Whales

Humpback Whales, Sydney, Australia. This was just one of about fifty breaches by this pair (I was thrilled to catch a double breach) who kept us enthralled all afternoon by their incredibly powerful acrobatic display. No-one is quite sure why whales leap and jump in succession like this - most likely to be juvenile males, it’s thought that it could be a display of strength or perhaps a way of signalling other whales in the distance. Whatever it is, it is thrilling to watch!

I’m not normally an early riser on holidays, but when I visited San Ignacio Laguna on board the Royal Polaris, I got up before the sun rose every morning. For three magical days and nights, we moored in the lagoon where the grey whales come to breed, have their calves and hang out for a few weeks in March. It’s like their holiday spot before they start the long journey North to Alaska and Canada where they feed. When our ship (one of only a handful allowed into the lagoon each season) is moored in the lagoon, the whales slept alongside us for shelter. When they sleep, whales sleep with half their brain, keeping the other half awake so that they can surface to take occasional breaths. I took this photo at about 5.30am as I gazed down at this beautiful pair alternately snoozing and surfacing. Pure magic!

Each year in March, the grey whales visit San Ignacio Laguna to breed and have their calves. It is Latin America’s largest wildlife sanctuary. The mothers approach the small pangas (local Mexican boats) to show off their young calves. It is incredible to watch them duck underwater and push their calves up to show off to us in the boats - if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes I wouldn’t have believed it. What an incredible joy to see these beautiful, friendly animals so close and to share in the mother’s pride of her young calf.

Each year in March, the grey whales visit San Ignacio Laguna, Baja in Mexico to breed and have their calves. It is Latin America’s largest wildlife sanctuary. The mothers approach the small pangas (local Mexican boats) to show off their young calves. It is incredible to watch them duck underwater and push their calves up to show off to us in the boats. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes I would not have believed it. What an incredible joy to see these beautiful, friendly animals so close and to share in the mother’s pride of her young calf.

Each year in March, the grey whales visit San Ignacio Laguna, Baja in Mexico to breed and have their calves. It is Latin America’s largest wildlife sanctuary. The mothers approach the small pangas (local Mexican boats) to show off their young calves. It is incredible to watch them duck underwater and push their calves up to show off to us in the boats. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes I would not have believed it. What an incredible joy to see these beautiful, friendly animals so close and to share in the mother’s pride of her young calf.

This grey whale in San Ignacio Laguna, Mexico is checking us out by popping up above the surface for a few seconds to take a look around :)

San Ignacio Laguna, Baja, Mexico

Friendly grey whale coming over to say hello!

A different type of whale watching . . . This southern right whale was swimming along close to shore on Robberg Beach in Plettenberg Bay, South Africa when we spotted it from our boat. Either the people walking on the beach are so used to seeing whales that they kept going, or they didn’t spot this guy.

The beautiful heart-shaped blow of the Southern Right Whale. Plettenberg Bay, South Africa.