Perth’s Whale Watching season has almost come to a close for Season 2019 as the very last of the mothers and their precious calves move down the coastline towards the summer feeding grounds of Antarctica. A beautiful morning as a gentle, warm breeze greeted us as we cruised out to the sighting grounds. Watching carefully, the blue and green hues of the Indian Ocean were mesmerising and easy to find yourself being enchanted and distracted… but it was time to find whales! Scanning carefully we watched on as flying fish darted across the waves and bypassed the hunting Crested Terns who were super focused on finding their breakfast.
A small shadow appeared just to our port side and the beautiful back of a Humpback Whale calf broke the surface and a cheer went out, we had our first sighting for the morning! He was gorgeous and almost looked like he was going for the “Blue Whale” look with his mottled grey patch on both flanks. Mum was not far away and an enormous shadow began to appear below her calf, this female was a mature one. Surfacing, her huge frame looked absolutely fantastic as her round shape indicated she still has a substantial amount of fat reserves left. How wonderful to see such a healthy female at this late stage in Perth’s whale watching season, she was a perfect picture of health. Cruising through the resting grounds we enjoyed watching the close bond between mother and calf, vitally necessary to ensure a safe trip for both back towards Antarctica.