I have vowed for about 10 years that I should go on a Whale Watching tour . .this year I am going to do it. (Researching how and when right now). Often a mother and calf will interrupt the ferry service and breach or schloop well inside the heads . . .the rocky outcrops that enclose the harbour.
Crowds of people will accumulate to see the sights but thanks to work, it's impossible for me to get down to West Head in time to see their antics:
I saw a Humpback and calf breaching many years ago in the Bass Strait whilst ferrying across to Tassie but never up close. Today, my friend Kenton AKA Stan the Man, sent me this from Murawai beach on the North Island of New Zealand.It was a joke (not the dead whale unfortunately, which is actually a Sperm Whale and not necessarily part of the current migration). He appeals to my silly side, then we share a particular sense of humour. So while eating your fush and chups and contemplating sux acluck dunner!
Watch this:
And you'll appreciate the humour in this:
He's still my gorgeous beach bum and soon-to-be Dishy Daddy!
Which reminds me, it's whale time around here too - and now that I'm armed with that loooong lens, it's a perfect time to go whale spotting!
ReplyDeleteHope you have a fab time whale touring - whales are really such amazing creatures - though, mind you, the breath can be a bit whiffy! ;-)
I wouldn't like to meet one of them in the water.
ReplyDeleteIt's whale time down in Puerto Madryn Penninsula Valdes here too but they hike up the airfares and hotels so doubt I'll be seeing it.
ReplyDeleteWow -- what a gorgeous white whale! I went on a whale watch on my honeymoon and it was fantastic. A female humpback and her calf hung out beside our boat for the longest time and it was one of those "who's watching whom ... " moments. She really seemed to have an idea of what we were all about and I wonder if she'd seen boats like it before and got a kick out of the response to her. She lifted each fin out of the water and then her tail, as if showing us all her parts. So cool!
ReplyDeleteI love the friendly rivalry we have with NZ. But when they made fun of OUR accents in Auckland airport it wasn't so funny...
ReplyDeleteHAHAA, great animation and photo to go with! Have been very tempted to go out in a boat this year to see the whales a lot closer but it's just SO BLOODY COLD out there! Cold enough hanging off the cliffs... they are beautiful animals ;) HAY is for horses and I'm early too!
ReplyDeleteAV I envy your lens! Mines only 700so not enough for offshore sightings, I'll have to get on a boat and go beyond the heads!
ReplyDeleteGM I believe if you're lucky you can get right up close, gentle giants!
Quicky, must be popular to draw tourists eh? I suppose that's the case up at Hervey Bay in QLD, famous for it's up close and personal whale encounters.
Melissa, I'm hopeful I'll have a similar experience but sometimes they're a long way off the coast . . we'll see. Booked it for later in the month.
mmmmm...cartoon's funny....not so in real life though. v. sad.
ReplyDeleteBabysis .. .I think it died of natural causes or a case of bad calamari?
ReplyDeleteOooh - Mingaloo is gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteI went on a whale-watch boat trip from Vancouver last year. It was fantastic! We saw half dozen members of J Pod - orcas - playing around the boat! Just incredible.
The interesting thing was, by the time we found them we were in US waters!
I had a bit of a hard time with the accents in the little vid, although I'm familiar with both NZ and Australian accents. Were they exaggerated for effect?
Jay he appeared about five years ago, just outside the harbour and so Aussie's named him Mingaloo (I'm sure other countries have given him other names as well!) Vancouver . . jealous . . Orcas . . .more jealous they don't hug the coast. I think the Humpbacks and Southern Rights actually come in close because they calve in Aussie waters then when the bubs are strong enuough, they go pootling down to antarctica. Oh yes they were exaggerated. My friend is actually from the Channel Islands and now lives in NZ "Bro" however is a real term and they do say "u" for "i". Real problem when it comes to saying 'pen' or 'pin' or 'sex' and 'sucks' or 'six'.
ReplyDeleteLittle bit of trivia, there used to be a pod of Orcas in a fishing village on the lower NSW coast who actually 'helped' whalers in the 30's by coralling humpbacks. They did it to be rewarded with a tongue. The whale was left in the water overnight, the orcas ate the tongue and then left the rest of the whale for processing. Check out Old Tom: http://www.killersofeden.com/Export2.htm
Well, in Hungary there are no many chance to watch a whale unless I watch nature channels. :D
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