14th - 20th September 2018 Whale Watching
The temperature is continuing to rise here at Tangalooma and we are really enjoying the spring weather. With the conditions heating up, so are the whales! The whales we witnessed this week have been energetic and kept a relatively fast pace in comparison to previous weeks.
The Great Hammerhead shark has been spotted several times this week enjoying the clear waters of the Cape, they are pelagic which means they are nomadic and do not settle in any one home location and will spend the majority of their time in the photic zone (surface-20 meters depth) although they may look like an impressive predator the large hammerhead helps them detect small electronic signals from crabs and stingrays hiding in the sand.
The water has been fizzing and foaming with the large schools of mackerel and tuna devouring the smaller bait fish like herring and scad, some of these tuna swim at such speed, that when they are feeding their bodies become airborne!
Just north of Cape Moreton we have seen long strips of a brown substance on the surface, similar in appearance to ocean sawdust, this is Trichodesmium a naturally occurring algal bloom that acts as a nitrogen fixer, James Cook wrote about “Ocean Sawdust” in his diary when he sailed to Australia over 200 years ago.
Also this is time of the year we are seeing the mothers and young calves resting and recovering in the calm shallow waters of Moreton Bay.
With whales being spotted only adjacent to the resort, we know there couldn’t be a better time to join us on the Tangalooma Whale Watching Cruise. There is only one month left of action so make sure to book now so you don’t miss out.