SWIMMING WITH HUMPBACK WHALES ON THE SUNSHINE COAST
The hulking mass of grey and white hovers suspended in the clear blue water, completely filling my visual field—and this one is a calf, probably only a day or two old. Just as suddenly as I spotted it, the newborn humpback whale disappears, ushered away by its protective mother. Only then I exhale, and lift my eyes to the surface to find the rest of my group.
I am swimming with 16 others in aquamarine water off Mooloolaba on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. After motoring out of the river mouth aboard one of Sunreef Mooloolaba’s vessels, the crew spotted this humpback cow and her calf cruising less than 500 metres offshore.
We have been given a thorough briefing by the crew, including rules about swimming with humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae). This opportunity to swim with such a young calf is an unusual privilege, and we are advised to enter the water quietly and avoid splashing, so as not to spook the cow. One of the crew, Allen, leads us into the water, and we snorkel out after him, following his fluoro lime-green vest about 100 metres away from the boat. Back aboard, crew signal Allen towards the whales. It’s on this first swim of the day that I encounter the humpback infant, looming large before my eyes about 15 metres away. It’s a moment that will be etched in my memory forever.
The crew tell
