We did our first bit of really touristy sight seeing today when I took Mum & Dad on a boat trip whale watching off the coast of Sydney.
From the very start we were extremely lucky with our timing as we left the shelter of the harbour to be greeted by a fleet of tall ships lining up to enter in formation, ready for the Australian Navy Fleet Review that’s taking place over the coming week. It was a stunning sight and much more impressive than seeing them tied up in harbour.
An hour later we’d seen no whales and the weather was turning nasty – strong winds, rainy conditions, rough sea… apparently Humpback whales love this and just as the pilot decided to turn back we spotted several whales travelling together (an unusual sight) including a mother and calf. The following 40 minutes were spent following the group while we all got soaked through by the rain and wind, trying to grab video and photos of their antics. We were very lucky to be treated to an amazing display of breaching and jumping, with splashing of tails and fins.
I didn’t get any photos and my video is quite blurry, however I did get a few exciting bits and managed to capture the frame that I’ve used for tonight’s practice. I have used a little masking fluid to save some whites, and with a some poetic license splashed greeny blues around to suggest waves – it was actually very grey and the horizon was pretty much lost in mist and spray, but I thought that might look a bit dull.