Is Whale Watching better in the morning or afternoon? A question we are often asked and the simple answer is anytime is fine by the whales! Whale watching with Humpback Whales in mind is seasonal for us here in Western Australia and during the winter and spring we observe the northern and southern migration with over 45,000 Humpbacks joining the journey. The best time to see whales is during that peak season when numbers of pods migrating past the coastline is expected to be steady resulting in great viewing opportunities. In regards to the time of day our whales will travel 24/7 so don’t have any particular time that causes them to be more active or playful. It all comes down to the whales you have in the sighting grounds at that moment and the mood they are in, some will want to communicate with others while some will want to rest quietly. Today was a perfect example as we firstly came across a mother and her calf being protectively guarded by a large male escort.
It was lovely to see our first family escort pod for the season heading south and is a sign of many more of these pod structures to be arriving in the weeks ahead. The calf was extremely curious and came over for a look with mum, always so special to meet these new babies. Wishing them well for the day ahead we had multiple social Humpback Whale pods popping up all around with this age group slightly older than the many juveniles we have been observing since late August. In the days and weeks ahead we will continue to observe more of the mature adults in the population heading south which will be exciting. The boys were very playful as they twisted and rolled around the bow with plenty of curious spy hops as the local Rottnest Island Bottlenose Dolphin family of 30+ individuals zoomed in to join the fun. A very social morning and a great example of being in the right place at the right time when whale watching and observing Humpback Whale body language carefully to understand if the pod you are travelling with is wanting to keep a low profile or in the mood for a social party!
