Season's End
Sunday 29 July
 Just one whale today. We picked it up out wide off Bondi and followed it back in towards the Heads. It played hide-and-seek with us, changing course eratically and staying down for long periods.
That was our last whale for the winter season.
It is heartening to see the increase in humback numbers year by year. Let's hope that the Japanese "scientific" researchers leave them alone during the coming summer.
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A three whale day
Saturday 28 July
It took a little while but we eventually found a lone whale off Bondi. It kept changing direction and was a bit hard to stay with but it caught our attention with a couple of dramatic tail slaps, lifting most of its body out of the water.
We went further out - about 4 miles of North Head where there were two more whales heading north at a sedate pace. They were surfacing about every 8 minutes or so.
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A long way north
Friday 27 July
We had to go a long way north to find whales today. We located two humpbacks off Longreef and followed them as far as Palm Beach.
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Waving at us
Sunday 22 July
 There has been another of those east coast low pressure systems hanging around all week. It has been freezing cold in Sydney and the strong southerly winds and rough seas have prevented us from going out whalewatching until today when conditions eased.
We didn't have to go far. We found whales about a nautical mile off Bondi and spent the afternoon with them. One was much smaller than the other - perhaps this was yearling calf completing its first migration cycle accompanied by its mother.
They were so pleased to see us that they waved at us and slapped the water to attract our attention. Have a look at the pictures.
Flipper waves: 1 2 3
Flipper slap: 1 2 3 |
Curious Travellers
Sunday 15 July
 It was much calmer today as we made our way back down to Maroubra where we fund two whales and we stayed with them as far as Sydney Harbour as they travelled north.
They spent a lot of time on the surface, sometimes coming quite close to have a look at us. It was a very different experience for those people who came with us yesterday and then backed up for today.
Pictures: 1 2 3 4 |
Frustration
Saturday 14 July
We went all the way down to Maroubra in search of whales. It was a rough ride as we were buffeted by a stiff southerly. Then we got word that two whales had been sighted off North Head so we headed back north. At least it was more comfortable travelling with the wind.
We found the whales and came up to within 200 metres of them when they sounded. They simply disappeared beneath the waves and we never saw them again!
To ease our whalewatchers' disappointment, we gave them each a complimentary voucher for another trip.
It was frustrating but it happens sometimes...
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Whale frolic
Sunday 08 July
 We headed a long way north from the Harbour to catch up with two whales off Longreef. Almost immediately, they started to play. For more than half an hour they slapped their tails, jostled one another, rolled over and slapped their tails some more. It sounded like thunderclaps when those massive tails crashed down onto the water. It was a great frolic!
We stayed with these whales when they resumed their journey northwards.
When it was time to head for home, we turned into the teeth of a stiff south eastererly wind and rain squalls. It was an adventurous trip back to the Harbour.
Watch the video.
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Awesome
Saturday 07 July
 Early on we saw one whale off Bondi but it didn't want to be watched. It kept disappearing on us. So we headed down south to Maroubra where we found two more whales and we followed them back up to the Harbour.
People are always excited when they see whales. Today's group was awestruck! They just watched in rapt silence as these monsters of the deep glided by.
Chris Hood sent us some of his photos: 1 2 3 4 5
More Photos: 1 2 3 4 5
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Whales, gales, an albatross and an aircraft carrier
Thursday 05 July
 The bad news: There was a gale warning current. The good news: We found whales less than a mile off the coast - so were were protected by the land from the worst of the vicious westerlies.
We picked up three whales off Maroubra and followed them back up to the Harbour. An albatross followed us, soaring on the wind. By 11:00 AM the gale had set in and was gusting over 30 knots - it was time to head for shelter!
So we cruised up the Harbour to watch the giant American aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk being docked at Garden Island.
It was a trip that had everything! Just look at the pics...
Photos: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
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Monday whales
Monday 02 July
 Today was one of those days when we had to accept that the whales are in charge.
Whales are wild animals. We go out into their environment. We are the visitors. They are not circus animals - they do not perform on cue.
We saw two pods of two whales today. All four whales were youngsters about 10 metres long and maybe 5 years old. They were all over the place - submerging off our beam and reappearing 500 metres in front of us or way off on the other side of the boat. It was really hard to stay with them.
Photos: 1 2 3
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Saving the best until last
Sunday 01 July
 We had to go out about 5 miles off the Heads to find whales today. We spent the afternoon with two juveniles. One was about 10 metres long, the other about 8 metres.
We moved northward with them during the afternoon.
Sometimes they would disappear only to reappear unexpectedly on the other side of the boat or way ahead of us. It was like a game of hide and seek. At other times they came quite close to have a look at us.
Late in the afternoon, one of them started to play at the surface - showing off by tail slapping more than 50 times. It was a spectacular display that thrilled our whale watchers. Check out the video.
Photos: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
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Mother and yearling
Saturday 30 June
 It was nice and sunny and a stiff south-westerly made for an exciting boat ride.
We found two humpbacks about 3 miles off the Heads. They turned out to be a female with her yearling calf.
East coast humpbacks are born during the winter months in the warm waters inside the Great Barrier Reef. The calf stays with its mother for about 14 months as they complete one migration cycle together. During that time, the mother astively teaches the young whale how to navigate, how to socialise with other whales and how to survive in the open ocean and in the Antarctic.
When this pair get back into the Queensland waters where the yearling was born last year, they will separate. The female will find a mate and the youngster will begin to fend for itself.
Photos: 1 2 3 4
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Speeding whales
Monday 25 June
 Wow! There were these five adolescent whales on P-plates hanging out together and they didn't worry about the speed limit!
Seriously, we picked up this pod of five juveniles off Bondi and stayed with them as they raced past the Harbour and the northern beaches. They were all about 9 or 10 metres long and probably less than 5 years old. For much of the time, they were travelling at about 10 knots which is about twice as fast as adult whales normally travel.
They jostled one another as they came over to look at us several times - coming quite close to our boat.
It was an exhilirating experience for our whalewatchers and it is all going to be on TV. We had Sean Kennedy and his crew from Channel 10's Totally Wild show with us today and we can't wait to see the episode that they were making. It will be broadcast on Channel 10 at 4:00 PM on Thursday 26 July.
Photos: 1 2 3
Sebastian Goldhorn brought his new Nikon D80 to get some good shots of the whales. You can see for yourself just how successful he was.
Sebastian's photos: 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
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A 7 whale day
Sunday 24 June
 This afternoon we spent time with two pods of two humpbacks and one pod of three.
Each pod included a yearling - a young whale that was born last year and was travelling north with its mother.
Whales are social animals, we usually see them in groups. But these groups are not family groups. A young whale spends the first 14 months of its life with its mother and completes one migration cycle with her. During that time the mother teaches the young whale how to navigate and how to socialise with other whales. Then the young whale is left to fend for itself and the mother goes off to mate again.
Photos: 1 2 3 4 5
Photo by James Lowry: 6
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Patience pays off
Saturday 23 June
 At last those storms have gone. We were all starting to suffer from "cabin fever". Today was fine and sunny.
It took a while to find the whales but we eventually picked up two of them about 2 miles off Bondi.
It was all about patience today - and, in the end that patience paid off.
The whales were moving northward very slowly and spent a lot of the time "logging" - just lying in the surface, exposing enough of their heads to get a breath.
Occasionally we saw a raised tail but that was it.
At one stage, an energetic tail slap seemed to promise some activity but there was just the one. More patient watching...
The whales submerged and seemingly disappeared. Suddenly there was an enormous snort and a geat whoosh of exhaled air as a whale surfaced right beside the boat. It was almost enough to make a bloke jump right out of his skin - just ask Max!
PRO DIVE WhaleWatch stays out longer than the other boats and we had the whales to ourselves for the last 40 mins of our trip. It was then that the whales decided to play, rolling over and waving their great pectoral flippers at us. And, yes, one of them did breach... We all saw it but no one was quick enough to get a picture. However we brought home plenty of other great shots.
Logging 1 2 3
Tails 4 5
Max 6
Flipper waves 7 8 9 10
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More gales... No whales
Sunday 17 June
 With wind gusts as high as 90 kph and waves peaking at over 10 metres, we haven't been able to get out of the Harbour for days. The sea is starting to drop this afternoon. We are looking forward to resuming whale watching later in the week.
So, while you are all rugged up and staying out of the wind and the rain, amuse yourself and your friends with this whale trivia question:
Q. How long do whales live?
A. Humpback whales probably live for 55 - 95 years. New evidence suggests that some whales may live even longer. more
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Migrating Whales
Monday 04 June
 Today we found whales as soon as we left the Harbour. There were three humpbacks just off South Head. For a while, it looked like they were going to swim into the Harbour but they turned around and headed back out to sea. We stayed with them as they moved northwards as far as Curl Curl.
You get to spend more time with the whales when you go whale-watching with PRO DIVE WhaleWatch. We had them all to ourselves for 45 minutes after the other boats headed for home.
We encountered two more whales off Manly late in the afternoon as we were making our way back to Sydney Harbour.
Photos 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Matt, Vicki and Sara Clark sent us this email message:
"Thanks for all your guide expertise on Monday afternoon. We all really enjoyed it and have already been recommending you to all our friends."
Click here to see their video.
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IT DOESN'T GET BETTER THAN THIS
Saturday 02 June
 We spotted a couple of whales about a mile off South Head and went over to have a look. They were surfacing regularly as they moved northward and we stayed with them for about 45 minutes. We were talking about leaving them and heading south to find some others but they must have overheard us and quickly convinced us to stay.
All of a sudden, they erupted into spectacular surface activity that continued throughout the afternoon.
Vincent Middleton and Roel Verhagen got some great shots. The pictures tell the story...
Vincent's photos 1 2 3 4 4.1
Roel's photos 5 6 7 8 9
More photos 10 11 12 13 14 |
WOW!
Friday 01 June
 What else can you say?
This was the most fantastic start to the whale-watching season ever...
More than 20 humpbacks were sighted off Sydney today and there were Minke whales darting everywhere.
Many of the humpbacks were youngsters, 7 or 8 metres long and maybe 3 or 4 years old. Like typical adolescents, all they were interested in was fun, fun, fun.
They were curious and came over to the boats to check us out.
If today is any indication, we are in for an extrordinary season.
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The whales are here!
Friday 25 May
 There are plenty of whales around. We are set for a great start to our whale-watching season this Friday 1 June.
This attention-grabbing display off Longreef this afternoon gave us an indication of what we are in for.
A breathtaking display of might at the surface and then a casual flipper wave before these humpbacks continued their journey north.
We can expect to find whales off Sydney every day from now until the end of July.
More pics 1 2
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