We joined the Cape Leeuwin Competition Pod this afternoon as they raced through Flinders Bay at high speeds and with powerful energy. Spending the morning with a female Humpback Whale who was trying to get the attention of other males in the area by pectoral fin slapping and releasing a scent to seek out the most impressive male in the bay. The male who she was originally travelling with didn’t seem too pleased with her flirtatious behaviour and tried to deter any would be male suiters by peduncle slapping and tail slapping.
During the afternoon we met with a young juvenile pod of two who were playing in the shallows and underneath the most glorious rainbow that was so bright we were squinting! The young female would roll on her back to show everyone her belly while practicing her pectoral fin slapping. The rainbow stopped us in our tracks and we just had to capture some special photographs of such a beautiful sight, we even had a double rainbow. The surging of water is what we sighted first as we approached a competition pod of eight Humpbacks racing at top speeds over 18 kilometres per hour through the bay. They were charging, rolling and jostling for position and it wasn’t long before we had joined their pod and all eight whales were chasing each other around and underneath us. Cape Leeuwin is a perfect place to see the story of the northern Humpback Whale migration as males compete for the right to mate with a female and we have the opportunity to Join The Pod!