This weekend Nick and I traveled four hours south to Hervey
Bay to do some whale watching! This time
of year humpback whales are traveling south towards Antarctica and pass through
Hervey Bay. From the pictures we saw
advertised for the cruise we would be taking, our expectations for the day were
very high!
Whales travel in packs called pods and we immediately saw a pod of whales upon leaving the marina. The captain of the boat was amazing at tracking the whales. He could see spray from their blow holes from miles away and could also identify their location from what he called a "foot print" which is a flat circle of water on the surface caused by the motion of their tail. We approached a pod, the captain turned off the motor and we waited to see if the whales would approach the boat. Humpback whales are typically curious of the boats and often approach them. The first few pods we approached showed no interest in our boat, however we saw a spectacular leap from one directly in front of us. It was amazing to see such a massive animal able to propel itself so far out of the water. Unfortunately I was only able to capture the enormous splash. After giving up on the first few pods of whales we came upon a 3 year old baby whale that was very interested in our boat. He swam right up to the side to check us out. It felt like he was playing with us because he would pop up on one side and then swim under the boat to the other side. Everyone on board was running side to side and front to back trying to guess where this little guy would pop up. I say "little guy" because he was very small in comparison to a full grown humpback which can weigh as much as 45 ton and grow as long as 50 feet. It was spectacular to see a whale up close and I had to admire how curious and playful these creatures were. The captain said they respond to movement and sound so everyone on the boat was waving to the whale and he eventually waved back. I would say our expectations were met to say the least!
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| Just missed a giant leap but caught the giant splash |
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| Belly role |
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| Nick waving... |
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| ...whale waving back:) |
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| Bye whale! |
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| Bye Katie and Nick! See you next year! |
The fun didn't end at Hervey Bay. Look what we saw on our way home:
The fun didn't end at Hervey Bay. Look what we saw on our way home:
oh oh oh oh oh!!!
ReplyDeleteWow Katie and Nick!!! WOW!
ReplyDeleteSpectacular pictures!!! What a bonus to find the kangaroo pack(?) on your drive home. Sanna and Riley would love the "tangaroo" picture of the mother with the Joey in her pouch:):) It looked like Nick was preparing to run from an approaching kangaroo. That made me laugh. Do they kick???
ReplyDeleteWhat a day you had. :) Whale pictures were amazing, and the kangaroo convention was awesome! Looks like you caught one of them in mid "boing," Katie! So cool seeing the "baby on board" picture, too. Were they just along the side of the road, or were they in a fenced-in enclosure? Looks like you had calm enough seas for your whale watching, but thankful for Dramamine!
ReplyDeleteexactly nancy, for sure these guys had a enjoyable moment especially on whale watching. I haven't experience this kangaroo moment,the picture invite me to have some, i guess i will have this on weekend.
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