Gold Coast Whale safari it was today as amongst the migrating Humpback Whales we had the opportunity of observing our local Bottlenose Dolphins and a curious Loggerhead Turtle. The migration was steady today with pods wide and migrating south and a couple of pods scattered closely to the coastline. During the migration you will observe ebbs and flows to the number of whales moving past the coast at any point in time. The local Bottlenose Dolphins greeted us during our cruise along the Nerang River as they spent some time foraging in search of afternoon tea. Wishing them well we made our way out to the sighting grounds as a tall, lofty exhale surfaced in the heart of the sunshine. The second surfacing enabled us to see we had a lone Humpback Whale travelling slowly to the south and making her way efficiently at a steady pace.
Surfacing just off our starboard side was a beautiful Loggerhead Turtle who peered curiously back our way. A large adult we love to see these wonderful creatures who have a diet which consists of jellyfish, crabs, sponges and fish. During our journey with our lone travelling Humpback we were also greeted once again by the playful Bottlenose Dolphins who came surging in our wake for some surfing fun. Continuing southbound our Humpback Whale was focused on making an efficient journey past the Gold Coast as the sunset over Surfers Paradise. Perhaps she will take some time to rest once she has moved further down the coastline before getting ready for the next leg of the long journey back to Antarctica. It was fantastic to have the team from Humpbacks and High-rises onboard today to document the different species observed as we continue to see the importance of this stretch of coastline for the many different creatures that call it home.
