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Greta van der Rol

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Greta van der Rol
  • whale 3
    Life and things

    I’ve been on better trips

    ByGreta 9 September 202327 October 2025

    I went whale-watching for the second time this season last Monday. I’d been watching the weather forecasts, looking for the very bestest day when the bay would be calm and the wind a zephyr and when the planets were in alignment I’d booked my trip on my favourite boat, Freedom III, for the following week….

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  • picture of a Dingo on K'gari
    Life and things

    The war is over – and another whale experience

    ByGreta 21 August 202127 October 2025

    The ‘war’ in Afghanistan has finally coming to its predictable, shambolic close. The scenes at Kabul’s airport are reminiscent of those at the US embassy in Saigon forty-six years ago. And like most of us, my heart bleeds for the women and girls who will once again be subjected to medieval treatment at the hands…

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  • whale 5
    Life and things

    When the going gets rough the whales get going

    ByGreta 7 August 202127 October 2025

    It’s that time of year again when the annual whale migration occurs. By now, most of the whales have been as far north as they felt like going and are on their way home to Antarctica. On the way, quite a few will divert into Hervey Bay for a frolic and a play, or to…

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  • people taking photos of a whale next to the boat
    Life and things

    Whale-watching in a pandemic

    ByGreta 1 August 20205 November 2025

    After a short period of smugness as we in Australia compared our covid-19 statistics with those of countries like Brazil, the USA, and the United Kingdom, the virus snuck up behind us and yelled “SURPRISE!” But we in Queensland could still afford a bit of hubris. After all, the mounting figures were in Victoria and,…

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  • IMG 2934
    Life and things

    Alien visitors

    ByGreta 25 July 202027 October 2025

    It’s unseasonably cold, wet, and miserable here in Hervey Bay.  Yes, it’s winter, but our normal winter is dry and pleasant, with day temperatures in the low twenties and nights in the low teens. And that, friends, is why I haven’t been out whale watching yet. There’s plenty of time. The season peters out around…

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  • Mother and calf
    Life and things

    The Last of the Whales

    ByGreta 20 October 201827 October 2025

    Whale season is drawing to its inevitable close. Since late July the Bay has been jumping with acrobatic humpbacks, a curious Right Whale and her calf, who hung around for a couple of weeks and even did some breaching, and a few Minki whales. As many as twenty-four thousand whales do the annual migration up…

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  • IMG 0852 e1628222307400
    Life and things | Photography

    I’ve been mugged by a humpback

    ByGreta 26 August 201727 October 2025

    Since we’re now in the middle of the annual whale migration, I’ve been communing with the whales on one of the half dozen boats that take eager tourists out to view these majestic mammals. This trip was a little bit different for me because I went out with a small group of other keen photographers,…

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  • Life and things

    Not every whale story is happy

    ByGreta 5 August 201727 October 2025

    I’m busy editing my latest book, ‘For the Greater Good’. For anyone interested in that aspect of me, take yourself over to my spot at Spacefreighters Lounge for all the news. The event that caught my interest this week was the ‘beaching’ of two juvenile whales in the Great Sandy Strait, which separates Fraser Island…

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  • Life and things | Photography

    It’s whale time in Hervey Bay

    ByGreta 14 September 201327 October 2025

    Those who know me would be aware that I’ll take any opportunity to go out and watch the whales in my own back yard. In August, the youngsters from last year’s crop show up. They’re young, sexually immature, curious and playful, so if you’re on one of the fleet of whale boats taking tourists out…

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  • Home
  • Start Here
  • Books
    • Ptorix Empire stories
    • Morgan Selwood stories
    • Dryden Universe
    • Paranormal Stories
    • Historical Fiction
      • The history
      • Why did I write the book?
  • About
  • Travel
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
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