There were whales galore at Phillip Island last week as they made their annual winter migration from the cold waters of the antarctic up to warmer tropics for breeding and calving.
This was taken from a Whale Watching Cruise as a Humpback Whale performs a tail slap. Lucky observes on the secret cove along the beach were also treated to the performance.
Tags: Phillip Island Whale Whale cruise Humpback Humpback Whale whale tail slap Beach Cape Woolamai Victoria whale migration Nikon D750 Tamron 150-600
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The Wildlife Coast Cruise follows two humpback whales on their annual migration.
Taken from Grossard Point, Ventnor. It was so exciting to see whales swimming by at the lookout point at the end of the street where we were staying.
#Wildlife Coast Cruise
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Scientists now believe that breaching is a form of communication used by whales.
"breaching and slapping play a role in both long-distance and close-range communication. By slamming their massive bodies into the water, the resulting sounds, like a drum, can travel enormous distances"
qz.com/902840/scientists-finally-figured-out-why-whales-l...
This makes sense but the behavior seems so joyous, I like to think it is also a celebration of freedom of life in the ocean.
I didn't see the Humpback whales breach on my recent whale watching trip so this one is from last years where I was lucky enough to see them breach twice.
Tags: August 2016 Breaching Breaching Whale Hump back Whale Phillip Island Whale Whale cruise Ocean Tamron 150-600 Nikon D750
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Of the Whale Kind!
My apologies that this isn't sharp but I thought it too good a story to omit.
The Whale and Dolphin Research Team had a very close encounter with a large Humpback Whale who had no hesitation in coming right up to their small boat.
Tags: Phillip Island Whale Whale cruise Humpback Whale Whale and Dolphin Research Team boat Whale Tail Nikon D750 Tamron 150-600
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Weary from our 4.45 am start, we headed out to the 12 Apostles hoping for one of the spectacular sunsets the area is famous for. We lined up along the lookout as close as we could get to the railing, and waited. And waited. Hordes of mostly Asian tourists stomped past us, frustrating our attempts at long exposures. Even the most quite of passer- bys caused the walkway to vibrate.
Sunset came and went without much fanfare.
But wait.
What's that out about 100 m off the coast?
A shark? No, too big.
A Dolphin? No, not leaping like dolphins.
A whale? Yes!! Not only a whale but an Orca, a killer whale. A bucket list animal for me which I thought I'd never see!
The vagaries of the sunset forgiven and forgotten.
You need to enlarge to see the Orca. I took a seperate image of the whale and blended it with this one.
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Tags: FFF GOT Port Campbell September 2017 beach Killer Whale Orca 12 Apostles Great Ocean Rd Sunset CloudsStormsSunsetsSunrises Nikon D750 Nikon 24-120 Seascape Victoria Ocean Sea Rugged Coastline Cliffs Whale Great Ocean Rd Photography Workshop Focalscape Photography Tours
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