February 16th, 2024
Eden is a small town along the Australian coastline whose claim to fame is its whaling history. The story that they tell in Eden is the story of a pod of killer whales led by “Old Tom” who would assist the whalers by rounding up Baleen whales and then notifying the townsfolk by going to the mouth of the harbor and jumping out of the water and hitting his tale against the water to attract their attention. They say that Old Tom helped the town from the 1860s to the 1930s. They give him credit for some amazing things and in return for finding the whales the whalers would feed the orcas the whale’s tongue and lips. If you want to read more about Old Tom and the symbiotic relationship google Old Tom and Eden Australia. His skeleton is found in the museum in Eden along with stories of all his help.
The outside of the whaling museum
A mural on the side of a building dedicated to Old Tom and his pod
The weather was overcast and a little cool but comfortable in shorts. We did the included tour which took us to a lookout and then to the museum and then a couple of other stops but we left the tour at the museum and wandered into town which was one main street extending about 3 blocks. Between the weather and the mountains in the background it reminded everyone of Alaska.
Viewpoint
We had lunch in town and did a little shopping and then took an easy walk back to the boat. We did a little walk along the shore which had some great view points and wild flowers.
Wild flowers
Some of our views along our coastal walk
It was an early port day and all on board was by 3pm. Right after we got back on board it started raining so great timing.
Our boat at dock with the mountains in the back ground.
We are now headed to Sydney and will arrive in early morning and spend the night in port.