My morning was magical today, as I watched sunrise from the promontory with the treat of seeing whales. I was by myself on the cliffs as the sun rose the rock groundhogs poked out to say hi, the waves crashed over the rocks and the whales came to call. They are magnificent! The wind was down but after 3 days of high winds they looked about 12 ft, and rolled beautifully.

After breakfast we headed off for our whale watch. I was a bit conflicted with whether to go on the boat or stay ashore, as there seemed to be easy viewing on shore. I decided it was an opportunity to explore so I jumped on the boat with great excitment. My departure was quite humble. It was a difficult day to see the whales, and we only saw one by sea. He was a lovely show off and would put his tail up for us and suspend it there, so many pictures were taken. The swells ranged from 12-15 ft, and after going below to use the head my seasickness kicked in (as well as half the group). I had great appreciation for the man whose job it was to collect the bags. We stayed out over an hour longer, to find the whales which did not help. On return he pointed out penguins swimming, and that he had seen a group of dolphins surface through a wave but few of us saw anything.

It was good to hit land, but it was off and running as we had to get to Knysna but 6 PM for a paddle cruise dinner ride. We drove throught the countryside seeing farm land of rolling hills flanked by mountains and sea. The wheat fields glowed in gold, with the contrast of green, it was beautiful. We were treated to sheep, cows, buffalo and ostrich farms; seasidescapes, small towns and a city based on petrol industry. Our lunch stop was quick and quaint with a delicious offering of veggies, potatoes, rice and soup.

We arrived in time for our dinner cruise in a glass surfaced lagoon. I chatted up a bit with a professional cricket team from Port Elizabeth, down the coast from here. Of course I know nothing about cricket, and I suppose it was like meeting the Red Sox, but who knows. Shannon was quite delighted to see good looking men. I was fascinated to hear their viewpoint on things, chat with the manager, coach and pyschologist for the team. Our dinner was 5 star buffet, with the best fish I have had so far. Most of the fish I have not been able to eat, as it has had a very strong fishy taste. This was light, fresh and well seasoned with a touch of curry. YUM.