March 12 Update on our Orcas in Australia.
The past week we’ve been so SPOILT! We’ve been lucky enough to encounter over 50 orca throughout the day on at least 3 different occasions, which has been a rarity until recently! Today was no exception to that, with orca from at least 5 different pods (Split Tip’s, Noosa’s, Nani’s, Moon’s, and Nibbles’) cruising in view of the boat as we passed through the hotspot mid-morning.
Tracking these pods led us all the way out to Knob Canyon, a region south of the hotspot, where we were treated to close up views of the orca shallow diving around the boat. We were particularly lucky to see young calf Neo rolling around and playing with his older brother Shep. Everyone on board had a good laugh at Neo, as at his age he’s still learning where his blowhole is, and so would breach his entire body above the ocean surface when coming up for air. While this was happening, many of the adult orca were sleeping in the calm waters around the boat, allowing for some great photo ops.
As the afternoon progressed, we left the pods from the morning behind in an attempt to track down a pod visible on the horizon. We were eventually rewarded with an up close sighting Fue and his pod, who surfaced right alongside the boat. As the orca left us in their wake, we turned tail and headed for home. Just as we approached Glasse Island, we were treated to a pod of dolphins swimming and playing in our slipstream, a perfect way to end a perfect day out in Bremer Bay!
