Lest We Forget… at 11 am on 11 November 1918 the guns on the Western Front fell silent after more than four years of continuous warfare and today marked the 100th year anniversary, Remembrance Day. Our morning began with two large adults who were travelling towards a mother and calf pod a few hundred meters ahead of them. The calf noticed their approach and began to communicate to the adults with defensive tail lobbing. A perfect opportunity for this calf to practice The Language of the Whales™ as the large adults continued to move in their direction the calf made sure he did his best to warn them not to approach. We could feel the energy increase as a large footprint surfaced next to us and the adults began to move with more focus just before everything went very still.
One of the adults launched into a full body head lunge as his rostrum reached for the sky and his pectoral fins kept him balanced, a mouth full of seawater was also sent flying skywards as he crashed landed with an enormous splash! Another head lunge quickly followed as his travel buddy began to pec slap and join in the conversation. Head lunging and further pec slapping continued as these two beautiful adult whales displayed powerful and efficient surface behaviour. The white belly of one of the whales was such a very pure white and extended all along his pectoral fins and up his flanks, a stunning individual. After their magnificent display the calf soon went quiet as he listened in to the power of these adults and quickly established that these approaching whales were much bigger than him! They changed course and continued moving towards Rottnest Island as they prepared for the next step of their journey. Our morning was also in for a special surprise as an Australian Airforce Fighter Jet approached form our starboard side and we had a direct overhead flyby as he roared towards Garden Island, a very special moment to reflect on the men and women who fought to protect the freedom of our nation and gave their lives so that we may live ours, a privilege that we must not only remember today but every day of our lives and pass on their story to the next generation of Australians who will always be proud and honoured to have and continue to have such brave Diggers… Lest We Forget
