Reliable Mums!

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We have 2x regular Cow & Calf pairs hanging about in the Encounter Bay area, and we’ve been seeing them with a degree of regularity.

Monday 9th August - we had our staff sight a Mother & Calf from the shore only 20-minutes before a tour, so we ventured over into the Whale Sanctuary but unfortunately the Whales were a bit allusive and we didn’t manage to see them……. They then moved eastwards towards Goolwa in the afternoon.

Today - 10th August we had similar reports & knew where the whales were… And saw to see them on both tours….. Just goes to show you we can have up-to-date sighting reports, know exactly where Whales & even then sometime we see them, sometimes we don’t……

However its great to see the Mum & their lil’ bubs hanging about for the winter season

PENGUINS!

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Since resuming our tours after our little SA Lock Down, we have been seeing several Mother & Calf pairs over in the Whale Sanctuary area off Middleton Beach….

Recently, we have also seen a dozen or more penguins out on the water! - A “RAFT” of penguins

The Granite Island Penguin Colony is not overly large, being decimated in recent years by foxes and recent surveys of the more remote West Island has seen only a few active penguin burrows - Which means this raft of 12-15x Little Penguins seen on our recent tour were likely to have swum from Kangaroo Islands’ penguin colonies.

The area around the Murray Mouth is known to be a feeding ground for Little Penguins and they travel vast distances (for their size) to feed.

The Iphone video you can see, isn’t the greatest quality! However you can see a penguin….We absolutely love being out on the ocean, you never know what each day holds in store….

SA Siesta

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South Australia has had a brief 7-day statewide Covid Lock-Down and we temporarily postponed tours. But we are now back operational, up & running tours once again - however face-masks are now mandatory for the time being on all tours.

While we have been away! Southern Right mother and Calf pairs have still been seen with excellent frequency along our coastline, so fingers crossed for some awesome whale watching this weekend.

2021 WHALE SEASON BEGINS

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We have already had several sightings onboard tours this Whale Season with numerous sighting over the past weekend (19-20th June 2021).

An individual Female Southern Right ‘Broderie’ has been identified from the distinctive fingerprint callosity patterns on their heads. This is the 3rd time ‘Broderie’ has been identified returning to our Encounter Bay shores.

The image below was taken onboard Sunday 20th June. Sent in with thanks from Daniel Swalling.

Mini Whales (Dolphins) having a chat to their big cousin! Photo Credit: Daniel Swalling

Mini Whales (Dolphins) having a chat to their big cousin!

Photo Credit: Daniel Swalling

Waving Goodbye - End to 2020 Whale Season :(

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It has been a phenomenal Whale season this year and we have had so many awesome Whale interactions - but we haven’t seen any Whales in the bay since Friday 31st August 2020, meaning that the Southern Rights have likely begun their migration back to the nutrient rich waters of the Antarctic…..

We noticed over the last few weeks ‘Mysteri & Magic’ (Southern Right Mother & Calf) were beginning to be more active, trekking up and down the coastline in test swims…..signifying that their departure was likely imminent.

Once the calves have built up enough fat reserves from their mother’s rich milk (150 Litres per day!), the calves have a good protective insulated layer of blubber to survive in the colder waters of Antarctica. Mum doesn’t feed at all while visiting our shores, so inevitably they migrate back south and feast on krill….

So goodbye WHALES from us and all the lucky land-mammals (people) who shared a great season and we look forward to still delivering exciting, awesome tours along the coast seeing Dolphins, Fur Seal, Sea Lions, Sea Birds & amazing seascapes……

waving goodbye photo thanks to passenger : Tina Till (taken onboard a tour)

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So, so many Whale Sightings........

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We are sorry the our Whale log hasn’t been updated for little while, but rest assured we have had an absolutely awesome season this year.

  • Early in the season we had some amazing experiences with Humpbacks as they briefly pass by our shores on their way East & West.

  • We have also been seeing an array of Southern Right Whales with excellent regularity through the weeks of July & August.

  • A particular Mother & Calf pair - Mysteri & Magic have been hanging out relatively close to shore in a predictable location and we have been seeing these Whales a lot.

  • So far we have had about a 90% success rate in seeing Whales on our Southern Ocean Adventure Tours.

  • We have also been having amazing interactions with little whales (Dolphins) too.

  • + Fur Seal & Sea Lions

Humpback Today!

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I just got a report from our crew member ‘Sophie’ from today’s cruises:

Humpback spotted and observed for ~20-minutes north of Seal Island + Fur-Seals & male Sea-Lions on our morning tour.

We had a report of a Whale off Boomers Beach in the afternoon, but were unable to come across it unfortunately

no mini-whales today (DOLPHINS)……

Humpback spotted on tour

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Passengers were lucky to see a Humpback Whale on this mornings tour (8th July 2020) and we have been fortunate to also see Southern Right Whales on several of our tours (Sunday 5th & Monday 6th) - So it has been a great start to the ‘Whale Season’ and it feels so good to be back on the water operating tours post Covid lock-downs…….

Hopefully see you out on the water with us! Keep posted for more whale sighting updates

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The Ducks Spotter Plane

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During the Whale season we use our own plane to spot the Humpback and Southern Right Whales. This enables us to have a better chance of Whale sightings and is also safer. For those who wish to do Whale watching from the shore all our sightings are reported to the SA Whale Centre at the same time our skipper on the Duck is notified.

Happy Whale watching

Between Murray Mouth and Middleton at 2500 feet

Between Murray Mouth and Middleton at 2500 feet

Humpback caught in rope

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On Saturday 14th on our Southern Ocean adventure tour we came across a Humpback which was tangled in rope, this was reported in real time to Marine Parks to mobilize a rescue operation. Unfortunately the Whale has not been seen since despite ourselves and others attempting to locate the Whale using aircraft. Over the weekend we are still sighting both Mother and Calf SRW pairs in the Port Elliot/Middleton area.