Diving with Sea Lions & Dolphins, Baird Bay

The 11th of February and it was a fairly quiet day yesterday, we had a sleep in and took it easy, enjoying our surroundings and waiting and waiting for the wind to die down so we could take the boat out to get a feed of crabs.

Richard & Nina put our winnings from the night before in the slow cooker for dinner and before long, Richard got sick of waiting....plus, being a Saturday Arvo, it wasn't long before the call of the TAB was stronger than the wind.
So Richard, Jack & Harry rode their push bikes to the pub.
By the time Nina and I got there, Richard was complaining about punting on 3 first losers (seconds) while the boys had obviously been given enough "keep quiet" money to play the video games and win some chocolates from the chocolate arm machine (I think the boys were doing better than their Dad) We all then watched as Black Caviar won for the 18th time straight! Amazing!

We returned from the pub and before long our neighbours had set up camp in our annex, ready for a few drinks.
It ended up being an early night, so after dinner of slow cooked chook and veggie bake... We said goodnight and hit the sack, keen to get some sleep for the next day's early rise.

Today, Sunday the 12th of February was an early start and lots of excitement as we headed 40km south to Baird Bay to swim with the Sea Lions and Dolphins. The beautiful blue skies lifted our mood and our enthusiasm.
We all got dressed in our wetsuits and got on a boat with some other tourists, at this point we weren't sure what to expect.

Chook set to take on the sea lions

A family snap shot

Once we got there we were amazed at the size of the sea lion colony from bulls to babies they were either sunning themselves or frolicking in the crystal clear blue lagoons. We all got in, initially with some trepidation, and watched in amazement as they swam and played with us, swimming in between and around us, it was an amazing experience and before long we were relaxed enough to enjoy the experience.
Richard got to pat some of them.

Richard playing with a sea lion

Sonia underwater

Jack playing with a sea lion

Sea lion colony

up close with a sea lion

The swim with the dolphins wasn't as up close and personal, as one of the females had a 3- day- old dolphin swimming beside her and wasn't in the mood to be gawked at by inquisitive tourists.
Richard got in regardless and braved the murkier waters. It was lovely of the tour boat operator to tell us after everyone was back on board the boat, that only a couple of days earlier, a white pointer swam past the boat in the exact same spot. Phew! We were all back on safe and sound after an unforgettable experience.

Richard diving with a dolphin

On the way home we called in to see Murphy's Haystacks, a rock crop formation on a private farm. Then it was back to the caravan park for a swim and to enjoy, at last, the beautiful blue skies.

The kids on Murphy's haystack

Richard & Sonia in the haystack

Tonight, it's a final get together with our neighbours before we pack up and head to Coffin Bay in the morning, taking with us some great memories of our time here and of course the contact details of our beautiful neighbours.

Geoff & Maggie (our neighbors)

Graham & Corrie (our neighbours)

Our farewell to Streaky Bay dinner