Whale Watching from Sanctuary Cove is a fantastic way to see the whales on the Gold Coast with a beautiful day welcoming us to the sighting grounds this morning. Still conditions settled over the Broadwater after a solid week of wind and rain the feeling of winter was less noticeable today. Barely a breeze was around as we departed the seaway and multiple pods were observed migrating north. The journey northbound is still underway for most of the population for the next couple of weeks but as we get closer to August we will start to see the first of the southbound whales steadily increase in numbers as we approach spring. Today however it was all about heading to warmer waters as multiple escort pods traveled at a steady pace. An escort pod is a male and female Humpback Whale who will travel together, sometimes for a short time or longer durations but they will not remain together for the entire migration. The males are always very protective of their females and prefer to keep them well clear of any challenger bachelor males who are always on the lookout for the ladies.
One of the pods this morning showed great interest in the pod just ahead of them as they closed in the distance between each surfacing. Suddenly they were within fifty meters as the approaching whales looked excitable and social with a big pec slap showing their friendliness and interest in interacting. The pod ahead of them however were less enthusiastic and not so keen for a social morning as they bunkered down and continued to travel north while ignoring the approaching pod. Noticing that the others were not interested in socialising the approaching pod didn’t waste any time as they maintained a faster travel pace and soon made their way past the relaxed pod. Cruising alongside us we could hear the powerful exhalations during each surfacing with a couple of very close and curious passes as they came over to investigate the Whale Watch 1 with interest. The local Bottlenose Dolphins were also spread out and busy foraging this morning as they also made the most of the great morning of weather to cover ground in search of brunch. All pods were relaxed and focused today which was wonderful to observe and enjoy a beautiful winters day out on the water with the beautiful Humpback Whales of the Gold Coast.
