Between July through to September, we have the opportunity meet some of our southern 'cousins' as they migrate up to warmer waters. For those of us living near Moreton Bay, we have the opportunity to head out to the outside islands to view the Whales on their migration North, and then again as they head south with their new calves.
Viewing whales from water level is a fantastic experience. Most whales are inquisitive and will check you out, either by coming up under your kayak or by coming to the surface beside you, or in front of you as you will see in the video below. Whilst we are dwarfed by these creatures, they seem to have a great awareness of their size and I haven't felt at risk at any time during the encounters, even when they have popped up in the middle of a pod of kayakers.
This year I noticed that a number of the Whales we saw were seemingly being shepherded by dolphins, like a local water pilot service. Listening through a hydrophone was picking up the constant chattering of the Dolphins as well as the Whale Song.
I took a group of fellow paddlers over to North Stradbroke early in the season this year for a long weekend of Whale Watching. A couple of us got away a day early as the weather was looking perfect - the video below shows us paddling along with a couple of whales off Point Lookout.
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