The best Winter Whale Watching in Western Australia can be found in the waters of our southern coastline and Augusta is alive with the activity of the northern Humpback Whale migration. A picture perfect morning guided us into the calm waters of Flinders Bay as two tall exhalations were sighted just up ahead. A cheeky male was flirting with his female companion and in the calm waters launched into a huge breach before continuing his morning with pec slapping and tail lobbing. They were both extremely relaxed as they cruised to the other side of the bay and through the abalone farm all the while rolling and playing at the surface as they went. Curiosity got the better of them and both beautiful whales swam around our bow looking up towards us. Eventually we had to wish them well as they continued on with their morning and a beautiful lone Humpback began to launch into a breaching display. One after the other she breached towards us until she was landing only a few meters from our bow, absolutely spectacular to witness.
The winds eased even further in the afternoon and we were in for an interesting and exciting tour ahead. Firstly we met a few resting Humpbacks who were completely relaxed in the afternoon sunshine. Surface activity up ahead captured our attention and on our arrival we could see four Humpbacks converging together and Common Dolphins joining in on the action. A competitive pod was forming and we were amazed to witness all four enormous Humpbacks surge straight towards us! Diving under and around the bow and stern, there was much excitement amongst the whales and also amongst everyone onboard. It was a fantastically fun interaction with Humpbacks and Common Dolphins darting and diving within a meter of us.
The afternoon was set to have an energy change again as we met three beautifully calm Humpbacks who were also socialising with the Common Dolphins, but instead of competing these whales wanted to play. They gently approached us and spent time surrounding the boat while curiously investigating everything before literally falling asleep next to us. We gently tiptoed away from the area to allow them to continue their afternoon siesta as a final head lunging juvenile completed an extraordinary day and some of the very best winter whale watching.
