What’s the story behind starting Whale Tales?
When we lived onboard our sailing vessel, Watermusic, and travelled the reefs of the Queensland coastline, we saw many whales.
We were lucky to be snorkelling with manta rays off Lady Musgrave Island when a mother and baby humpback whale swam past us. It was a very special experience. Sometimes, you could even hear the whale song echoing through the boat at night. When I look back, whales have always been there in our journey.
We were operating a charter vessel on Sydney Harbour when a mutual friend presented us with the opportunity to buy a Whale-Watching boat. We went and looked at it, and everything seemed to fall into place. A very generous and experienced operator mentored us in the whale-watching business, and we are grateful to him for all the knowledge he shared with us.
What makes the Whale Tales experience different from others?
We care about our customers’ experiences. We appreciate that a whale encounter can be a life-changing experience for some people, and we are honoured to be a part of this.
We are grateful for the opportunity to gift whale interactions to so many people through our trips on Whale Tales. We are Ocean lovers, and we believe that giving people epic ocean and wildlife experiences will help them understand why taking care of our planet is so important.
In your view, how should ecotourism contribute to ocean conservation efforts?
The Humpback Whale is one of the true success stories in repopulation. Humans culled the Humpback (and many other whale species) almost to extinction!
Whaling was only banned in the southern hemisphere around 60 years ago. In that time, humpback whales have remarkably regenerated their species back to (and possibly beyond) pre-whaling numbers. This is partly helped by the fact that they are such charismatic megafauna, and humans love to be around them. However, it should show us what human beings and the planet are capable of regarding ocean conservation & regeneration.
Looking ahead to this season, is there anything you’re particularly excited about?
We are thrilled by the number of close encounters, affectionately called ‘Muggings’, we experienced last season.
Whales are incredibly inquisitive creatures, and a mugging is when one or several whales approach the boat, swimming around and underneath it, lifting their heads out of the water, and looking at us.
When this happens, we switch our engines off and just bob around with them. Over the years, the whales have grown to trust humans and even enjoy their encounters with us on a very long migration journey. We are excited to see if this trend of close encounters continues.
Can you share a common guest reaction that always makes you smile?
The expressions on people’s faces when they first see a whale are pretty special. It’s actually the reactions of the kids onboard that can be really heartwarming. Kids tend to show more raw expressions of joy than adults, and their pure fascination with animals and nature is always something special to encounter.
Read the story behind Whale Tales.
