We had an absolutely incredible start to the season today on the water. Heading out of the Augusta harbour for our first tour spotting a Humpback whale just off the sea wall! We even had to wait for the Humpback to move before we could properly exit the harbour. We followed behind the Humpbacks lead noticing the immense size of it and wondering whether it might’ve been a pregnant female.
Pregnant females are among the first wave of Humpbacks to head up to the birthing grounds in far north Western Australia as they hurry back to calve their young. For Humpback whales their gestation period is between 10-12 months so ties in nicely with their migration back to the warmer waters.
We watched from a distance as the pregnant Humpback breathed slowly, occasionally lifting her pectoral fin or splashing with her tail. She seemed to be conserving her energy for the long journey ahead while leaving a trail of whale foot prints behind. We made our way back to the harbour and ticking the first humpback of the season off our lists!
But the excitement didn’t end there, heading out to our second tour in the afternoon we pondered around the harbour wondering if our female was still lingering but didn’t manage to find her.
Instead, Billy the deckie spotted distant blows from the crow’s nest behind a series of rocks. We meandered around the shallows and noticed there were in fact two blows. The second blow appeared to be significantly smaller indicating the presence of a calf. The whale’s blows seemed to be exceptionally large with the pair staying under for a longer period of time, a behaviour commonly seen by Blue whales. The pair rolled at the surface revealing the unquestionable blue colour glistening in the sun, confirming that they were in fact BLUE WHALES!! We stood in awe watching the largest living mammal speed through the water, surfacing occasionally and with pace. We followed them through the outskirts of the harbour watching their enormous blows lingering like a mist about the water. Rarely seen during the Augusta season the sighting of the Blues made for an epic first day!!!
Until tomorrow
Naturaliste Charters
