Our journey began as we passed Rottnest Island and we could see the undeniable movements of Humpback Whales… they have arrived! A mother and her yearling calf were migrating north and it was very exciting to see the first of the Humpbacks for season 2018. Continuing towards the Perth Canyon a stampede of white water was moving towards us as 500 Striped Dolphins porpoised and breached in the distance. Surrounding our vessel with much excitement it was wonderful to see so many happy Dolphins socialising and showing of their acrobatic skills together. The hazy blow of the largest animal on planet earth caught our eye off in the distance and as we made our way towards the last sighting the magnificent rostrum of a Blue Whale broke the surface.
One of the largest individuals that we have met so far surfaced only a few meters away and the enormous exhalation filled the sky. Measuring in at approximately 25 meters long this very large Blue seemed curious as she made an adventurous approach directly towards us. Shortly after her sounding dive another individual surfaced close by and then another, but this one was different and much smaller than the first two… she was only a yearling! Slightly darker in colouration and 14 meters long she was the same size as the female Humpback that we had met earlier on in the morning and it was very special to meet a new member of the Perth Blue Whale population. A total of four Blue Whales, another two meetings with the Striped Dolphins and a cheeky Antarctic Skua topped off an already amazing day out in the Perth Canyon.
4 thoughts on “Perth Blue Whales”
We were on the tour yesterday 19/5 and had a wonderful time. I’ve lived by the sea in Perth all my life and had no idea we had 200 tonne Blue whales feeding off the back of Rottnest. The massive pod of Striped dolphins was also amazing, again I had never seen them before. Really enjoyed the day, it was a fantastic.
Thank you Dan and wonderful to hear you had a lovely time and discovered a very special part of your backyard, it is incredible to have this vital feeding ground for the Blues so close to Perth!
Seeing the blue and humpback whales, dolphins and sea birds (including an interesting close encounter with a skua!) was amazing; a combination of luck and the skill and knowledge of the MV Steep Point crew.
It was the icing on the cake of what would have been a lovely day anyway: beautiful weather, an incredible location, well maintained vessel and benefiting from the knowledge and dedication of Whale Watch Western Australia.
Thank you for a memorable experience – hope to see you all again for the humpback tour!
Thank you Josette for your very kind words and we are pleased to hear you had a wonderful time, looking forward to welcoming you onboard again soon!