Another day another few hundred Kms. The difference today being that we actually had the satisfaction of crossing a state line so we were able to park up the van and relax with that acomplishment under our belts.
The journey to Victoria did see us making an expensive shopping stop at Merimbula where I bought some flip flops, and Simon got a new camera – I wonder who got the better deal there!
We also stopped off at a wee town called Eden which boasts an illustrious whaling history. A strange past to be proud of you may say but this town has two unique tales to tell, which we learned of in the Killer Whale Museum. The first tale is about Old Tom, a killer whale who with a couple of his mates used to lead the human whalers to a poor unsuspecting whale victim. After the whalers had harpooned the whale, the killer whales were allowed to eat the whale’s tongue and lips! (I didn’t say it was a nice story!) The skeleton of Old Tom is on display in the museum, and you can even see his worn down teeth from where he pulled the harpoon rope (you have to look very closely at the picture to see that!)
If left feeling a little upset by that story you may feel a sense of whale justice from this next story. Whaling was a dangerous job and a couple of men were once knocked out of their boat by a thrashing whale never to be seen again. Or so everyone thought… Unfortunately the whale didn’t escape. After he was killed and brought ashore, when they began to cut him open they found one of the missing men. He had been inside the whale for about 15 hours and was still alive. Just. His skin had turned a very pale white, along with his hair. He was blind and unconscious for a while but he lived to tell the tale for a few more years.
One last strange morsel of whale info to leave you with; apparently people with rhuematic problems used to sit inside a hole cut into a whale carcass for up to two hours because of the healing benefits of this. Yuck!