School holidays Whale Watch Experience began today as we enjoyed celebrating the start of the holiday fun with our next generation of whale guardians and many Humpback Whales. A lovely calm morning was enjoyed as our first pod was sighted and much to our excitement it was a mother whale and her calf. The baby was feeding and circled above much each surfacing before returning back to her for another meal until it was eventually time for mum to surface. She was tired and relaxing as her calf seemed to have a bit more energy from hat milk but we left them to their sleepy morning and joined with another pod. It was a female with her male escort but interestingly she was busy calling out to other bachelor males nearby with beautiful pec slapping. The male was trumpeting and frustrated as he had one challenger arrive but dispatched him quickly as he guarded for any other challengers heading their way.
The midday tour was firstly greeted by a beautiful mother Humpback Whale and her tiny calf who were moving in towards the resting grounds. It was great to see both were very relaxed and settling in for a snooze so we left them to enjoy their afternoon siesta as we moved out in search of energy. It appeared as pods began to converge and we found ourselves initially with three adults who soon grew to four with a new addition. Three males in pursuit of one female as they cruised with ease after her and she did a good job of leading them on a chase through the sighting grounds. Every powerful exhalation was clear to hear in the still conditions this afternoon as after some time they eventually began to settle with the primary escort now travelling closest to the female and the other two challengers still following. The other pods remain reserved to maintain a quiet profile and not attract the attention of these rather boisterous adults. Still plenty of bachelor males causing excitement in the sighting grounds as we now have steady arrival of mums and calves each day to the lighting grounds, October is looking wonderful for Humpback sightings!
