12th -13th February - Bass Straits and Eden, New South Wales, Australia

After leaving Geelong we entered the Bass Straits and headed east.  This stretch of water is as notorious as the Tasman Sea for rough weather, but we woke up to almost mill pond calm seas.  Looking out there were shearwaters moving over the still water, casting reflections in the water.  The position of the sun made it impossible to identify them as anything other than shearwaters, but they made some nice photographs.

Aside from the Australasian Gannets that appeared due to the fact we were close to land there was little activity during the day out on the water.  Later in the day though, we were joined by Wedge-tailed Shearwaters, the third Mutton Bird along with the Sooty and Short-tailed Shearwaters.

The following morning we arrived in Eden, our last full day of the cruise.

Eden is a coastal town in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The town is 478 kilometres (297 mi) south of the state capital Sydney and is the most southerly town in New South Wales.

Whaling ships had been operating in the area in 1791. George Bass first took shelter in Twofold Bay on the return leg of a voyage to Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) in February 1798, having noted the bay on the southward leg of this same voyage in December 1797 as a place to find the Southern Right Whale

The first whaling station, for shore whaling, was established in the area by John Raine in 1828.  Local Aboriginal people were employed in the whaling industry.

Eventually the area for the proposed town, to be called Eden, was surveyed in 1842 by Mr Thomas Townsend, the Government Surveyor. The main street, Imlay Street, was named after the Imlay brothers who were early pioneers to the district. 

Eden is now one of the best whale-watching spots in Australia during the annual migration between May and early November, unfortunately we were here at the wrong time of the year.

From the balcony I watched the terns that were hanging around the piers and dock.  A Greater-crested Tern.

We were on a tour that took us out to two villages just outside Eden on the Sapphire Coast.  The Sapphire Coast was named for its deep blue sparkling waters. So-called for its deep-blue, sun-sparkled waters, the Sapphire Coast unravels in a spectrum of ultramarine hues from Bermagui to beyond Eden on the far South Coast of New South Wales.

Our first stop after driving through Eden was Merimbula.  Merimbula is a bustling coastal village situated on the edge of a stunning bay and lake.

We were able to spend some time wandering the sea front of this pretty village and we came across our first Australasian Pelicans of the trip.

I first picked them up flying low over the water of the lake and they then settled close to the main pier.  Then they decided they would prefer to perch on the overhead wires, but sensibly chose a wider part.

And the posts.

They seemed to like a place with a view.

Like all Pelicans, their flight is both powerful and majestic with gliding flight interspersed with methodical wing beats.

Australasian pelicans have the longest bill of any living bird. 

In parts of South Australia, these majestic birds are known by the local aboriginal tribe, the Ngaarrindjeri name, nori.

The Australasian pelican is predominantly white in colour. There is a white panel on the upper-wing and a white-V on the rump set against black along the primaries. During courtship, the orbital skin and distal quarter of the bill are orange-coloured with the pouch variously turning dark blue, pink, and scarlet.

From Merimbula we set off for another village, Pambula.  The name 'Pambula' is derived from the Yuin Aboriginal word meaning "Two Waters".  Pambula put itself on the map, with the discovery of gold in local rivers in the mid 1800’s. Some of Pambula’s lovely historic buildings date back to this industrious time, with bull-nose verandahs, a town clock and street gardens.

On the outskirts of the village there are the Pambula Wetlands and when we were dropped off we headed there.  Fruit Bats hung in the trees, it was hot and the bats were flapping their wings to cool down.

Because of the heat there was little about, this Purple Swamp Hen showed well.

And of course an Australasian Magpie.

A Eurasian Coot, aand a Dusky Moorhen.

As we left there were better views of the Fruit Bats.

We stopped in the town centre for an Iced Coffee and this Red Wattlebird took a close interest in us.

Back on the ship it was the last night of the cruise, traditionally a night when the crew are thinking about the next guests.  This wasn't to be the case though.  We spent the afternoon trying to get everything back into the cases, but there was always the opportunity to catch the view outside as we headed north east towards Sydney, our last port of call, but not the end of our holiday.