See Whales near Perth from late August through to November as the southern Humpback Whale migration is in full swing as thousands travel past Perth. It was a lovely morning with still conditions and a cosy cloud cover, perfect weather for finding whales and soon after our departure we sighted our first mum and calf pods for the day. The little ones were curious as their mums rested and enjoyed the sheltered waters. Wishing them well we moved out towards further pods and enjoyed the company of one young mum and her tiny baby. The two were very curious as they approached us and swam circles around our vessel repeatedly. It was wonderful seeing just how calm and curious this mother whale was even though she was younger and a little less experienced than the older females also nearby. She was confident and very excited to bring her baby over to have some fun exploring the Steep Point this morning and we also loved every minute of the encounter!
The midday tour started similarly with relaxed and resting mums and calves before thing turned energetic with a competition pod forming. The boys all began to converge and a few dominant tail lobs were observed but that didn’t stop the bachelor males arriving in numbers and taking on the opportunity to compete for this female who led them on a chase through the sighting grounds. It is always a thrill to be part of these heat runs and the female played a clever tactic to slow down the males by swimming towards an incoming ship but it moved by quickly and the boys didn’t blink, they were not phased! The competition rumbled on and the noisy trumpets increased in volume as the frustration amongst the males grew as they were all very evenly matched and no one was making much progress in pushing the females original escort out of the way. It was a very exciting way to complete another fantastic day seeing whales near Perth and we are looking forward to heading back out tomorrow and enjoying their company once again.
