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On Saturday the 12th mum woke me up and asked if I would work because a crew member couldn’t make it to work. I got to the boat and helped to prepare for the first cruise which leaves at 7.30am. I then got to feed the fish which live in the harbour at the back of where our boat sits. Every one watched as the many fish came up and then we greeted people on board. I then went out the front while the Captain did the safety talk for the guests & I showed them how to put on a life Jacket. Over the last week, we have been spoilt in the Great Sandy Straits / Hervey Bay Marine Park which lies between Fraser Island & the mainland. There have been so many Humpback Whales that you almost don’t know where to look. At times there are over 30 pods of whales in the Bay area with a pod being anything from one to four whales. With so many whales we have also been spoilt with a wide variety of activity from the whales. Breaching, Head Lunging, Pectoral Slapping & Tail Slapping has been viewed every day this week. Hi Jason and Crew, My partner Laura and I were out with you guys on Saturday 21 August. August is the month of the sub-adults (teenage whales) in Hervey Bay. The younger whales who are not yet mating or caring for a calf head south first. Hervey bay is an area of significant socialising for humpback whales on their migration back to their summer feeding grounds in the Antarctic. Pygmie or Dwarf Minke whales are probably more prevalent in the bay than we know as they are generally shy and elusive. Because of their diminutive size 2- 6 meters they are often mistaken for dolphins at first glance and then surface a long way away and go undetected. This year we have seen a numerous “minkes” including my first mum and calf in the bay. Often we see them on and around the outer banks (large sand banks at the edge of the bay that are the start of the great sandy straits) were it is believed they are hunting bait fish.
An Inconvenient Ship: the Shen Neng and Hervey Bay
June 15, 2010 - Posted by Pixel Perfection in Latest The damaged Chinese coal carrier, Shen Neng 1, tranships its cargo of coal in the Great Sandy Bay Marine Park off the coast of Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world. Shen Neng hit the reef while travelling fully laden and at top speed, and spilt several tonnes of fuel oil into the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. We would just like to say thank you so much for such a wonderful, if not very choppy, experience watching the whales on Tuesday. You were kind enough to warn us of the water conditions which we really appreciated. As much as we knew the kids weren’t going to handle it too well we were still keen and it was worth it. Your staff were brilliant, especially Sabrina. Our son William actually thought the whales were Sabrina’s whales and that ‘her’ meat pies made him feel sick! (not the swell of the water) |
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