whale tales

We often see humpback whales on our journey north. Humpbacks migrate annually to the warmer Queensland waters between May and November for breeding and calving. They are on a mission to get north and we the same.

Hervey Bay is a known ‘stopover’ for the humpbacks on this northern trek, usually around July. They rest, play and refresh, before they continue their long journey north. So with a string of calm days in sight Adagio and The Bossa decided to spend some time with the whales, in Platypus Bay … with fingers crossed.

Wow … we certainly did. 

We were very fortunate the first day, the sun was shining and there was NO wind. It was one of many gorgeous days. We came across a pod of whales lolling about.  There wasn’t too much boisterous action but the many tail and pectoral fin slaps, along with ocassional bit of spyhopping (a new word for me) and also a few roll-overs kept us well entertained.

Spyhopping?  I’d never heard of this expression but Google AI tells me it’s one of the many behaviors humpbacks exhibit. The whale positions itself vertically in the water, surfaces its head and has a good ol’ look around. I’d also just recently noticed a catamaran with the same name, Spyhop.  Now I get it.

Two more pods appeared so we whales in three directions. It was such a treat being able to also loll about, watching the whales and also watch several at the same time. Our motors were turned off and the water was so calm.  You certainly had the feeling these whales were enjoying our company.  Two actually crossed our bow, only 20/30 metres away. So many photos and up close. Magic!

Here’s some more pics and a slideshow …

We anchored near Wathumba Creek the first night.  It was a mill pond overnight, so calm. It was time to revisit my drone.  After my drone’s misbehavior last season I dropped it in to DJI for a checkup and service in the off season. ‘Nothing found’ was the outcome.  Hmm, not sure if that was a good result. Anyway, I wanted my test flight to be from land so a quick flight while ashore was a wise choice as my settings had all changed. I was limited in height and distance initially so these aerial photographs while at Wathumba Creek aren’t what I’d hoped for but they do give you an idea of the tidal range and amazing colours of the K’gari waters.

After a short walk to the creek mouth we decided to venture further north towards Rooney Point.

We came across another pod of whales. The skies were looking threatening and rain was forecast, so while it was calm once again, the brilliant sunny sky was not to be. But the whales were still up and about. So … will I?

Will I launch my drone from The Bossa while drifting? Will it rain? And I hope I’ve sorted those settings!

Our sunny morning … … and not so sunny afternoon.

I did. 

It didn’t rain and I landed back on The Bossa successfully, but I don’t think the shakes stopped till sometime later.

It was a golden opportunity to reacquaint myself properly with my drone (I hadn’t used it since November) and get some photos of the whales from above. I’d finally navigated my way around the settings so I was right to go. Queensland drone rules stipulate you cannot go closer than 100 metres to whales, so with this in mind, I gave it a go. The whales actually look quite small from this 100m distance, which you’ll see in photos below, but what we didn’t realise till I observed from the air, was just how many whales were in this pod, five. 

We have moved on from Hervey Bay to Pancake Creek which is always a lovely calm stopover. We had a vigorous reaching sail to Pancake after an o’night stop in the Bundy River. With a stupid o’clock start and often sailing at 8-10 knots even Adagio couldn’t catch us! 🙂

Next stop Lady Musgrave.