Whale odyssey

Have you ever been on a boat trip or cruise and suddenly heard a voice shout ”whale”? It's sure to get many dashing to the railings frantically scanning the sea for a glimpse if you have. If I’ve ever visited a place where whale watching trips were offered, you would have found me on that boat for sure even if the chances of a sighting was slim. Over the years I’ve had disappointments, fleeting sightings at distance but eventually got my just rewards with what I can only describe as moments of amazement.

The good news is that whale numbers appear to be on the rise and indeed whale watching trips are big business. There are certain hot spots around the world and you will need to do your homework as sightings are seasonal and differ between species. Equally, they can turn up off any coast with rare sightings of bizarre instances of smaller whales swimming up rivers, but it’s the big whale experience you want to aim for.

My biggest disappointment was off Sri Lanka on a landmark birthday. I had read in the National Geographic a Blue whale migration route had been found off the island the year before and despite trips being in their infancy, managed to find a boat to take me out. Two had been seen the day before but alas none for me, the sighting of a couple of flying fish would be all I would get. Seeing the smaller Minke whales off Reykjavik (Iceland) would be my best sightings for ages but then a trip to South Africa was timed specifically to coincide with what many claimed as the best place in the world to watch whales from land.

Hermanus - southern coast of the Western Cape province of South Africa

Looking down the coastline at Hermanus

Between June and December, the Southern Right whales arrive back from their Antarctic feeding grounds to mate and breed off South Africa. The sheltered coves around Hermanus are often frequented by mothers and calves which offer calmer waters so a safer environment for the youngsters to develop in preparation for the migration back south. September and October is seen as the most active months, so much so that an annual whale festival is held (http://hermanuswhalefestival.co.za/). There’s even a whale crier who will sound their kelp horn when a whale is sighted from land!

Because my whale sightings up to this point had been relatively fleeting I had allowed a day in the hope of seeing the whales. I drove through Hermanus town centre to the shoreline, parked at the Kammabaai Beach car park, walked to the shoreline and there a few metres out was a mother and calf. With the adults approaching some 17 metres in length, they are hard to miss. After frantically taking pictures another mother and calf entered the cove and realising this was no fleeting visit, I could now just take my time and relax. The calf was frolicking in the bay with fin slapping and sailing (keeping its tail out of the sea for a long period).

While it seemed like the mothers were watching us from afar with their eyes visible just above the waterline. The adults do not feed while in the breeding grounds surviving off their blubber reserves built up during their winter feeding. After three hours of just sitting and absorbing the moment, I left contented and would see others offshore further down the coast although not as close.

Female Southern Right whale photographed from the Hermanus shoreline

You can also do boat trips out into the bay but didn’t really occur to me as the viewing from the land was so amazing. So, in short, the hype is justified. I will end this section with the sobering thought that the Southern Right whale gets its name from the fact that it was seen as the “right” whales to hunt as floated when killed and because of its tendency to come inshore so easy to spot.

Monterey Bay - California

There are some places in the world where the geology and climate develops an ecosystem second to none and is why some call this the “Serengeti of the sea”. It’s not just the whales which you will have a chance of seeing here, dolphins, harbour seals, sea otters and lots of sea birds may also be encountered but will be seasonal so again read up beforehand. For me, it would be an October visit and the hope of a good Humpback whale sighting which had so far eluded me.

Leaving the Monterey harbour

Reading the sightings board at Monterey harbour looked promising and on a blue-skied day we ventured out into calm waters. Under our feet lay the largest and deepest submarine canyon in North America hence why the whales are able to feed so close to the shoreline. Soon enough a Humpback in the distance was seen repeatedly slapping its fin onto the water. Then a blow was spotted and a pair of Humpbacks broke the surface with the upper part of their backs visible for a couple of seconds.

You will learn when they return to the surface after a dive the whale will open its blowhole and will effectively breath out which will vaporise any water droplets so giving the characteristic spout. If actively feeding, a Humpback will typically come to the surface three times to take in more air before descending to feed to the lower depths. The final surface will see a tail flute which is the moment the photographer is waiting for and signals the whale is now deep diving and may not surface again for 15 plus minutes.

Humpback whale

Suddenly another pair surfaced even closer and before we knew it, we seemed to be surrounded by 10-15 Humpbacks. A pair surfaced heading directly towards our boat just to dive underneath with feet to spare. Caught on video this was the special moment I was looking for. A while later a bait ball seemed to form with an area of bubbling sea and a large flock of sea birds diving into the water at its epicentre. For a moment we hoped a whale would emerge with its mouth gaping but was not to be, but was not disappointed. With so many Humpback sightings I left with that feeling only the beauty of nature can give you.

Antarctic Peninsula – Cuverville Island and Paradise harbour

With yet another decade of age reached, I had always promised myself a trip to my perceived ultimate travel destination, Antarctica. A January departure was timed to coincide with penguin chicks however the build-up of whales should have started and although not the peak time, still had a fair chance of seeing a few as they reached the rich feeding grounds of krill in the Antarctic summer. Crossing the confluence near Shag rocks (where the colder Antarctic waters mix with the warmer Atlantic currents) had seen a few minutes of maybe some 30 whales appearing at distance in all directions while a close encounter with a pod of orca off South Georgia was a “wow” moment. But would we get near any while on the Zodiacs?

There aren’t enough superlatives to describe the beauty of the coastline and icebergs of the world’s biggest desert. Viewed in the main from our ice-strengthened hulled ship the MV Expedition, twice a day excursions were made aboard the small inflatable zodiacs to get a real close view of the environment. The sun was out and cruising among the ice burgs around Cuverville Island in a Zodiac seemed another world with our guide relaying a story of the Belgium explorer who discovered this place but suddenly stopped mid-sentence. To our right a few metres away a Humpback whale broke the surface but as usual, within a couple of seconds was back under. Only to surface in front of us again but with the full tail fluke, this giant of the sea was going to deep dive. It was so close, the tail was fully filling a 100 mm lens setting.

This for me was the ultimate whale experience. Being in a small zodiac so almost at water level so not viewing from the raised deck of a boat gave a level of intimacy I hadn't had before. My whale odyssey was now complete.

However, there would be one last surprise on this trip in Paradise harbour which involved a landing at the James Brown station followed by a zodiac cruise via the glacier back to the ship. Out in the bay, three Humpbacks were feeding but were suddenly showing a different behaviour with two whales breaking the surface in unison, mouths gaping taking in some 15,000 gallons of water. This appeared to be bubble-net feeding first reported off Alaska, what a phenomenon to witness. Watching from a distance so not to disturb, the camera was on overtime while trying to anticipate where the whales would surface next. These seem to of been recent arrivals as the cold water had yet to kill the barnacles attached to the whales.

The presence of barnacles suggest this Humpback was a recent arrival

So there are my three top whale encounters. If I visit a country which offers a whale watching trip, will I still partake? Absolutely!