Aug 22, 2014
At sunset last night, Whale Song began slowly making her way southwards from the Buccaneer Archipelago and Frost Shoal, towards Pender Bay. This area is north of the Lacepede Islands, situated on the western side of Dampier Peninsula, to the north of Broome.
In the clear water a cow, calf and escort pod pass Whale Song.
By sunrise at 0602, the crew was mobilised and several pods were already in our sights. All around were many groups of variously snoozing or active humpback whales, take your pick! In the calm, clear blue water, being away from the silt of King Sound and the extremely muddy bays to the north, we luxuriated in pods travelling past Whale Song. Logging or breaching, were the activities of the day. And these were not to be mixed up at all.
With fatigue-induced hilarity setting in, the general consensus indicated, it was lucky the expedition was drawing to end in a few days. With wonderful esprit de corps we have documented and collected a huge amount of data on humpback whales in their “bedroom”, the Kimberley and the film crew have bucket loads “in the can”, so to speak.
A rainblow arches over the three whales!
Rainbow-coloured blows arched over the whales, as a cow and calf surfaced beside us, with an escort, this time a male humpback whale. What a treat. We have seen many aspects of the daily lives of humpback whales.
Soon we will be heading south and documenting humpbacks on their journey down the west coast towards the “kitchen” in the Antarctic.
What wonderful things will we see tomorrow?
Mich
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