The whale watching in August has been exceptional. Perfect weather conditions, friendly humpback whales and many passengers from all over the world has made for fantastic August whale watching.
Today we encountered the following behaviours:
Breaching juvenile whales
peduncle throwing
tail slapping
pectoral slapping
spy-hopping
groups of whales in large chase pods
At one time we could count five pods within 500 metres of the boat. Close encounters of whales circling the boat and checking out our passengers was a highlight for all aboard.
We had families from France and Denmark, couples from NZ, UK and from all parts of Australia. Everyone was amazed at the standard of whale watching in Hervey Bay and the sheer number of whales to be seen all over the bay. Everyone took stunning photos of the humpbacks antics and few great videos.
On the 16th August we photographed this tail fluke which had been previously identified in 2009 by The Oceania Project. Because it had been seen in Hervey Bay before we were allowed to name it and Trish suggested we could call it Freedom. We were thrilled with this and agreed. Meet Freedom! We hope to continue to help with the whale identification project whenever we are able so that we can learn more about the habits and personalities of individual whales.
Here’s hoping there is more fantastic August whale watching which will continue into September and October when the mothers and calves come to visit with us in Hervey Bay, Queensland.
