Sunday in my city - Whale Watching

There is something so special about seeing these wonderful creatures in action. The whale watching operators are very careful about making the experience interesting for the passengers, but not stressful for the whales, so you can rest assured they aren't intruding in an aggressive fashion however, as we found out, it doesn't mean you won't have an up close experience.

There are about 6 major operators, all offering slightly different cruises. We went with Captain Cook purely because they fitted our tight time frame, as I had tickets to a show in the afternoon.

We arrived at Pier 6 of Circular Quay on a foggy morning at 9.45. I'd rung the confirmation line twice to check the cruise wasn't cancelled. At 10.15 we set off out the harbour. It seemed they knew the sun was on it's way, and indeed, it was a glorious day out at sea.

My travel tip is to bring some crackers. As soon as you reach the heads, eat them. It will stop seasickness (hopefully - it did for us). My mistake was only bringing one packet, as I was feeling a little queasy about two hours in, and more food would have fixed that. Soft drink was available for purchase.

The first stop allowed us to watch a pod of roughly six whales from a distance. There was plenty to see, and the whales kept diving and flashing their tails. The front deck was opened so don't worry if you miss a seat on the upstairs deck, there's great viewing to be had from the front of the boat. The commentary is very educational, regarding whales and their migration, as well as conservation and details of the particular whales you are looking at. 

As more boats turned up, our skipper decided to try our luck further south, so as not to stress the whales. We stopped somewhere off Bondi, and suddenly two whales decided they'd come to us. They kept surfacing right next to the boat (The terrible shots with the jacket and the one with the hand are so you can see how close they were!). At one point they were so close we could see them swimming under water! It was spectacular and we were so lucky to get such an intimate encounter with these magnificent mammals.

Our cruise was only 2 hours and 45 mins, but there are options with breakfast or lunch included, and on different size boats, so look at what's going to work best for you.

The shoddy camera work is because I chose to look with my eyes at the whales and just click madly in the general direction, as I didn't want to waste the experience worrying about taking photos. The photos show none of the thrill or magnitude of seeing whales up close.

Practicalities:

https://www.captaincook.com.au/

Please note cruise run daily not just on Sundays.


Linking with #Skywatch and #GaleriaHimmelsblick for the first 2 photos.