra. "Reckon you could be right." Michael: "I better go get Marge!" Her turn at the binocs. "Oh! Yes! I see something!"
Just as I am about to go and get the laptop so we can google local whale types, Michael calls out, "I just saw a tail! Or a head. Or something. It was big anyway!" Mark gets his high powered binoculars. "Looks like there's a whole pod!" We're very excited. I say they're too small for humpbacks, but do we get the smaller right whales up here? How shallow is the bay? "Definitely a tail." "They're really playing around!" "Or maybe a head." "This is amazing! Look at them all!" "I've gotta get the camera!"
Then Mark hands me the super-binocs and, with my non-grey nomad vision, I realise we are looking at dark waves breaking on a distant sand bank, and our excited brains are providing whale tails. Doh!
As we all leave to go make our dinners, we agree that it doesn't matter - it was exciting and fun and we all saw them, so in reality it was indeed a most satisfying whale sighting.
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