New Bremer Bay Orca identified, introducing Ferrari who made a memorable impression today as the youngster decided to take a seat just off our bow in a wonderful meet and greet. A stunning morning once again welcomed us with crystal blue skies and a very calm Southern Ocean as the journey out to The Patch this morning was more like travelling across a lake in the Mediterranean. John and his team had arrived earlier and were spending some time with the Orca as multiple family pods gathered to enjoy the lovely day and do a bit of foraging. Joining with them we watched the family work together as they spread wide through The Patch and covered ground efficiently. During this time we noticed a young Orca peel away from the family pod and begin to approach our bow with much curiosity. Extremely interested in everyone onboard we watched on as the youngster swam around and around our bow looking intently back up towards us.
Introducing young Ferrari who decided to swim up to us and settle into a vertical standing position right on our bow for a few minutes. A memorable moment to be sitting eye to eye with a wild Orca and see Ferrari trying to communicate with us as we gently waved back and introduced ourselves to Ferrari. The curiosity continued throughout the morning as the family moved forward and Ferrari followed for a little while before returning back towards us for further investigations. The day was about to get very interesting as we joined with the Orca and could see that they were settling into travel mode. It was Orca road trip time as the family gathered together and spread wide as the decision was made to head on a southbound trajectory.
Travelling with them we watched on with interest as every surfacing took us further and further out of The Patch while the water depth below us grew dramatically. Soon we were travelling over two thousand meters as the inky blue tones of the deep Southern Ocean became glassy with the lack of wind. The journey continued on south as the Orca led the way and if we were to hold course for a couple of weeks then we would eventually bump into the icy world of Antarctica. It was a perfect day for travel though and the Orca made short work of moving well outside of their usual foraging grounds as they expanded out into Beaked Whale territory who specialise at hunting in these depths well outside the range of many other cetacean species. It was time to say our farewells as we wished the Orca well and wondered just how much further south their travels would lead them before their next change of course.
