Rain overnight left gloomy skies over Bicheno, and no-one was very motivated to be up and about early. People gradually had breakfast and decided how to spend their day – Vic, Tina and Lani went to Douglas Apsley National Park, Pete and Ilze went into Bicheno, and Ian and I had lunch first before departing for our own sightseeing expedition.

We headed to nearby Denison Beach, after reading that there were sandstone formations, but we couldn’t find any trace of them. So we went into Bicheno and had a lovely afternoon looking at red rocks. The east coast is famous for its lichen covered granite boulders. We visited most of the scenic spots, and spent a long time at The Blowhole watching the waves leap into the air. Needless to say I took dozens of photos of rocks and spray. Ian found an app on his phone that allowed him to take about 100 photos in a second, so he had fun playing with that.

Next we visited The Gulch, a narrow channel between the coast and a couple of nearby islands inhabited by thousands of squawking terns, and one pelican. The area is a marine reserve popular with divers, and is also where the fishing boats come in – hence the birds.

Our final destination was Whalers Lookout, a huge slab of granite which dominates the town. It’s 80 metres high and has 360 degree views from various vantage points along the walking trail. It looked a little daunting from the bottom but turned out to be quite an easy climb.