Augusta was all sunshine today as we departed on a crystal clear morning to whale watch in Western Australia. A competition pod of three had begun in the middle of the bay and as we made our gentle approach the female took a big interest in us, swimming directly towards our vessel! The two males who had been following her also approached and she began to flirt with us by pectoral slapping and rolling to the side as she showed off her big white belly. They continued to spy hop and spin upside down with their entire fluke and peduncle muscle clear above the waters surface. Everything changed when a larger male approached quietly from behind us and made a sneaky approach.
All three whales began to move again with the female launching herself into the air as she breached to encourage the males to follow her and it seemed to be the larger male who won the competition as both moved off together. Our morning had another big surprise waiting for us as we watched a large Humpback approaching our vessel as we quietly waited and watched. A quick flash of grey and there he was, the tiny Humpback Calf who was sighted yesterday! Mum no longer had a male escort travelling with them and we watched in amazement as she gently brought her calf towards us to show off her baby. We were very excited to see that she recognised our vessel and moved straight towards us and gently underneath before continuing with their morning. A special moment to be so close to this newborn calf who we have already grown very fond of and all of our wonderful guests onboard today will be helping us to name this precious calf.
The afternoon was glassy as wind conditions completely dropped and a peacefulness was found in Flinders Bay… except for those 7+ blows straight ahead! A competition pod had formed and as we approached the female moved straight towards us to try and distract the males. Moving underneath our bow all males followed and we could see the bubbles rising to the surface as the males bubble veiled and bumped each other as they competed 20 meters underneath us before racing back to the surface in a hurry. Spectacular to be so close to this intense energy as the males used our vessel as a block to try and win the upper hand. Eventually, one male did win and as they moved off two of the unlucky males decided to approach another pod close by which resulted in yet another competition pod. The last of the competition subsided and we spent an incredibly calm afternoon with relaxing whales and friendly Dolphins as we enjoyed every moment of our whale watch in Western Australia.
