Humpback Whale Highway – All heading North – no traffic jams!!
Well another week has rushed by and heaps and heaps of whales are migrating – heaps !! We have now been whale watching for near on 7 weeks and would have seen around 800 whales so far this season, some days we would see around 4-10 whales on a trip and some days 20-30 on a trip, one day we saw 80 whales over two trips. There are plenty of whales coming from the south, I spoke with Sydney Whale Watching today and they have loads of whales still coming north – I’m ready !!!
Since my last post this is what we have been seeing:
Wednesday – 14th – too rough didn’t go to sea
Thursday – 15th
1 pod of 2 by 9.20am – travelling very fast – so left them and headed south, saw 1 pod of dolphins, flying fish and plenty of birds, sunny and cold day out to sea. By 9.35 we had another pod off Fingal, pod travelling quick again, another whale was coming to join them, they didn’t want to socialise with him, he left the pod within 10 minutes and headed south !!! We followed the remaining two, we had loads of tails and slowing up and just happy swimming along. We left this pod around 10.30 and headed south and found 2 pods off Kingscliff. We even had an eagle ray jump out of the water twice in front of the boat – amazing. What a great morning.
Friday – 16th
Cool, choppy with no swell. Our first pod by 9.25 but they were divers, we left them and had another group of whales coming up from the south, we had 3 pods of 2, 1 and 4 by 10.10 and a large pod of dolphins by 10.30. All pods moving along slowly and another pod coming up from behind this lot, we had flying fish and a turtle. We had not one breach today, no tails, very very quiet in the water – a travelling day with no action at all. But still plenty of whales and a great morning.
Saturday – 17th
First pod by 9.25 with 2 whales, we had several breaches and heaps of tails straight away, a bit different to yesterday !!! We spenty spent till around 11am with them, they swam under the boat and came up right in front of the boat, they were very calm in the water and were very happy little whales. We put the hydrophone over the side, no singing today.
Saturday pm
One pod straight off Coolangatta with 2 whales and breaching straight away and porpoising, this pod had a brand new calf, would have been under 24 hours old, we only spent 20 minutes here once we realised she had a calf and the escort was doing the breaching, we left them and went out to several other pods, 5 pods with 2 in each pod, they ended up all around us, all moving slowly and plenty of tails. Another pod of 2 were breaching and we turned around and found another pod of Coolangatta, very active pod, two more pods off Tugun breaching – heaps and heaps of whales this arvo – great stuff
Sunday 18th
Our first pod of 9.15 one pod of 2, tails and quietly moving along, we left them at 9.45 as they were very quiet. Went over to a breaching whale in a pod of 2. Another pod of 2 off Coolangatta who breached and breached, now 10.25 and off Burleigh about 5 miles out to sea. We left these and headed south again, breaching whales out wide. We came across two whales pec slapping, breaching, they swam under the boat, tail flukes. Put the hydrophones over, could hear very faint singing, so the males were a long way off, these two were not singing. The sea was calm, warmer today, flying fish, not too many birds today – had a great day.
That’s it for me today
The Whale Women