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Huge swells don’t always produce ideal conditions for whale watching, but it’s worth a try.
It’s a weekend of the big swell in Sydney. Television and social media are awash with images of water walls slamming into the coast’s sandstone cliffs; of surfers clinging to waves where normally no waves exist. Rock fishermen are being advised to consider takeaway pizza for dinner, and the Bondi Icebergs have been swallowed by a monster of foam.
Sod’s law states that this is the weekend we are booked on a whale-watching cruise that will take us from the calm waters of Circular Quay through the notorious heads and out into the rolling Pacific Ocean. As my family of four queues in the sunshine at Pier 6 awaiting departure, a Captain Cook Cruises employee announces a get-out clause to passengers on our 1.30pm tour. “It’s pretty rough out there,” he advises. The conditions didn’t agree with a number of whale-spotters on the morning’s jaunt, so if anyone would prefer to defer their cruise for another time or get a refund on their tickets (ie, chicken out) they are welcome to do so.
There’s much muttering along the queue, and the couple in front of us opts out.
My children’s faces are filled with dread. Even my husband, who has previously witnessed the effects of an ill-advised fishing charter on me, is looking doubtful. But I am determined to proceed. Besides, we have all taken sea-sickness tablets; surely we’ll be fine.
So we take our seats on the top deck of the double-hulled Captain Cook vessel and glide past the Opera House and Fort Denison. After picking up more passengers at Taronga Zoo, tour guide Paul takes us jovially through his safety spiel. A deckhand is blithely handing out sick bags, just in case, as Paul recommends the best prevention against sea sickness: fresh air and an unwavering view of the horizon.
We duly head to the rear of the open deck and fix our gaze on that thin blue line.
As we power through the heads, my 12-year-old son is reminded of scenes from reality TV series Deadliest Catch and marvels at the Bering Sea battlers’ ability to work in those torrid conditions. Our experience is tame in comparison, but still the boat surges up the crest of a wave and drops into the trough to a chorus of oohs and aahs from passengers. Then the vessel turns south and we are all placed on whale-watch duty, scanning the roiling seascape for tell-tale blows from a surfacing whale.
We are most likely to spot humpbacks, which migrate around 5000km north from Antarctica each year either to give birth or find a mate.
Paul has a load of fascinating whale facts he imparts to passengers as we keep lookout.
He tells us, for instance: that humpback calves weigh around a tonne when they are born and consume 400 to 500 litres of milk a day from their mother; that males engage in fierce battles to win the right to mate with a female, sometimes T-boning a rival with such force its ribs are broken; that when whales “sleep” they shut down half their brain as they continue to swim.
Captain Cook Cruises guarantees its passengers will see a whale or they can cruise again for free. About an hour into our tour, we are starting to wonder if we’ll have to enact this clause when a collective shout goes up on deck.
There they are: a pod of five humpbacks just off starboard. Spray shoots from their blowholes and their dorsal fins arch through the water and ease gracefully back into the sea. Left behind is what’s known as a whale footprint, a glassy patch on the ocean’s surface.
All thoughts of sea sickness are now forgotten as we wait for the massive mammals to rise again for another breath. The captain sets a course north and we stand glued to the deck, willing the whales to reappear — and they do, every six minutes or so. There are no dramatic breaches or leaps, though at one point we are treated to a loud slap of tail on sea.
Paul informs us this is most likely a competitive pod — a group of four males accompanying a female that is ready to mate. Eventually, the blokes will resort to violence among themselves to win that privilege, but for now they seem content simply to join her on her voyage.
We lose count of the number of times the humpbacks return to the surface but each has its own unique choreography. There’s the synchronised rise and dip of tail flukes; a percussive burst of blowholes; the enormous shadow of a whale’s body slicing through the swell. Eventually, however, we bid “our” pod farewell and the captain turns the boat back towards the heads and into the winter sun. This time it’s exhilarating as the waves push us towards our destination, a ride with thrills but no ills.
CHECKLIST
Captain Cook Cruises operates whale-watching tours once or twice daily from Sydney until November 1. Prices are $79 for an adult, $45 for children (4-15 years), but check the website for special deals.
Sоurсе: theaustralian.com.au