Visit to the coast itself

Although my home is only a handful of kilometers from the sea I vary rarely go to see it. The proximity to the coast gives us a wonderful climate year round so I am fully aware of the sea - but I tend to look more at the country places, the mountains and the farming areas. But that changed yesterday, There was word of high winds and big seas on the way and my eldest son mentioned that he spotted whales breaching while he was driving home from work. So with a sunny afternoon and a couple of hours to spare I dragged my ever willing husband into the car along with my camera, tripod and two lenses and off we went to Tweed Heads.
From the headland we could see the splash as whales hit the surface of the sea - but they were so far away that we couldn't actually see the whales. Into the car we clambered and off we drove to Fingal Head. This is on the other side of the Tweed River from where we had been standing, and, since the opening of the wide and fast highway to Byron Bay, had managed to be "cut off" from too many travellers. The short drive out to Fingal Headland is past riverside homes that are prone to get their feet wet in times of exceptionally high tides and full river flow. It is a pleasant drive - and we seemed to be the only car on the road. As expected, when we arrived at the little carpark we discovered that we were not the only car on the road! Typical!
The walk through the coastal woodland over loose sand got our blood flowing faster and we emerged at the bright white painted lighthouse.

There were not too many people on the lawns after all, we could see a few family groups but they were scattered far and wide. Following the direction they were looking we too could see the activity way out on the Pacific Ocean. There must have been a group of three or four whales in one place and another pair in another. The sea was positively churning with their activity! Again, much too far away for either of my lenses but interesting enough for us to sit down on the lawn and watch them.
Spotting a sea eagle I changed lenses but that was the only sighting of it, I never did get a chance to take a photo! However with the 55-300mm lens I was ready when a pair of dolphin cruised by.

The sea was a most glorious aqua blue and the sky a rich cobalt. Such a perfect day to be out here. The sea was not rough and the threatened strong winds did not even rustle the leaves. It was calm! Since we needed to have an early evening meal we didn't stay too long so made our way back along the boardwalk to the sandy track that lead us back to the car.

In an area that is a mecca for tourists from all over the country and the world it is amazing that we can find places like this that are free of crowds and have so much to offer.
AJ