Looks like it is going to be beautiful day for our Remote Fraser Island Tour.
Wathumba Creek has just been amazing with great turtle and sting ray sightings the last month. At the Sandy Cape we have spotted some turtle nest and they are catching some Darts of the beach.
Best day out on Fraser Island!
Today was our first Remote Fraser Island tour for the season, which is an unique tour up the western side of the island where we visit Wathumba Creek for some exploring, kayaking and snorkelling. We also venture up to the northern end of Fraser Island up to the Sandy Cape Lighthouse, where we walk up the hill to the lighthouse, enjoying the amazing views over the Breaksea Spit and Flinders Sandblow.
We were not far from the lighthouse when LLoyd spotted some blows and came across a mother and calf humpback. These whales were hanging around and obviously fairly late heading south to Antartica. What an extra bonus for our passengers today! Also spotted on the trip were dugongs, turtles, dolphins, lot’s of sea birds and stingrays.
LAST TRIP: Well we missed writing the report yesterday, but we knew that the season was coming to an end. 4 pods were sighted through the day, mainly mothers feeding their calves so all in all it was a very quiet day. We decided to go out today for one last trip and to start with, it was looking like much of the same sort of day to the previous. A very elusive mum and calf sighted first and then a singer who was staying down for extended times, sounding very lonely and calling to any females that wanted to join him for the long journey to Antartica. We headed up to the northern part of the bay and picked up a splash at Rooney’s Point. It turned out to be 2 mums and calves and an escort leaving the bay, but were on the surface the whole time, giving our passengers a great look.
We then decided to head for home and noticed some splashing off Bikini Cliffs which turned out to be a mother and calf who had been around for at least a week. They gave us a grand finale which was awesome to finish the 2011 season, pec slapping, peduncle rolling, breaching and tail slapping. It’s always sad to watch the last pod and as i waved goodbye and wished them luck for their journey, we headed for home, the mother then jumped out of the water with a huge breach to say goodbye. It’s been an amazing season, lot’s of whales and some real well known regulars, with plenty of great weather and we can’t wait to see these magnificent humpbacks return next year to do it all over again for Tasman Venture’s 22nd year. Hope to see you then.
AM trip: Glassy conditions prevailed this morning which made spotting fairly easy up in the northern end of the bay. There were about 10 pods scattered around and we visited quite a few of them, with mainly mum/calf pods encountered, including a new one entering the bay. One had an escort with it and we dropped the hydrophone and had some of the most beautiful singing we have heard all season. It was so loud and we could hear the changes in verse as the male serenaded his female companion. Most of the whales were having a rest, lapping up the rays and the beautiful conditions.
PM trip: It was quite a differnt afternoon with a strong south easter hitting the area, which made for windy conditions. We travelled in nice and close to Fraser Island to stay in the protected waters and luckily came across 2 mums and calves hanging out together. They put on an amazing show for us, the calves playful the entire time we were with them and the mums occasionally bringing them in close to the boat for a good look. One of them was the young calf we had been seeing for a few days, but it surely knows how to breach! We had spotted some splashing out wider but decided not to go out into the messy conditions, and had more activity with this pod than we had all morning with several.
AM trip: We did some miles looking for our first pods, but they were a couple of mums feeding their calves. It sort of looked like the bay was starting to thin out, but then we spotted some splashing a couple of miles south so we went to investigate. It was a mum pec slapping and a calf breaching who put on quite a show. And then all of a sudden, quite a few pods started showing themselves around the area and another mum and calf became active. Singing was also heard through the hydrophine and then the tail up feeder who has been around for nearly 2 weeks went into her feeding postion and gave our passengers the perfect photo opportunity for a tail shot.
PM trip: 6 pods were viewed this afternoon, with a bit of a mixture of everything. The first mum and calf were resting on the surface, then we noticed another one breaching in the distance. Upon arrival the mother stopped but the calf showed us a few. We also watched our tail up feeder in her usual postion, who was joined by another mum and calf. She seemed to be a bit aggitated by her arrival and was showing some unusual behaviour and them all of a sudden she did a few huge head lunges which also set off the calf. Amazing sight as she is a fairly decent size whale. She settled back down eventually and whilst watching another pod, i heard some singing standing on the front deck, so over the side the hydrophone went, to pick up the very loud song from a male somewhere around us. Still good numbers for this time of the season!
AM and PM trips: A fairly quiet day all round today with the last whales of the migration hanging around the bay. Still about 10 pods sighted all up, but the bay was calm and the whales were soaking up the rays and resting their bodies before the huge migration south to Antartica. Mainly mums and calves with the odd male lurking around, with a singer heard in the afternoon. We saved the best until last with a very active calf putting on an awesome display of breaching to impress the passengers and show them what makes these magnificent animals so special. A loggerhead turtle was spotted and an offshore bottlenose dolphin came around the boat for a visit.
AM trip: As soon as we left the harobour this morning we came across a pod of indo pacific humpback dolphins who were feeding in the shallows. Then up into the bay we went, looking for the humpbacks. The first one we sighted was an elusive singleton, so off to find some more. Topsy was our next whale, in her typical head up feeding postion for her calf. She is great around the boat as she is very much used to having our company. A patch of rain came across which didn’t help our viewing, but didn’t last long. We then found a pec slapping mother who went quiet when we got close. We then ventured inshore with 2 mums and calves who put on a great little display. One of the mothers had damage to the ends of her tail. Some breaching in the distance was also spotted.
PM trip: A calf showed us how these whales breach to start off with and also threw in a few rolls, with mum resting before she heads out of the bay and heads for the Antartic. A young mother was the next to be found, but she bought her calf into the bow of the vessel for a close look. We then spotted some splashing inshore and found a very active calf with mum and escort. The escort was staying down a fair while but in the end was showing off to mum with a few huge peduncle rolls and fluke up dives.
AM trip: Our first 2 pods were quiet and were very young mums with young calves, just having a rest in Platypus Bay. We then found a mother and calf breaching about a mile away so we decided to check them out. The mum stopped but the calf was on a roll, showing our excited passengers how playful they can be when they are here in the bay. We then went to watch 2 mums and calves and once again Topsy was found. Her calf rolling around with another baby, whilst heading up to Rooneys Point, indicating she may be on the way out, having been here for well over a week. Singing was heard through the hydrophone.
PM trip: We knew that we would have to head up into the northern part of the bay and decided to go a bit wider to see if we could spot any new whales coming in. This decision payed off as we found a couple of pods splashing about farily close to each other. And then more pods became visable so we had a few different ones to choose from. And once again we found Topsy who had done a U turn and had come back into the bay, which was great as she has been an awesome whale and her calf sure knows how to breach, showing our passengers how it’s done! An escort showed up as well to keep them company. She also mugged us for a while, giving our passengers a great close encounter with these magnificent animals. A few other pods were viewed with some calves active and a mother pec slapping. Singing was heard again this afternoon.
AM trip: Well you wouldn’t think it was getting to the end of the season as there is still a lot of whales in the bay. We had a great morning with a many active whales. Our famous Topsy is still around and was first spotted with a tail up feeder, would have been pretty funny if they fed their calves together, one head up and one tail up! The tail up feeder had a very young calf within 2 weeks old. They did split to feed their babies so we checked out both their unusual positions. Breaching calves were going off, along with a mum and calf breaching in the distance. Singing was heard this morning. We had a beautiful scenic trip along Fraser Island on the way home.
PM trip: We ventured up to the area we were this morning and came across Topsy and the tail up feeder again, great to show the passengers our famous whales and unusual feeding postions. No escorts were spotted but we had a singer around the area as we had fairly loud singing coming through the hydrophone. A couple of other mum and calf pods were viewed with a breaching calf and one that was throwing in some peduncle rolls. Another resight for Tasman Venture as well, with a mum recognised from 2009.
Am: A beautiful crystal clear morning in the bay. We went from pod to pod watching several mother and calf pods breaching. They were playful all around the bay but seemed to go quiet for feeds. We stopped on two adult whales that came in for a really close look. We lowered the back platform for a close encounter as the two whales ‘mugged’ the boat. Everybody was full of excitement going from one side of the boat to the other trying to get the perfect close up photo. On the way home we stopped and had a look at a curious minke whale which was an extra special treat to end such a fantastic morning.
Pm: Thinking the day couldn’t get any better we headed back out into Platypus Bay. To our surprise the first mother and calf pod we saw became curious and came straight over for a close look. The mother pushed the calf on her head and the calf became very intrigued, rolling over looking at the people and hanging around for quiet some time. We watched these whales meet up with another mother and calf pod. The two calves swam along peduncle throwing while the mothers pec slapped. Another mother and calf pod made its way towards the group then they all split. We were left watching a little calf breaching over and over again, at one point so close to the boat people got wet!! Just a beautiful day, we couldn’t have asked for anything more.
