A calm morning greeted us as we made our way out into Flinders Bay and could see the sleek back of a young Humpback Whale break the surface. Meeting this pod of two we could see a couple of the local Bottlenose Dolphins travelling towards them when all of a sudden the young Humpback launched into the air and we watched as a huge breach landed just in front of us! A few more breaches later and peduncle slaps we could see he was trying to deter a few of the large males in the area from approaching. Thankfully, their attention was elsewhere as a competition pod was starting to form a few hundred meters ahead. South West Whale Watching peaks from late May to August and is a perfect time to meet these incredible whales on their epic migration along the Western Australian coastline.
The surging and white water could be easily seen as up to one dozen Humpback Whales formed into a competition pod and started to move at speed across the bay. Three of the males were very smart as they positioned themselves close to us but followed at a comfortable distance from the main pod… they were waiting for just the right moment. Sure enough, the pod seemed to slow a bit after 30 minutes and with a sudden change of direction it was the perfect opportunity for these three males to make their approach again and this time surprise the leading male escort. Their plan worked perfectly and the pod all went from travelling in a very straight line to whales everywhere as the three males surprised and repositioned themselves in the pod.
