Whale of a time
Monday 1st August 2022
I wish I had a plethora of adjectives to describe the day that we have had because my words are wildly insufficient to express the absolute magnificence of what we have experienced. It’s been a whale of a day and my face hurts from smiling so much. It was moving day so I was up early and went out on deck to see how the conditions looked and about 100 meters of our port side I first saw a large single whale just making its way past then 5 minutes later this pod of 2 adults and 2 young were frolicking together spinning over to show their bellies and waving their flippers and diving flicking their tails. It was amazing and they were just flowing down with the tide so probably hung around for a good 25 minutes. An amazing start to the day.
We had planned to leave with the change in tide but as we were up and now very awake and our anchorage was very rolly all night we headed off for wathumba. We had only been going for about half an hour when a pod of whales that a whale watching boat had been following headed across our path. We stopped the engines and watched them play for about half an hour. They seem to love being watched and it’s like they put on a performance with lots of fin waving and tail raising they were also singing making the most amazing sound as they came up to breathe. It was truly awe inspiring. I could just watch them for hours.
We eventually decided to leave the whale boats to it as another 2 had shown up so we continued north toward our anchorage seeing a number of whales off in the distance.
We dropped anchor around 2pm in the most crystal clear water surrounded by the whitest Sandy beaches you know the ones they always show in the brochures for tropical islands!. Such a stunning place. We soon had Little Puss out ferrying us up the Wathumba creek which was very shallow in parts as the tide was almost low but it obviously is quite a substantial water way at high tide as there were 7 catamarans beached along its banks and they would have needed a lot more water than this to just get in here. There were also a multitude of campers set up on the other side of the creek enjoying fishing and this delightful place.
Making it out of the creek took awhile as the sand bank at the exit extends well into the bay. As we were almost to deeper water Rick spotted more whales not far from us so we headed closer to take a look. Another magical encounter ensued with 3 whales doing a magestic song and dance for us. One even raised its head right out of the water. There are no words to describe the feeling of awe and gratitude that we share this magnificent world with these awesome animals.
We headed to shore for a meander on the Snow White Sandy beach before getting back to Nauti Kitty.
We were just having a cuppa when a pod of dolphins with 2 tiny young passed by. The little ones were jumping right out of the water and even more fascinating was they had a whale traveling with them and they all seemed to be playing together.
Not 10 minutes later and another 2 whales passed by. It wasn’t until standing on deck about an hour later still hearing their sounds reverberating across the silent water that I realized the sound was a bit like that we associate with dinosaurs!
To end a magical day we had the most stunning sunset over glassy crystal clear waters that just took my breath away. I just stood and watched the dramatic display for over an hour. Wow! This is worth all the struggle to get to have this amazing experience.
Tuesday 2nd August 2022
Another magical day in this oceanic Disneyland. A land where dreams come true.
We headed out in Little Puss intent on catching fish for dinner as we have had absolutely no luck in this area for months! Our first encounter was with dozens of turtles lazing on the surface of the still waters only raising their heads to take a breath. So the sea was scattered with these brown humps. Some of them didn’t even swim away as we zoomed past in Little Puss so no wonder they get hit by boats not taking care to avoid them or not seeing them in rougher seas. We were enjoying quietly getting close to try and get photos before they took off with very limited success when a couple of whales swam by in the distance. We followed at a distance for awhile but they were just going their merry way so we headed closer to shore for a fish. We were just drifting and getting a cup of tea from our thermos when a huge turtle came up about a meter from the boat. What a time not to have a camera ready. It was so beautiful and huge it took my breath away but 2 breaths and it was gone. We were just reeling from that encounter with cuppas in hand when we heard the distinctive whoosh of whale spume and looked to the other side of the boat to see the 3 whales shadows below the water heading straight for us. In a matter of moments 2 came up for a breath just in front of us one waved a pectoral fin at us before they both swam beneath us. It was spine tingling excitement plus. They were so close if I had of thought of it I could have probably touched ones back. After they passed I just couldn’t stop smiling and giggling my heart was pounding so loud I thought Rick could hear it. What a dream come true.
The day continued with surprises as after a wander along the beach we just puttered along the shore in little Puss actually trying to find some fish to catch when we noticed what we thought was a turtle shell on the beach. We decided to investigate and we’re wowed but this enormous whale skull bone. It was so huge and you could see where it articulated with the spine and the long extensions that the baleen attached to were still intact but buried deep. It was so heavy the 2 of us couldn’t even budge it. Amazing!
A further look down the beach and there was a massive rib bone just laying there but well camouflaged with weed.
To top off an already amazing day we actually lucked onto a reef where finally we started catching fish. After about 30 minutes of exciting hook up after hook up we had caught about a dozen ruby job fish that were lovely for dinner.
What a day! We will sleep very well tonight I think.
Wednesday 3rd August 2022
Our whale encounters just keep getting better and better. Today started out with moving house. We were underway just before 10 and we could hear whales and what we are now calling thumpers. This is when supposedly the female humpbacks repeatedly thump the water with their pectoral fins reportedly to flirt with the males. We spotted a pair off to the south of up putting on quite a display so we headed out to investigate. We were thoroughly entertained by their antics with one beautiful white belly up and just flapping both pectoral fins so they slapped the water while the other swam around making the most amazing sounds like a brontosaurus calling ( as in Jurassic park!) This went on for quite a few minutes as we watched in awe and they gradually drifted closer. Then there were a couple of tail slaps as they both turned to dive. We waited to see where they headed and one poked its head up right in front of the boat. They took a few breaths just ahead of us then headed further inshore so we let them go and continued toward Rooney’s point our destination for the day accompanied by the distinctive whale song and thumping in the distance. There were so many whales at play in the bay today. After stopping off for Rick to throw a line in a few times to see if we could get anything interesting for dinner we finally arrived at Station Hill just south of Rooney’s point at about 1.30pm having taken 3 and a half hours to do an hour 20 min journey. Great distractions.
After a quick cuppa we had Little Puss in ready to go and explore the shore. It was yet another beautiful white Sandy beach. Our walk was constantly accompanied by the now familiar thumping of pectoral fins way off in the distance. It was testimony to how far sound travels over water when you could see the whale thump it’s fin and hear it almost 2 seconds later! There were a few groups of whales now and we could see them steadily progressing along the shore toward Nauti Kitty. By the time we got back to Little Puss and made our way out there were 3 or 4 groups of whales merging on us just off shore performing this magnificent display of fin thumping and tail splashing complete with the most amazing whale song. It was as loud as fireworks and even more astonishingly awe inspiring. There was so much going on at once I didn’t know where to look to take it all in. There were even whales further out in the distance we could see actually breaching as well. It was so overwhelmingly magnificent it brought me to tears.
Our day of excitement didn’t end there. Rick wanted to explore potential fishing spots for tomorrow so after the whales had gone past we headed in towards the shore and made our way further north toward Rooney’s point. Not really finding anything substantial we turned to head for home but there was another pod of whales not far out so we went out in the general direction but just turned the engine off while we were some way away from them just content to enjoy watching their amazing tail slapping display from a distance. The whales however had other plans and they progressively got closer and closer to us. One final tail slap just in front of us then they both dove under Little Puss and as they emerged from the other side the tail slapper gave us a big flick with his tail. It didn’t touch but was very close. So awesome! Then they continued on their way! It is just undefinable the feeling of this interaction with these mammoth beasts. I am still reeling some hours later, and extremely grateful to have had such a magical unforgettable encounter!