We recently had a quick trip to Hervey Bay and, I’m delighted to say, went whale watching.
We’ve done a few whale watching trips in the past, all off Redcliffe and all fantastic…
But when we’ve seen them before they were on migration – so they effectively en route, they’re just swimming past.
One of the special things about Hervey Bay is the warm, sheltered waters provide a safe, natural sanctuary (it’s like a retreat)…
So the whales are very relaxed and inquisitive…
It becomes an area for resting and socialising, before heading off on their long migration back to Antarctica.
A migration stopover, if you like… and a ‘whale nursery’ for mothers and their calves.
I didn’t know this, but Hervey Bay became the world’s joint first (with The Bluff in South Africa) designated Whale Heritage Area in October 2019.
And it’s often described as Australia’s, and sometimes the world’s, whale watching capital.
It’s renowned for viewings of the Southern humpback whales between July and November…
And, I’m pleased to say, we were not disappointed…
We got up close and personal with several pods of these large, majestic creatures…
We had lots of mugging…
Fin slapping…
Rolling…
Tail flicks…
Just one breach, which fortunately I saw…
And so much spyhopping… (poking their heads straight up to look at us).
In fact, at one point, four whales lined up along the side of the boat, and all four spyhopped us at the same time.
That was a bit special.
What’s quite funny is everyone, of course, wants to see the whales, that’s why we were there…
We all want to photograph them…
And like everyone else, I found myself going from side to side, front to back of the boat, trying to get that next shot.
After a while I realised, most of the shots I had taken, had probably not worked anyway (in fact many didn’t, and I’ve deleted a LOT).
I might be lucky with one or two…
Then after a while you realise you just want to watch them…
You just want to observe what’s happening…
Be present with these fantastic creatures…
As they chose to be present with us…
To take in every moment…
To breathe it in (including that whale ‘blow’ spray)…
Noticing the amazing blue of the sea and the white bellys of the whales…
And appreciate just how lucky we are that we can do this.
Whale numbers along the eastern coast of Australia were believed to be around 30,000 prior to commercial whaling.
That number dropped to an estimated 150 in the early 1960s.
Wow.
Now the numbers are thought to be around 50,000.
Wow again, but in a really good way.
It was a truly wonderful day…
And I can honestly say we had a whale of a time!
Ann 🙏