Winter whale watching begins in Augusta today with much excitement as the very first large male bull Humpbacks charged through Flinders Bay! Our first interaction was in the sheltered waters not far from the Blackwood River as a mother and her yearling calf cruised through the shallow water investigating their surroundings. They travelled so closely to the Augusta Boat Harbour it almost looked like they would enter for a bit of a look around, but instead continued onwards as the rumble of two enormous individuals could be heard close by. Moving to our left and only a few hundred meters away two huge males surfaced together, rostrums already rubbed raw at points from competitive behaviour. They were energised and that energy spread through the vessel, how exciting to see these exuberant males charging through the bay in search of a mate. The mother and yearling did not go unnoticed and we watched as our anticipation rose… how would these two seperate pods react towards each other? We didn’t have to wait long as all four individuals approached and suddenly white water went flying as the males took off! On the move and travelling fast towards the reef line we couldn’t believe the incredible size of their powerful flukes arching up above the ocean as they swirled and swivelled to avoid each other. One cheeky male swam towards us and as the other approached too closely he landed only a few meters away with an impressive tail lob before disappearing under the vessel. Surfacing just on our other side he was now being chased by the other individuals, needless to say it was an exhilarating start to winter whale watching in Augusta and wonderful to see the first of the adult Humpbacks.

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