For my birthday last year Jim Bean booked us onto Naturaliste Charters Bremer Canyon Killer Whale and Pelagic Expeditions. The blog post below is directly from their Facebook page for the day we sailed with them, and the photos are their too. I didn’t take my camera just in case.
27.01.2024
“Everyone comes to say hello!
Today was another incredible day on the water with numerous pods of orcas swimming around the boat and a few different species of albatross spotted flying above us all day. On our journey out to the hotspot we once again spotted common dolphins in our wake and right above them flew a wandering albatross.
After searching for 30 minutes in the hotspot, we spotted bird activity and blows in the distance and orca were spotted ahead. The newly named calf, Comet, was swimming alongside their mother called Halley, appearing to be searching for food as they would come to the surface for a few breaths and then dived again, appearing 5-8 minutes later in all different directions.
Whilst the excitement was already high from the sight of orcas, a beautiful shy albatross flew right in front of the bow and circled the boat multiple times. The shy albatross is an endangered species in Australia and there’s thought to only be 15 000 pairs left.
El Notcho then appeared and joined the other members of his pod, including Sara, Comet, and Halley, and they all swam close by the boat checking out everyone on board. Throughout the afternoon other pods including the star of the show, Split Tips pod, Digby’s and Nibbles’ pods appeared to be feeding on juvenile blue-finned tuna, just below the surface. Once they all had full tummies from their lunch, some members of all the pods begun swimming close to the boat and even displaying different behaviours such as eye hops, rolling onto their backs, and even showing off their waste right in front of the boat….. very elegant of you Nibbles.
Everywhere we looked we could see orcas swimming around and a bronze whaler shark was spotted right off the bow of the boat, also appearing to be feeding on the blue-finned tuna. Nibbles came very close to the starboard side of the boat multiple times and gasps were heard from passengers and crew as they realised how big he is when up so close and personal.
More bird life was spotted on the surface including another wandering albatross, an Indian yellow-nosed albatross, black browed albatross, and many flesh-footed shearwaters providing the perfect opportunity for everyone on board to capture the incredible bird life out here on the water.
Today was a beautiful sunny day on the water and after such awesome interactions with many different species of wildlife, we left the orcas and headed back home and stopped by Glasse Island for a smile and wave to the sea lions resting on the rocks.
What a way to spend a long weekend!”
Photos by Sara Shimazu. Blog written by Marine Biologist Intern, Bethany Carmody.
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