Special Moments…

A humpback whale breaching (source – BBC News)

On my first solo trip, a real highlight for me was the Australian coastal town of Byron Bay. Byron was so much fun and is an absolutely beautiful place to be. I hope to return to the town one day and experience the laid back Aussie beach lifestyle again. My first day, after displaying my pretty appalling surfing skills, was spent relaxing on the beach at Byron. I was lying on my towel busily snoozing away when I heard a loud gasp from a Japanese lady, a few metres away. She pointed out to sea and after rubbing my eyes, I was stunned at the sight of two humpback whales (a mother and calf) swimming parallel to the beach, breaching the water every few metres as they made their migration down the east coast of Australia. It was a fantastic sight and when I looked back to the Japanese lady, I saw that she was in floods of tears; so touched by the moment. Seeing pictures of humpbacks in Sydney Harbour, on the BBC News website recently, brought back all those amazing unforgettable memories. And, to think, I would never have seen this as I was almost too scared to make this first solo trip…