Whale Watching

One problem when you run an accommodation business is that you are usually too busy to do the things you suggest to guests. Going whale watching is alas one of those. So one weekend we made the time to go on the Cat Balou and, together with a host of fearless seafarers, braced ourselves against the wind and seasickness for a reunion with our cousins from the icy deep.

Our collective expectations I am sure varied, yet we could not have wished for a better morning for our encounter with these marvellous creatures, returned from the brink of extinction only a generation or two ago.

To the cry of ‘Whale Ho’ we were directed to a pod of very energetic Humpback Whales intent upon hurling their more than 30 tonne bodies clear of the water just to make a splash. They then lay about waving their dorsal fins and slapping the water with their tails. They did seem extraordinarily happy to see us, until having come across several other pods, including a mother and calf; it became apparent that they were only intent on the food supply of krill and plankton, and had little thought of their audience.

Eden is arguably the only place on the planet outside of the Antarctic where Humpback Whales (which are Baleen whales or filter feeders) can be seen feeding. After their long trek to the tropics and back, they are perfectly content doing just that, quite oblivious to human onlookers eagerly taking holiday photos. Hard to say what they think of us, if indeed we feature at all in their thoughts, as our oceans are clearly their oyster.