Gold Coast whale tours was much fun today as boisterous males protected their female companions with cheeky tail slapping and a spectacular breach amongst the picture perfect winter morning. Barely a breeze was noticed as the sun stretched out and we soaked up the beautiful weather zipping across the Broadwater towards Surfers Paradise. Welcoming all of our Pod Members aboard it was time to look for the whales as the northern migration is reaching a peak time with hundreds of whales moving north daily. Departing the seaway we soon could observe multiple pods within a short distance of each other and heading north. A male escort was travelling with his female as they were approached by a second pod with a few trumpeting exhales noticed just as their energy levels began to increase. Erupting into an enormous breach the male established his dominance towards the pod who had just approached and they responded quickly by allowing him to continue on with his girl without any further challenges. Instead they moved over towards the Whale Watch 1 with the large male surfacing right alongside us before stretching out his long pectoral fin to size us up curiously.
Further pods ahead were beginning to converge as a shy juvenile close to the coastline had captured the attention of a nearby pod of young adults. Approaching curiously we soon had all three hanging out together away from all of the many adult pods moving by, it was a perfect time to socialise for the youngsters. A short time later we noticed yet another pod of adults moving in on the social pod as the male escort we were with responded swiftly. Launching into powerful tail slapping he broadcast his dominance towards the approaching pod and established himself and his preferred reactionary distance towards the adults. The youngest juvenile seemed very excited with all this sudden energy and was trumpeting loudly while the adult pod responded respectfully by diverting away from the powerful tail slapping. The loud thud could be heard echoing out around us and in such still conditions it made for a beautiful way to complete a special morning. Further pods were spread wide on our return as a brief visit from the local Bottlenose Dolphins was a lovely surprise on our way back towards the seaway.
