Whale Watch Fremantle on a beautiful day as we met mother Humpback Whales and their curious, boisterous calves! The morning was filled with sunshine and hardly a breeze as we departed to the Humpback sighting grounds. A young calf was practicing peduncle slaps and breaching in the turquoise hues of the Indian Ocean. It was a beautiful day and after some good practice of these impressive behaviours the young calf settled in and began to swim alongside mum for their journey towards Rottnest Island. Further mother and calf pods could be sighted around the area and maintained their reactionary distance from the pod we were travelling with. The mother whale became very trusting towards us and was swimming close to our vessel to avoid the consistent recreational vessel traffic moving through the area. Eventually she did have the area to herself and that provided the perfect opportunity for us to calmly tiptoe away.
The afternoon sea breeze was gentle and as we ventured into the lovely afternoon a slither of jet black broke the surface just ahead. It was a resting mother and calf who had found the perfect little spot to enjoy an afternoon siesta. The calf was curious and approached us for a closer look before returning back to rest time. Three pods had gathered just ahead and we approached curiously, one of the calves decided it was time to fly. Launching skywards the youngster flew high with spectacular breaching as mother whale watched on happily. A great pod for Grace and her team from the Fat Whales Project to collect data on and with such a lovely, curious female it was exciting to watch as she swam directly towards our vessel. Swimming up to our bow and having a good look we could see her calf enjoying the close encounter as we enjoyed some special time with this lovely whale family.
