Simply the best Whale Watch with the incredible Humpbacks and Bottlenose Dolphins in Flinders Bay, Augusta on a magic winters day. The winds had eased after a wintery storm moved through the previous day and it was wonderful to back out on the water again with our magnificent whales. Moments after departing the Augusta Boat Harbour we were surrounded by multiple pods and close on twenty whales who were all excitable and boisterous as they moved past the Blackwood river mouth and made their way across the the reef line which is their departure linger from Flinders Bay. First though it was time to socialise as they mingled and interacted together with flirty pec slapping right alongside us and many close passes as they ventured over curiously. The local Bottlenose Dolphins came over for a quick good morning as they joined in on the fun, a beautiful way to start our morning.
Our midday tour was also rather special as a similar theme unfolded, dozens of Humpbacks moving within a few hundred meters of the boat harbour. It seemed that things may become competitive but as that particular pod moved out into the bay many bachelor males remained and began to approach the Bottlenose Dolphins who were having a good old playtime together. One by one they approached with noisy trumpets expressing their excitement and soon we had ten bachelor male Humpbacks and over twenty dolphins socialising and playing together for almost two hours! It was an incredible interaction and completed perfectly as four males broke away from the main pod and came over to see us, spy hopping and hugging our hull as they moved around our vessel. We were enamoured with all of them and they certainly had our complete attention and admiration, what wonderfully gentle and curious creatures our whales are!
The afternoon was a slightly different tempo with much excitement with multiple pods on the move and plenty of surface communication. Powerful tail lobs and inverted fluke slaps were observed as pods tried to maintain a reactionary distance from others. One cheeky male launched into spectacular breaches followed by another individual with one in particular quiet spectacular as he approached our bow curiously, swam underneath and then launched into a full body breach only meters away. Needless to say we were speechless, such spectacular power and graceful movement all in one. The afternoon completed with further cheeky bachelor males as two pods joined together and began to chase and socialise through the bay. Arriving back at the boat harbour in the setting sun we were farewelled by yet another two pods cruising past the breakwater after an incredible day, simply the best Whale Watch Experience.
