Whale sightings from Tangalooma Island Resort
The expectations were very high this morning in the build up to the whale watch, with a whale already being sighted about 200 meters off the beach! We also spotted a local dugong whilst disembarking (watch to the end of the video below to see the dugong swimming along).
The weather was incredible today and we got off to a flying start encountering our first pod of whales in the first five minutes. The calf we spotted showed how energetic it could be slapping its tail flukes against the surface. The mature mother then rolled upside down and did a double pectoral slap showing her beautiful long lines under her chin. These are known as ventral pleats, and are like fold lines that expand their big basket like mouth. The barnacles under the rostrum are superficial and don’t harm the whale. These barnacles instead filter food off the passing nutrients in the water.
The whales where everywhere again today (18 whales sighted today) and it really is getting better and better, as we get closer to wrapping up. Stay tuned to see if we can beat our whale sightings from last year!