Whale Watch Queensland inaugural tour on a picture perfect winters day in the waters off the Gold Coast. Our family pod have been excitedly planning and working towards this special day for many years now and it was an absolute joy to welcome our first Queensland Pod Members onboard today and meet some of the east coast Humpback Whales. The morning greeted us with still conditions and a peacefulness as Osprey enjoyed a morning of fresh sashimi amongst the diving Crested Terns and soaring Pelicans. Surfers Paradise was the perfect location to begin our day as we departed the Broadwater and enjoyed the views of beautiful homes and the unique waterways that support this lovely part of the world. It was a perfectly calm day as the Whale Watch 1 spread her wings as we moved out into the sighting grounds to see who would be our first Humpback Whales for Gold Coast Season 2023 and Whale Watch Queensland inaugural tour. A commotion amongst a protective male escort and his very large female companion resulted in plenty of fluke swipes and tail lobs between the pair.
It was a steady journey towards the north as this pod covered ground efficiently and it was a very exciting moment to meet both of these lovely whales. Fluke identification images were collected during our time with them and it was fantastic to see them both looking in great health and full of energy for the next stage of their northbound journey. Our afternoon tour was just as lovely with the perfect weather continuing as our first pod was a trio of three youngsters. The juveniles were relaxed and scooting along the coastline with safety in numbers important for this age group while they continue to grow and develop in strength and experience during each migration. The next pod we had the opportunity of meeting were two mature adult whales who were just beautiful with their enormous size a noticeable difference from our first afternoon pod of juveniles. Relaxed, focused and consistent they had settled into their migration mode with ease as this escort pod moved northbound and were on a mission. Journeying back towards Surfers Paradise it was a brilliant start to our season here on the Gold Coast as we look forward to welcoming further Pod Members onboard with Whale Watch Queensland as we continue to teach the Language of the Whales Australia wide.
