WORLDS LARGEST ANIMAL IN THE SHALLOWS!

RIGHT OFF THE BAT! We were barely past the moorings when our deckie spotted a blow just behind the Telasea research vessel! We automatically thought it would be a humpback as the water depth was barely at 5m. As we approached the whale the crew all looked at each other…it couldn’t be?! At a closer glance we saw the grey mottled colouration penetrate the surface, shortly followed by a tiny dorsal fin. A BLUE WHALE, heading towards old Dunsborough in 5m of water! The customers all cheered after the crew announced the news with excitement! This is the closest to the shore that we have EVER encountered these massive marine mammals. We could see the iridescent blue outline glowing below the surface, making it easy to track its movements. As the blue cruised towards Castle Rocks clear waters we discovered how small the blue was, it must have been a juvenile as it was roughly 8-10m in length! As the blue headed closely past Gannet Rock towards Point Piquet we spotted a mother and calf humpback breaching! As we approached the pair their energetic surface manoeuvres did NOT cease! As we watched the calf edge closer to the bow of the boat our attention was quickly moved to the small dorsals heading towards the humpbacks….DOLPHINS!!!! The bottlenose dolphins intermingled with the pair for over 10 minutes, cruising under the bow and beneath the boat. To sum it all up…it was another GREAT day in Geographe Bay for whale watching in Busselton!