Our alarms went off at 5:30am as we headed down to Tin Can Bay in hope of seeing wild dolphins! Normally getting up so early can be a real struggle to drag ourselves out of bed, this morning we only needed the one alarm! We were both very excited! We had a lovely 90 minute drive down the coast to Tin Can Bay with a beautiful sunrise to accompany us.
We arrived at the bay just after 7 and quickly paid our small entry fee and purchased two buckets of fish to feed the dolphins. As we rounded the corner, there they were! Two adult males and a mother with her 4 year old calf. We joined the end of the row of tourists wading in the water and allowed the dolphins to come and play around our legs.
There were three volunteers in the water who talked to us about the animals. The dominant male was called Mystique and the other dolphins were part of his pod. Other dolphins ocassionaly swim up to the daily feeding but they're chased away by our two males. Mystique is 2.7 metres and weights 180kg of pretty much pure muscle. They can grow up to 200kg.
All of the volunteers at the centre love the dolphins and stick to strict rules to support the pod. The four we saw are some of only 120 Australian Humpback left in the wild and are on the endangered list. They are river and shallow dwelling dolphins and don't go out into the ocean. Tourists and the helpers aren't allowed to touch the dolphins but the dolphins swim around and ocassionaly bump into you!
Around 8am we were called out of the water and those who had bought fish were allowed to go and feed the dolphins in small groups. It was a real once in a lifetime experience. They feed the dolphins 3kg of fish a day which is an eighth of their daily intake so the dolphins still have to fish and don't become dependent. The dolphins have 116 teeth for catching fish and they also use these to attack other dolphins. They all have rake marks on their backs where they have been in fights!
The volunteers feed the fish the remainder of their quota at which point a large pelican and flock of cormorants turned up to try their luck and were swiftly shooed away. Not often that you can tick off such an obvious bucket list item before 9am!
After a lovely brekkie we got back on the m1 heading down to Brisbane. We stopped off in Mooloolaba to stretch our legs and swap driver. They had a big iron man event yesterday so the town was fill of incredibly fit looking athletes! After a mooch we drove the last hour back down to Brisbane for our last night in the area.
We nearly has a sticky situation at the car hire depot as there were a couple of small scratches at the back of the car. Thankfully the manager gave us the benefit of the doubt. We hadn't hit anything but to be fair they weren't there when we set off. Budget car hire companies get a bad rep so it was lovely to receive such positive customer service!
I'd noticed that the car hire depot was at the end of the ferry line so rather than get a bus into town we decided on the ferry. I then realise halfway into our 20 minute walk that it was leaving in 6 minutes. A short jog and the conductor kindly waited for Carly, with jar of pesto still intact! Beautiful blue skies and a lovely unique view of the city from the water.
We checked in to the sister apartment of where we stayed a few days ago, this was an even taller building. The apartment was again perfect with laundry and kitchen facilities on offer. We had a quick cup of tea and headed back into town for a quick lunch and a wander. Brisbane doesn't really have any significant tourist attractions and is better known as a gateway to the Sunshine & Gold Coast's. We, however, love the city, it has a very new feel but down by the river it is a very pretty city and has its own unique charm.
We caught the ferry over to the Southbank area which has a lot of similarities with its namesake in London. It has a very relaxed vibe and some very quirky street art. The highlight of the area is a man made beach area with swimming areas and many different water features. There are some very different views, sat on a beach overlooking a vibrant city!
We headed back into the city and bought some food and drinks for back at the apartment and a nice relaxed evening. Back in our accommodation we enjoyed some time at the pool and sauna and then had an evening in the flat sorting out future travel plans. Carly cooked us a lovely simple veg and pasta dish with loads of pesto. Eating out all the time tends to mean that we don't get our 5-a-day so it was lovely to have a healthier dinner!
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