They said we might see whales – they didn’t tell us how close we’d get!
One of the many highlights of the trip was perhaps the most difficult to capture with photographs – the many whales we saw in the distance and close up. There were mostly Humpbacks and Minkes, but we were also lucky enough to see some Killer Whales near the ship, and once there was even a Blue Whale in sight, something not even most of the crew had seen in the region before.
Here are a few of the fleeting glimpses, some from the ship and some from a Zodiac.
We heard there were whales nearby
Is that a whale?
And then we suddenly saw our first whales up-close
Like icebergs, there's a lot more beneath the surface
It was crazy being so close to the whales
So close we were getting wet from the spouting
See the "raft" of penguins following the whale?
Individual whales can be identified by the unique markings on their tails
There are conservation databases of tail patterns, tracking individual whales
Like the Blue Whale, humpback whale fins are disappointingly puny
We never tired of watching whale tails rising from the water