School Holiday Whale Watching fun this morning as we met playful Humpback calves and a boisterous pod of adults in the sighting grounds. A picture perfect morning as we departed Sardine Jetty and made our way out to the Humpback Whales favourite destination to visit as they pass by the Perth coastline. A powerful tail lob ahead indicated higher energy amongst the whales and as we approached we could see two males keenly following a female as the boisterous adults chased after one another. Surfacing on our port side and swimming directly towards our bow we could see the female Humpback looking for a distraction as she swam underneath us and the boys followed closely. They continued to follow each other as the males tried to impress the female as best they could to be the one to escort her south to Antarctica.
Wishing them well we moved over to what had become the Humpback calf creche for the day as four mothers and their calves gathered. One little black bellied calf was having a ball as he breached over and over with a few tail lobs practiced as well. The SAS soldiers were moving past on their high powered ribs and it made for a unique sight in the sheltered waters just off Perth. The other three mother and calf pods spied us and began to swim directly towards the bow as they carefully allowed the calves to have a good look at everyone onboard. One mother even began to sleep just off our bow as she rested quietly with her little one as the others investigated the Steep Point. It was such a special interaction and opportunity to be welcomed by these protective mother whales into their private creche and allowed to meet their brand new babies.
