I've never seen such a large stretch of water so calm, tranquil and BLUE. It was crytal clear; at times you could see twenty metres or more to the bottom.
Myarti and her new calf spent almost an hour with us. She was nudging bub up beside the boat using very gentle pushes of that giant head of hers. Whether she was showing him what a boatload of tourists looks like or whether she was just showing off her new baby, I guess we'll never know but all concerned seemed to enjoy the experience immensely. She's about 12m long and more than 10 tonnes. The calf is two tonnes at birth and puts on 80kg per day during its time at Hervery Bay - fattening up for the long journey back to the Antarctic seas. For this little fellow, that journey may have already begun as I write this.
We saw several pods and individual whales but these stayed around for the longest and seemed to be most comfortable. You could almost reach out and touch them most of the time. During the last 15 minutes or so, a jealous pod of dolphins came over to try and take over the show - but, for once, no-one was taking any notice of them.
There was no alteration of the colours in these shots but I left my polariser back in the hotel room. D'oh! These are the first shots I've taken in such conditions and would appreciate any feedback. All taken with the 18-70mm kit lens - I though it would be the most versatile in the sometimes crowded boat.
More shots to follow..
Mum "Myarti"
Mum and calf
Pesky dolphin
I've been thinking about getting up there and doing this. Now you've sealed it for me.
