Hi, my name is Angus. I’m working as Recreation & Community Engagement Office at Langports Brisbane. Today, I would like to talk about the whale watching experience some of our Brisbane students had. On Saturday the 10th of September, after being cancelled the previous weekend, a group of 14 Langports students travelled to the Gold Coast and ventured out to sea to spot some whales. Every year these whales travel up to 10,000 kilometres when they migrate North from Antarctica towards warmer waters to mate and give birth up to the East coast of Australia. This means that it was a perfect opportunity and the last chance that our students will get to see some whales as the migration season is from April until October.
What happened to us when we were on the boat?
On this particular Saturday the weather wasn’t very nice, which was a good and bad thing. It was overcast and raining throughout the day with waves up to 2 meters high in the ocean! So the boat ride out to sea was very rough and felt as if we were on a rollercoaster. Everyone on the boat got given sea sickness tablets to prepare for the worst, but that only worked for a few of the students unfortunately.
Humpback Whale
Once we were out to sea the sun came out and the waves reduced in size, which gave us a perfect chance to spot the whales. The specific whales we were looking for are the humpback whale. This whale can grow up to 16 meters long, and still isn’t the biggest whale found near Australia! We were told to spot the whales by their blow and how they surface for air, as they can hold their breathe for up to 45 minutes in time. Luckily, the humpback whales love overcast and windy conditions which gave us a lot of opportunity to spot these whales, they even came within 5 meters of the boat and ‘stalked’ us. There were different pods of 4 and 5 whales jumping above the water as they showed off and tried to attract to opposite sex, which gave us great photos which you can see below.
Whale watching season is coming to an end
In conclusion, unfortunately the weather conditions were not the best but it brought out the best in the whales and it was a great day to spot whales and watch them in their natural habitat. Although some students felt a bit sick after it they admitted that it was an amazing day out on the water. Now the whale watching season is coming to an end, we are looking forward to dolphin spotting season 🙂
Thank you! Angus
Don’t forget to check out the activities planned for September and October by clicking on the links below.
Langports Brisbane
September activities: https://www.langports.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Brisbane-activities-calendar-September-2016.pdf
October Activites: https://www.langports.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Brisbane-activities-calendar-October-2016.pdf
Langports Gold Coast
September activities: https://www.langports.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/GC-Activities-Calendar-September-2016-1.pdf
October Activites: https://www.langports.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/GC-Activities-Calendar-October-2016-1.pdf
Langports Sydney
September activities: https://www.langports.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/SYD-Activities-Calenday-September-2016-1.pdf
October Activites: https://www.langports.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/SYD-Activities-Calenday-October-2016-1.pdf
If you would like to watch a video of the best activities at Langports, please check this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnSM_PwZoC0