Day 11 Whale Watching

06/11/2024

It was time to make up for the disappointment of the cancellation of our whale watching trip from Fremantle. We booked tickets for a trip with Naturaliste Charters. They run expeditions out of Dunsborough, about 40 km north of Margaret River.

The BIG QUESTION still remained…. would Diane finally see a whale?

We drove up to Dunsborough. We stopped at a bakery and had pies for lunch. This way, we would have something to bring up if it got rough. Then, we headed out to the meeting place for 14:00 hrs.

We were met by a couple of friendly crew members to take us out to the catamaran Alison Marie.

Off we went in search of the Great White Whale. Call me Ishmael.

We were much more likely to meet Humpback Whales than a white Sperm Whale. With Diane on board doing her Jonah in reverse, we might encounter none.

For a while it looked as if that was the case. I went and got myself a cup of tea and sat down to wait. After about half an hour we spotted some blows. It was a Humpback mother and her calf. Diane had finally seen a whale. 🤩🥳🤩.

We saw a few more Humpbacks, some with calves some without. Then we saw another couple of blows, and the crew began to get excited. These were Blue Whales. Even now, after years of protection, they are still rare. There are probably about ten thousand in the world. A big improvement on the three hundred that were estimated to be left when hunting was banned. Humpback Whales have recovered more spectacularly. There are estimated to be around thirty to forty-five thousand whales in existence. It’s probably because Humpbacks breed more frequently.

We saw a mother and her calf. And another two whales. The crew thought that the mother and calf were probably Pygmy Blue Whales. They believed the others were probably true Blue Whales. Pygmy is a relative term. They can reach up to 24 meters in length. In contrast, the true Blue Whales can reach 30 meters. They can also weigh 200 tonnes.

Unfortunately, I had a problem with my camera, so I only got one quarter decent photo.

All the other photos have been borrowed.

No one seems to have taken any decent shots of the Blues. Unfortunately, you will have to take my word for it. It is something that I feel incredibly privileged to have seen. In some ways, it is better not to have photos.

It was a great day out and worth every cent of the $95. I thoroughly recommend Natuaraliste Charters if you are in W.A.

Photos and videos marked with an* were borrowed from the Natuaraliste Facebook page