Morning Tour
South West Whale Watching in the pristine waters of Flinders Bay is always a joy and this morning started with an explosion of energy as a powerful male Humpback launched into a full body lunge. It was spectacular to see as this male protected his female by continuing to launch into head lunging and tail slapping before throwing in a few big breaches for good measure. It didn’t take long to realise why he was being cautious as well over twenty other whales were in the vicinity and this male didn’t want to risk losing his female to any challengers. It seemed to work well as the others stayed clear but some slightly competitive behaviour began to form amongst another pod further in the bay. A lovely sight to see so many whales moving through the bay and a great example why South West Whale Watching is perfect in Augusta during the winter months.
Afternoon Tour
Starting peacefully we first met a sleeping whale who surfaced sight alongside us without moving far, resting at the surface. Gently leaving the area to allow this resting whale to enjoy an afternoon siesta we joined with another pod that was very competitive and we could see three males chasing after a female. She led them on a crazy chase through the bay with twists and turns as the boys tried to keep up with her. Rain briefly moved through and as it cleared we had the most beautiful rainbow with the whales being the gold directly underneath, how beautiful!
One of the males in this pod was a male we had met on the morning tour and it was great to see him still competing for a chance to join a female. Our last pod for the afternoon was spectacular as we met with the local, playful Bottlenose Dolphins who were wrestling playfully as two enormous Humpback Whales surfaced amongst them. Their curiosity was intense as they swam directly towards us and we found ourselves eye to eye with them special whales. Incredible to be this close to wild whales and have their trust as they swam around and around us with the female rolling onto her back and showing off her belly.
