The coast of the Tasman peninsula is considered to be one of Australias finest, and what better way to see it than from a boat! Our vessel for the morning was essentially an oversized dingy, and if we’d known how rough the Southern Ocean can get (heard of the roaring forties?) we might have thought twice about it, or at least not sat right at the front. However, it was great fun bouncing up and down the massive waves, and a good job they gave us full length waterproofs and a seat belt as we caught some definite air during some of the drops and got mighty wet too.
I’ll not bore you with how the huge sea cliffs (tallest in southern hemisphere) were made, but I did come away with a new respect for Albatross and Muttonbirds. The Albatross don’t seem to need to flap their wings at all whilst flying, and effortlessly fly a few inches above the pounding waves. The Shy Albatross only nests in Tasmania, yet is found in all of the world’s oceans, that’s some serious mileage. They are also suffering from fish shortage, and it’s thought we may be the last generation to see them.
The Muttonbird is also quite amazing; all Muttonbirds mate on exactly the same day, meaning all eggs hatch at the same time. When it comes to leaving the nest, the chicks spread their wings for the first time, step off the sea cliff and fly. Not only that, they continue flying non stop for 18000km. Makes the 18+ years homo sapiens take to reach independence look quite pathetic!