It’s been a strange old year and, whilst we wish we were on our way to New Caledonia, playing with the whales of Hervey Bay has chased away the blues.
These giant curious animals have wallowed and played in the shallows beside us, seemingly happy to check out Roo Bin Esque’s hulls and to allow their young ones to get up close and personal with humans. It’s a humbling experience to watch a new mum initially keeping her baby away until, after an hour of circling, they both slid silently under the boat.
I couldn’t help but laugh out loud as we watched a whale sneak up on another, who was lolling on its back warming its belly in the sun, and give them a nudge, leading to some frantic thrashing. Being woken in the night by the sound of a blow and feeling the boat move in the eddies they create is wonderful. They are a reminder that life can be simple and joyful.
Here are some of my favourite photos and videos. My hard drive is full of tails and flukes and noses 🙂
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It must have been a fantastic day, Helene.
It’s been an amazing week, Mavis! We’re very fortunate to be able to spend time just waiting for the whales to come visiting 🙂
how honoured are you to be able to see this without rushing – just 24/7 . I am sure you can build this into a book. Have fun.
It’s very special, Cheryl-ann, and we’ll treasure every moment of it 🙂
Just love them all, especially the Mum and baby and the music
Carolyn, it was fascinating to watch their behaviour change as they hung around and nothing bad happened. Presumably it’s all part of baby training school 🙂