Whale watching

I have been slowly heading west, with the great benefit of much better weather. In fact it has been blue skies for the past couple of days. The early mornings are still icy, but it doesn't take long to warm up. Here is a pic of the icy car at dawn. 

My destination has been the Head of the Bight, which is a famous whale watching spot. I can't believe that two years ago when I headed out this way, I didn't stop. 

It's a much over used word, but awesome is the only way to describe the experience. 

The public walk onto a viewing platform which overlooks a large stretch of the ocean.  

As I arrived, there was a mother and calf swimming just below. 

The mother was swimming sedately along, and the calf was playing up like crazy with heaps of duck diving, tail slaps and generally acting like it had far too much energy. 

The really exciting experience was the periodic deep and incredibly loud resonant call from the mother. It sounded loud even over the 60-100 metres distance. 

Needless to say I was taking heaps of photos but they are on the Canon, with the telephoto lens and have to be transferred via the laptop. Hopefully I will do this in the next few days. 

There were quite a few more whales around, but none as close and entertaining as this pair. 

I was able to count about 12 whales

Tomorrow I plan to call in for another session. Apparently it is pure luck if you see them close up. 

This arvo I crossed the border and briefly drove into West Australia, which means I have ventured into four states this trip including Soth Australia, Northern Territory, West Australia, and Victoria of course.